Teacher Chapter 14
Thanksgiving
(Author's note:Time for a bit of fluff. It's a part of the larger story, and it's a chance for our heroes to have a bit of fun-even Melody. I know what it's like to have to sort through everything you own, so I feel her sore muscles. I would have enjoyed having a couple of Super Soldiers to help me!)
And all of a sudden it was time for me to leave for my Thanksgiving trip to California. My lists were made and I was about as organized as I was going to get. Natasha was going to pilot me out there. She planned to spend the holiday with Clint. I told her to give them my love.
When I got on board the quinjet I had a pleasant surprise-Steve and James had volunteered to be my body guards. It seems they had been talking to my kids. Steve's comment was, "Your daughter's pretty persuasive. She wanted guys who could help you move furniture and stuff. And she bribed us with Thanksgiving dinner."
James added, "And if her cooking is anywhere as good as yours… Will either of you be baking? Steve wants apple pie."
I laughed. "I'll let my daughter know that Captain America wants apple pie. Any preference for you?"
"No. I don't remember what I liked before. I have liked pretty much everything you've baked so far. Will you be making any of those chocolate chip cookies?"
"The plan is for me to bake over at my daughter's house. Steve, do you remember what was James' favorite as a kid?"
Steve was lost in thought for a minute. "As hungry as we were most of the time, and with the rationing and all, I think we both liked everything!"
"Thank you both for coming along. I wasn't looking forward to sorting and moving all my stuff mostly by myself. I promise there will be frequent arrivals of food."
Upon arrival we were met by what looked just like the vehicle that kidnapped me. The guys realized my fears and assured me that type of car was almost standard issue for Shield. I still made them verify the identity of our driver. It was a nice safe house. Not all that far from where my son was living in what used to be my apartment. But it was clearly not "Stark" style.
Once we were safely inside and our driver was gone I turned to the guys, "Look, I'm only going to say this once. I'm not stupid. I know Shield is supposed to be dead. I also know that this place is not a Stark safe house. You promise me it's not Hydra. You can tell me that it's a local police safe house, but I'm not going to buy that. Based on what I've been aware of, I don't think Shield is entirely dead. You don't have to convince me I'm wrong, I'm certainly not going to tell anyone. But I wanted to let you know."
Steve looked abashed. But then, he's not terribly good at hiding his emotions. Natasha has told him more than once in my hearing that she thinks he's a poor liar. He ended up not saying anything. James started laughing and only said, "I told you."
Can I say that I hate moving? While this wasn't technically a move, it still involved sorting through everything I owned. And reorganizing. And labeling everything. Both at the apartment and in my storage unit. Luckily it wasn't summer. Or raining. Instead we were blessed with a series of decent days. And I had two strong guys to move stuff around, so my old muscles and bones didn't have to do it. I call that a win. It took us about 3 days, but we finally had everything labeled and put into piles. I think what saved us was the fact that my favorite local hamburger place was within walking distance of my storage unit. I shudder to think about how much money we spent on food. But it was good. And it kept the guys working. At the end of each day I went back to the house and collapsed. But first we picked up take out from my favorite local places. Who knows when I'll be able to eat at them again?
Taking care of my stuff that was still in my son's apartment was sort of easier. Mostly it was, "What of this furniture, art, etc. did I want to keep?" Some of it was tough to decide. If my son takes the Stark Industries job, how much of this stuff do he and his fiancee want to haul to New York? Mostly we ended up deciding to decide on the big pieces after their New Year's visit. I was taking most of my art with me. I had missed it. I don't have a lot, but what I do have is mostly good stuff.
Then we went down to the San Diego area. My son, David, was going to come down on Thanksgiving Day, but Robin wanted me down early. She had been married a couple of years now and this was going to be her first Thanksgiving in her first house. In past years she and her husband had spent the holiday with either me or her father's family. This time was her first time as hostess. And she was nervous. I knew she could do it, but sometimes even a grown woman needs her mom around.
Robin and I did a lot of baking. The guys came with me to her new place. At least one of them was always on guard. They had a good time, despite that. Robin's husband is a police officer and he got along with them very well. I know they both went out to the gun range with him at different times.
For some reason, James especially liked the family dogs. Watching the former Winter Soldier rolling around on the floor with a large puppy made me almost want to cry. He was having so much fun, laughing and playing with the dog. What a far cry from the scary, withdrawn man I had first met.
Dinner was, of course, a success. I talked my daughter through the tricky parts. Making a Thanksgiving dinner isn't hard, it just requires getting everything done on time. Any buying good ingredients, of course. Somehow we even had enough food.
And then it was time to head back to New York. When Nat saw the stuff I was bringing back she commented, "Did you decide to bring your entire apartment back?" Steve and James just laughed. They knew how much stuff I had left behind-they had moved most of it around! It really wasn't all that much and it all fit in the jet just fine.
On the way home we talked about the trip. We all agreed that it was a good break from the rest of our lives. The guys had loved how "normal" they had felt. For a few days they hadn't had to be superheroes, saving the world. And that was a very restful thing for them. As for me, I will never forget seeing the two of them washing the Thanksgiving dishes, talking about football-just like two ordinary guys.