Nora was cooking for 14. She was used to it, and she really enjoyed it. But for some reason this time was different. Saucepans and frying pans were all over the kitchen, simmering and boiling like never before. Nora was constantly on her feet, fixing every detail of tonights dinner with grace and precision.
She heard the door open and close. A quick glance on the clock revealed that it was half and hour before dinner time, meaning it could only be Rebecca arriving now. Nora knew her kids.
"Hi Nora." The soft voice was obvilously in a good mood. Nora immediately put a bowl in front o Rebecca and a whisk in her hand, no greetings needed.
"How was your day?" Nora squeezed in the question while running out into the pentry to collect some ingredients.
"Good. Kind of weird. My mom has been working over like every night the last month, and now she's been home for two days, not really telling me why." Rebecca whisked as she spoke, not sure if Nora wanted to know about the whereabouts of her late husband's mistress.
Nora stopped to look up.
"Maybe something is bothering her. It's hard when you don't have anyone to talk to." Nora continued with her cooking. "You should talk to her, see if she needs you. Everyone needs a friend, no matter if they treated you wrong."
Rebecca, so flabbergasted, didn't know how to say anything but "Yeah…".
Julia was adjusting her green dress while balancing Elizabeth on her arm. She and Tommy had just pulled up at Nora's house, and Julia was expecting they were the first ones there. She had attended enough Walker sibling get-togethers to know their flaws when it came to coming on time. Except for Kevin, of course, who was always on time, always stressed and always pissed if someone had wasted his time by being late.
Tommy was already walking up to the house.
"Wait up" Julia moved towards him, carrying her daughter. "don't walk away from me." Tommy had been absent the whole ride over.
"Sorry. You want me to take her?" Julia shot him an angry look, walked past him and into the Walker residence entrence.
Kitty and Robert arrived when Rebecca was greeting Tommy and Julia. The tension between the couples them could be cut with a knife, and Rebecca retracted into the kitchen, to avoid getting caught in the middle of something. Julia and Kitty chatted on about Lizzie, leaving Tommy and Robert uncomfortably quiet.
Just as Julia and Kitty left to help in the kitchen and setting the table in the dining room, Jusin entered the house. Nora greeted the crowd in the entrance, making sure everyone had a task for tonight.
Sarah arrived with her kids to find almost whole her family cooking and decorating the house with an endless amount of glittery stuff. Paige and Cooper were quickly recruited by Justin to help putting a gigantic HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign opposite to the door.
Sarah walked into the dining room and found Tommy there, folding napkins. Not well, but still helping, away from people.
"Hi." Sarah greeted her brother. Tommy knew it was a peace offering, at least for tonight, and he knew he had to reach out.
"Hi. I think we need to sort out what happened today."
"Today? No, Tommy, we don't. You have to sort out what's happened the last weeks, and you need to be quick." Sarah snapped back at her brother. They didn't have time to finish until the doorbell rang.
Everyone in the house ran to the door, lining up with big smiles. When the door didn't open Nora quietly went up to the door, slowly opened it, taking a deep breath, ready to shout.
"Saul?!"
The smiles disappeared quickly and the crowed scattered.
"We thought you were…" Nora started to explain as she saw a car pull up behind Saul's shoulder.
"They're here!" she screamed from the top of her lungs, and everyone were soon back in the line. Nora saw how ridicolous they all looked on a perfect line and with big smiles. She swallowed her laughter and backed away from the door.
"Kevin, this is making me really uncomfortable."
"I know sweetie, but I couldn't stop them. You know how my family behaves when they see the opportunity to party." Kevin put his hand on the back of Scotty's back, as if to protect him, and to stop him from running back to the car.
"Let's just get it done with. How bad could it be? Had there been any new drama, I would've known." Scotty knew that his husband's words should calm him, but they didn't.
Kevin and Scotty both put on big smiles as Kevin opened the door.
"SURPRISE!!"
