A/N
Chapter 21 is up and running!
Kim faces her greatest challenge yet: meeting the family of Ron's mother!
From meeting Aunt Alma to the encounters with Big Mama and Big Daddy Levinstein, and the rest of the Levinstein family, Kim's got her work cut out for her.
And unfortunately, there are more than a few hiccups to deal with along the way, from a stow-away item to an unfortunate sitch.
At least she's got Ron to support her.
But not even he can help Kim when she faces the ultimate test of her "I can do anything" motto: cooking two turkeys all by herself!
Meanwhile, Sheila's got some things on her mind, and only Andy can help her work through them.
So the drama!
And here is the necessary stuff:
Kim Possible and all related characters are (c) Disney, Bob Schooley, and Mark McCorkle.
Original Characters are my creations, and I would appreciate if you ask before you use them. Thank you.
As it turned out, Benjamin "Big Daddy" Levinstein and Abigail "Big Mama" Levinstein didn't so much live in Hartford as in the outskirts of a suburb of it called West Hartford. The place was back off a country road surrounded on all sides by a "cathedral" of trees, and judging from the size of the house, it wasn't too much of a stretch for Kim to figure out that Big Daddy and Big Mama had done alright with their lives. According to Jean Stoppable, it was customary that the first of the Levinstein siblings to arrive with their family would get to stay in the house, and not have to go find a hotel. And since the rest of the families weren't due to start arriving until that afternoon, this time the "winners" would be the Stoppable clan plus Kim. According to Ron, however, that would also mean no escaping to the hotel to get away from everyone. This applied particularly to Aunt Alma, who Kim had learned earlier was a spinster with no husband or family who had moved back in with Big Daddy and Big Mama when they started needing assistance around the house. As Gene pulled the vehicle off the road onto the dirt path leading through the trees and the house started coming into foreboding view, Kim took a deep breath.
Well, Possible, here we go.
The house itself looked like it could use some work, particularly in the area of the front porch (and Kim suspected the back as well). The boards making up the porch looked like they were still in very decent condition, but they were also worn and splintery. The house itself could probably use a new coat of paint or two, but the way it had been worn down gave the place more of an air of "filled with years of love" than a worn-out feeling. Really, the place looked like what it was—a nice home that might have looked better if a younger couple were living there instead of grandparents enjoying their golden years. However, there was one noticeable difference from her grandparents' homes that Kim took note of almost immediately.
Unlike the Possibles' arrival in Biloxi, there was no one outside to greet the Stoppables and Kim as they pulled up to the house. In fact, the only indication that there was even anyone home was the presence of three vehicles: a somewhat aged silver '01 Chevy Silverado pickup with a slight dent in the side, a navy blue '05 Dodge Magnum, and a dark green '03 Chrysler PT Cruiser. At the sight of the PT Cruiser, Kim saw Ron's face settle into probably the deepest scowl of dissatisfaction and annoyed disappointment that she'd ever seen cross her fiancé's normally easy-going face.
"Looks like Aunt Alma's hasn't left for work yet this morning," he grumbled. "Maybe we ought to come back later when she's away."
Gene shook his head, his trademark grin never leaving his face for an instant. "Ronald, you know that if she heard we did that it would only make her that much more cross and harder to deal with. And besides, she and your grandparents are already expecting us to be arriving this morning."
Ron sighed and frowned. "Alright, but if she starts tearing into either Kim or Hana the moment she sees them, I can't guarantee I'll keep quiet about it."
Kim smiled sympathetically as she reached around Hana's car-seat to place her hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "Ron, you will because you can. If you can stand there and smile while Bonnie, Willie, or someone else puts us down, I know you can do the same around your Aunt."
Jeanette nodded her agreement. "She's right, Ronnie. I know Aunt Alma can be a pain, but you know it impresses Big Daddy and Big Mama when you just let her have her say while smiling at her." She turned to Kim. "And Kimberly, I should warn you now. Though I'm sure you already know this from Ron telling you, Aunt Alma doesn't approve of anyone who doesn't follow Jewish faith. The way she put Ron's father down for simply being Reform Jewish was…let's just say she pressed things a lot farther than normal. And I hate to say it, but the moment she realizes who you are, she might make that tirade look like a whisper."
Kim shook her head. "Don't worry, Mrs. S. I've gotten pretty good at just letting people talk."
Ron's mom shrugged. "I hope so, dear, because I get the feeling you're going to be putting those skills to good use this week."
With that they exited and headed up the partially creaking, dark brown wooden steps to the front deck. The moment they entered the house, Kim got a full blast of just what Ron and his family had been warning her about as a loud shriek came at them from the dining room on their right.
"What on earth is that hellfire-headed shiksa doing here?"
Kim turned to see a woman sitting at a large table, and felt all her previous ideas of imposing fly straight out the window even faster than Motor Ed's modified Kepler dragster. The woman had blonde hair that was slowly shifting to white, and wore round-lens glasses on the end of a long, hook-style nose. She was dressed in a light-blue dress with darker blue, four-petal star-flowers scattered around it in a diagonal pattern. But what really set the hairs on the back of Kim's neck to standing was the hardened look as those brown eyes appeared to bore straight though her own chest. She was just thankful that she and Ron had decided to join hands for mutual support before entering, as she drew on his strength and could feel him drawing on hers.
"Jeanette, how could you defile this house by bringing her here?" the woman demanded none too quietly as she pointed a bony and menacing finger at Kim. "Isn't it shameful enough for this family that you let your son date her?"
Although Jean Stoppable stance wasn't firm against her older sister's onslaught, it didn't falter either. "She is special to my son, Alma. That's how. And don't think I'm about to let you pull that 'older sister' garbage on me."
"Hah!" the older woman snapped. "Like I need that excuse any more. Or haven't you heard the news, Jeanette? Oh, that's right, you haven't. Well, I was going to wait until the rest of the family got here, but why not put you back in your place now? Mama has decided to pass on the mantle of family matron. And guess who she's passing it to."
"That doesn't matter, Alma," Jean replied coolly. "Whether you like it or not, Ronald loves Kimberly and she will be joining this family."
"Maybe she's joining your family, Jeanette. After all, you already defiled your branch by marrying someone who doesn't follow true Jewish faith and traditions. And then letting your son break kosher and consume all of that unclean food. It really is shameful, little sister." A quick glance at Gene, who was carrying Hana in his arms, seemed to send a fresh energy to the barbs. "And you'd better not be about to add to your numerous sins by telling me that that little heathen-eyed child is the daughter you adopted. I can tell right now she's not from this country, or from the homeland."
Kim could feel Ron's grip tighten on her own, and as much as she wanted to say something to this obviously zealot-minded woman, she could tell her normally calm and relaxed fiancé wanted to probably even more. If it were possible, she laced her fingers with his even tighter than they had been. He looked at her with a smile and nodded, showing he understood. However, that smile disappeared the moment the eye-contact was broken.
"And what's this?" Aunt Alma fired off again with a hard look in her eyes. "Secret signals between your son and this…this…heavens I don't even know what to call her other than what she is…a shiksa."
Jean Stoppable bristled. "That is ENOUGH, Alma! To answer your questions, yes, this is our new daughter, Hana Stoppable. And no, that is not a secret signal between Ronald and Kimberly. If anything, it's a reassurance between the two of them that they aren't going to respond to hypocritical and blind criticisms of themselves or their relationship."
Kim had to admit she was a little impressed that Ron's mother had read the look between her and Ron so accurately. And regardless of what Aunt Alma said, the red-head kept smiling. Or at least she did until the elder Levinstein sibling sent out her next barb…
"Well, I certainly hope she can cook, Jeanette. Or have you forgotten about the tradition around here?"
The smile on Kim's face faltered a bit, a look that Aunt Alma unfortunately did not fail to notice.
"She seems nervous about that prospect. As well she should be, as it determines so much about this situation. And for your information, she has two very large birds that she alone will be responsible for. Big Daddy managed to snag a pair of eighteen-pounders from the local turkey farm, and earlier this morning he killed, plucked, skinned, and gutted them according to kosher tradition. They await her attentions beginning tomorrow morning, and we shall see if she is truly worthy of the chance to join this family. And she shall have no help from you, Ronald, in preparing them. A woman's place of honor is in the kitchen, and the man will stay out if he is respectful."
"KP will do just fine," declared Ron with a confidence Kim wished she felt herself.
"We shall see, Ronald Eugene," his aunt said with an acerbic smile as she turned to go. "We shall see."
"That will be quite enough of that, Alma," called a warm female voice that sounded to Kim like it came from the opposite end of the welcoming spectrum. "Please go tend the flowers before you leave for work."
"Yes, Mother," Aunt Alma called as she turned back into the kitchen, casting a smirking eye at her nephew's fiancée as she did.
The Stoppable's and Kim turned to see an elderly woman descending the stairs. Had it not been for the pleasant smile, eyes, and similar build, the red-head wouldn't have known the woman was related to Ron's mom, as their faces looked practically nothing alike. The mood of the room also seemed to change as the woman entered and Aunt Alma left to tend the plants.
"Big Mama!" Ron exclaimed, letting go of Kim's hand to rush forward and hug his grandmother. It was obvious to Kim that while Ron's relationship with the majority of his mother's family may have been strained, the hostility certainly did not apply to this obviously caring woman.
"Ronald, it's been too long," the old woman remarked as she wrapped him in a large hug. "Last time I saw you it was nearly two years ago. And I'm guessing this lovely young woman you've brought with you is the famous Kimberly I've heard so much about?"
"Oh, right," the young man replied. "Big Mama, this is Kimberly Anne Possible, my fiancée. KP, this is my grandmother, Abigail Levinstein. But everyone just calls her 'Big Mama'."
Kim smiled and extended her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Levinstein."
The Levinstein matron politely knocked the hand away and pulled Kim into an unexpected hug that reminded the red-head of the ones she often received from Nana Possible. "No need to be formal, dearie. And you can call me 'Big Mama' just like Ronald does. Just don't abbreviate it."
Kim smiled as she was released from the generous hug. "Thank you, Ma'am."
Big Mama shook her head. "'Big Mama', dear. I'm not old enough to be a 'Ma'am' yet," she said with a laugh. "Now, where is the new granddaughter I've yet to meet?"
"Here she is," Gene replied as he brought Hana forward. "Mother, this is Hana."
"Hey there, cutie," Big Mama replied with a smile as she reached forward to hug the little girl.
Hana immediately latched onto the older woman. "Gra'ma," she cooed happily.
"Big Mama, Hana," the woman said with a smile. "I'm too young to be known by Grandma."
"Face it, Abby," a male voice called from the living room off to their left, "you've been a grandmother since Jacob and Margot had Axel twenty-two years ago."
Kim peered into the room and saw at a glance exactly where Ron got his goofy grin. Attached to that grin was a man who looked a lot like she imagined Ron might look in a few years, minus the normal-size ears. But then her eyes took in his arms, and she saw something that made her voice suddenly very hard to find: a serial number tattooed on his arm.
"Ron, was he…," she whispered gingerly. "Was your grandfather…?"
"Was I what, young lady?" the old man said with a twinkling of his chocolate brown eyes. "Go ahead, ask."
Ron nodded supportively, and Kim swallowed hard.
"Were…were you in Germany during…"
"During World War II?" he supplied with a genuine smile. "Yeah, I was. And yes, I was in one of the camps. My family lived in Poland, and we got shipped out when I wasn't much older than you and Ronald. And so far as I know I'm the only one who made it out. Came here to start over when one of the American groups came through and set us free. Think I might have been skinnier than you when that happened, but it takes more than a few barb wire fences and some smart-mouth guards with no respect for human life to keep Ol' Benjamin Levinstein down. They tried to break my mind, heart, and spirit in that place, but it's impossible to break something when you don't first understand it."
Kim smiled. Right away, she could see the relation in personalities between this man and his grandson. She was about to say something when a loud car horn started blaring from out front. As she and the Stoppables turned to look, the red-head caught a glimpse of Ron's face. She noticed him seeming to offer up a silent prayer of prevention, but she could already tell by the look on his face he knew it would do no good. She reached for his hand and held it comfortingly, hoping to offer him some of her strength to face what he obviously didn't want to.
The next moment, a large, plump woman with blonde hair came barreling through the door. "Hah! We made it first!" she declared much louder than normal as she set a suitcase on the floor just inside the door.
Big Daddy shook his head. "Sorry, Margot, but Jeannie beat you to it."
All at once the smile dropped from the woman's face. "She most certainly did not! Their bags are still in their vehicle. Jacob and I stay here while they have to go to a motel!"
Big Mama also shook her head, still holding Hana on her hip. "Margot, that's not how it works in my house and you know it. Eugene and Jeanette are here first, so they are the ones who will stay here with us."
Aunt Margot's face got red, and she looked like a balloon about to burst—which she did in the form of a high-pitched shriek. "JACOB!"
A skinny man, who also possessed blonde hair that was beginning to thin and who Kim immediately took for Uncle Jacob, followed the plump woman through the door. "I told you earlier, Margot, that there was no way we were going to beat my sister and her family here. Jeanette plans these things too well."
"Nice to see you too, Jake," Jean said with a smile as she hugged her brother.
"His name is Jacob," Aunt Margot bit at her husband's sister. "And by rights, the claim is ours. We have our stuff here first, so we get to stay here."
The next moment, a fairly large group of kids came along after the two adults. Well, most of them were kids—one or two looked actually older than either Kim or Ron. Kim was about to step forward and introduce herself when she realized Ron wasn't letting go of her hand. She turned a questioning eye towards him, and he gave her a barely perceptible shake of his head.
"Not yet," he mouthed silently.
"Where are Axel, Jordan, and Sam?" commented Gene with a smile.
"Axel and his wife Adrian will be here this evening, Eugene, while Jordan and Samantha will be along shortly," Aunt Margot commented a little more harshly than necessary. "They had to stop and pick up Samantha's boyfriend from the airport."
Thirty-one, thought Kim.
"And also pick up Jordan's boyfriend," Uncle Jacob added with a smile. "And from what we have been told, Axel and Adrian have a big announcement they want to make to everyone."
Thirty-two, Kim counted in her head with a mental grimace.
Jean grinned. "Well, Ronald has a big announcement to make as well, Jacob."
Aunt Margot's eyes seemed to focus just at that moment directly on Kim. "Her," she hissed before turning to her husband and whispering none too softly, "See, Jacob, I told you they'd let him bring that girl to this thing."
Uncle Jacob's reply was more politely soft, but the words were still audible and full of sting. "I know, Margie, but it's their choice whether or not to let him be with her, regardless of how much the rest of us disapprove."
Kim felt Ron's grip on her hand get tighter and looser at the same time.
"Aunt Margot, Uncle Jacob, I'd like you to meet Kimberly."
At that moment, a young woman who looked completely out of place with bright red hair cut in a half-bob style and wearing a fringed, brown leather jacket came in. And not just regular red like Kim's. No, the red of this girl's hair reminded Kim distinctly of the shade found on fresh, ripe strawberries or on a brightly colored American flag.
"No way!" she exclaimed before sticking her head out the door and yelling, "Hey, Sam, he finally brought her!"
"Brought who, Jordan?" replied the young woman who entered.
This girl wore faded out jeans and a black tank top, and had on blue-tinted, square-lens sunglasses. Combined with the long, straight style she wore her blonde hair in, it gave her a very artsy look. She also carried a sketchbook under her arm, and from the way she was carrying the book and its well-worn condition, Kim suspected the young woman very rarely if ever went anywhere without it being at least somewhere close by. Upon seeing Kim, her reaction was the same as the other girl's had been.
"No way! Man, the girls back at SCAD are gonna flip when they hear I got to have Thanksgiving with the Kim Possible!"
"Hey, what am I, chopped manna?" Ron replied with a joking injury to his voice.
Sam grinned as she came forward to hug her cousin. "Hey, don't take it hard, Ronald Duck. Everyone already knows I'm related to you. Which reminds me: next time you plan on saving the world from aliens, please tell me so I can be prepared for the other girls bombarding me with requests for your number."
Kim couldn't resist a giggle at the nickname, and knew she'd have to get the story on that one before they left.
"Aww man, c'mon Sammy," the young man complained. "When are you gonna stop calling me that? I haven't walked that way since before I turned four."
"Sorry, Ducky," his cousin replied with a teasing smile. "If by some miracle you somehow managed to suddenly become the most coordinated person on the planet, I'd still call you that."
A loud clearing of the throat instantly silenced the revelry that was developing.
"Unlike some of us," Aunt Alma intoned none to politely with an especially sharp eye at Kim, "I still have to go to work today. And Ronald Eugene, you'd better keep that girl under control while you're here."
"Oh, shove a sock in it, Aunt Alma," Jordan remarked with a flip of her cherry-red hair as the woman turned to leave. "She's done nothing but good things with her life."
"But you, Jordan Renée Levinstein, just earned yourself a session of cleaning and polishing the dishes tonight with your disrespectful mouth," Aunt Margot answered commandingly.
Jordan grumbled but said no more. Scowling but apparently satisfied, Aunt Alma left while Aunt Margot turned her gaze back towards Jean.
"Jeannie, surely you will agree with me that it would make much more sense for you and your family to go get a hotel while we stay here. After all, you know Alma will be all over the shiksa if you stay here. Especially with how much trouble her mere presence is going to cause among the family."
Kim saw the straw land, and knew instantly that the camel's back had been broken when Ron stood up taller than he had been.
"Aunt Margot, stop talking about Kim as if she weren't here," he challenged defiantly. "If you've got something to say, tell us here and now."
The look his aunt gave him made it look as though she thought he'd lost his mind. "And just where do you get the chutzpah to tell me how to act, young man? Hmm?" she asked with a challenging lean.
Gene placed his hand comfortingly on Ron's shoulder. "Son, now isn't the time for this."
Ron frowned at his father. "Dad, this isn't right and you know it. Not to mention they won't stop calling Kim that word."
"Its okay, Ron, really" Kim added. "And your dad's right—we're not here to make trouble. We're here to have a nice gathering with your family."
"You stay out of this, missy!" Aunt Margot admonished venomously. "If Ronald were my son, I wouldn't let him within a mile of some girl who cavorts all over the world picking fights with freaks and then lies when she says she's just a normal teenager. You, my dear, are nothing short of an unwanted disruption that should never have been allowed in my nephew's life."
Kim wanted to say something in retort in the worst way, and she could tell Ron wanted to as well, but they could both sense the woman baiting them and wisely held their tongues.
"That will be quite enough of that," declared Big Daddy. "The normal rule stays in place, Margot. Jeanette and Eugene arrived first, so you and your family will have to find another place to stay."
"Yes, Benjamin," Margot agreed with a politeness and niceness so fake Kim felt she could feel the falsehood hanging thickly in the air.
As the woman and her brood exited the house, Jordan and Sam stepped forward. "Uhh, Big Daddy, could the two of us and our boyfriends stay here as well?" Sam said with a smile. "We'd rather not spend this whole time getting harassed by Mom about how we're living at college."
"Ask your Aunt," he replied with a smile and a polite gesture of passing.
"It shouldn't be a problem," Jean replied. "After all, we only need three of the extra rooms, so there are two left over. I don't see a problem with the two of you taking them."
Big Mama smiled, finally handing Hana back to Jean. "But only as long as it's the two of you girls in one room and the two gentlemen in the other. I'll not have any unwed beds being shared in my house."
"Yes, Big Mama," the two intoned together, and Kim couldn't help but notice the slight twinge of disappointment in their voices.
As the day progressed, Kim got to know the layout of the rest of the house (all except for the kitchen from which she was currently barred by Aunt Alma and Aunt Margot), as well as meeting the boyfriends of Jordan and Sam. Charlie was a senior at SCAD with Sam who was a junior, while Fletcher owned a small bookstore near NYU where Jordan was working on her masters in Criminal Science. She was actually talking to the latter when another family came in, and judging by the similar build between Jean Stoppable and the woman, Kim could only assume this was Aunt Shannon and her husband Aaron Rosenberg. And unfortunately, Ron's assessment of their reception of her was pretty much spot on.
"Ronald, how could you possibly think to bring that disruption into your grandparents' home?" Aunt Shannon admonished him none too gently. "Have you no respect for your beliefs?"
"Honey, Ronald has the right to date and marry whomever he chooses," Uncle Aaron chided her gently. "As long as they love each other, who are you to protest against it? I for one am glad he found himself a young woman so focused on doing good in this world. Yahweh knows we could use more young people like her in this world."
Their children were a mixed bag, with four of the nine liking Kim, three disliking, and two not really caring one way or the other—although the two not caring may have had to do with the fact that the twin girls were just barely six. But what drew Kim's attention the most was that Cousin Lillian and Cousin Daniel had both brought dates. That brought the grand total up to thirty-five potentially ruined Thanksgiving dinners if she was unable to get her cooking woes under control.
"Ron, how am I gonna handle two eighteen-pound birds for thirty-five people?" she said as they sat on the back porch deck that evening gazing out at the woods behind the house, their feet dangling off the edge and still a good two and a half feet off the ground. "I mean, you and I both know I'm no Cat Cora or Bobby Flay. If you judge me solely on my cooking prowess, I'm not even sure I'm worthy enough to mention their names."
Ron put his arm comfortingly around her shoulder. "Just remember what I told you, KP. Just make sure you baste them first, and remember that it's always better to cook longer at a lower temperature than to cook it too high too quickly. And besides, Mom will be in there to help you, as will Jordan and Sam."
"Yeah, if you're aunts give them a chance to," she replied glumly. "I could swear I heard your Aunt Alma and Aunt Margot talking earlier about the best way to make sure I screw this whole sitch up. And if it weren't for your Uncle Aaron, I'm pretty sure your Aunt Shannon would have been in on it as well."
Ron gulped. "Uh, KP, should I maybe notify the local hazmat for tomorrow then? Cause with your problems in the kitchen and their scheming…"
"Oh ha ha," she groused with a half-smile as she smacked him on the arm none too gently.
"Oww," he complained. "KP, that one kind of hurt."
"Serves you right," Kim half grumbled, half joked. "'Call the local hazmat,' indeed. I may have trouble with most kitchen appliances, but at least I can make the stuff I cook edible. And if you make one joke about the 'definition of edible', Stoppable, you can get used to cold lips for the rest of this trip."
Ron sighed and smiled. "You're right, KP. I should be helping you boost your confidence instead of making jokes. Besides, Big Daddy and Big Mama seem to like you, which were really the only two opinions I cared about."
"Apology accepted," Kim replied with a smile, and moved over to cuddle closer with her fiancé, sliding herself on the wood instead of picking herself up and scooting. Unfortunately, she failed to take into account the state of the planks that made up the back porch deck when she did this…
…
…
Gene, Uncle Aaron, Uncle Jacob, Cousin Axel and Big Daddy were sitting in the living room discussing the big football games that were to occur the next day when Ron came bolting into the room, a look of panic on his face.
"Dad, where's Mom?" he intoned urgently
"Upstairs talking to your Aunt Shannon and Big Mama, I believe. Why, Son? What's wrong?"
Ron cringed and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck nervously. "Remember when I was little and you warned me not to run my hand on the wooden rails whenever we came here?"
Gene smiled. "Ronald, a few splinters in the hand isn't a good reason to go find your mother," he replied.
However, the young man was already darting up the stairs in search of his mom. Gene was confused until he saw Rufus wondering into the room, a look of pity and a grimace on his face. He picked up the mole rat gently and held him sitting in his palm much like his son often did.
"Rufus, where were Kim and Ron just now?"
"Hrk. Back porch," Rufus chittered sadly.
"And what were they doing?"
"Sitting," the mole rat replied sympathetically yet dolefully.
"Oh dear," Gene replied with a frown as the sitch that his son and Kim were facing made itself clear in his mind.
…
…
Kim had never felt more embarrassed in her life as she lay face down on her stomach on the bed while Ron's mother used a pair of tweezers to remove what felt like the hundredth splinter from the young woman's butt. Out in the hallway, the laughter that had started when the family found out what had happened to the red-head had still not stopped. If anything, it kept getting louder.
"Glad they're getting good mileage out of this," Kim quipped as she winced while another splinter was pulled from her backside.
Jean smiled sympathetically. "Well, look at the bright side, Kimberly. At least it got them to stop putting you down for a bit."
Another wince. "Not exactly the way I would have chosen to do it, Mrs. S."
Ron's mother shrugged. "True, but just imagine if you'd been wearing one of your lighter capris instead of these heavier ones."
"Would have been better if I'd chosen the jeans," the young woman remarked. "So how long do you think the nickname will stick around?"
Jean stifled a giggle quickly. "Well…let's just say that Ronnie's nickname of 'Ducky' came about because of a…an incident during a trip to the zoo here in town when he was about a month away from turning five. It actually happened just a few weeks before we officially moved to Middleton, in fact, just before the two of you met on your first day of Pre-K."
"Great," grumbled Kim as she winced again while another sliver was pulled. "So I can expect this to last for at least fourteen years."
Out in the hall, she could hear Ron nervously waiting on the final prognosis from his mother. And beyond his heavy footsteps, Kim could hear the sounds of the younger members of the Levinstein extended family turning their new nickname for their cousin's fiancée into a little jingle.
This is sooooo not the impression I was hoping to make this week, she thought as she buried her already flaming face in the pillow while Ron's mother continued tending to her.
…
…
Ron paced outside the door, hoping against hope that Kim couldn't hear the chants his younger cousins had started. While he had to keep himself from laughing at their inventiveness, he knew that while Kim found the nickname horrifying, the chant would be worse. He was halfway tempted to go to where they were and tell them to knock it off, but he knew his aunts would never approve of that. Unfortunately, all Ron could do was pray she couldn't hear it through the door. But of course with the cousins being as loud as they were, that was very unlikely, particularly with Kim's normally exceptional hearing…
Sheila Godfrey smiled as she walked through a Go City supermarket, leaning on the shopping cart to give relief to the aching back and tired feet her pregnancy continued to plague her with. To be completely honest, this would be the first Thanksgiving she'd been able to celebrate in a family-type setting since she'd left Team Go to pursue the dark side of the tracks that had been calling to her. It wasn't that Andy hadn't thought to celebrate the holiday; on the contrary he had insisted on never pulling anything on that particular holiday. And any scheme in progress was put on immediate hold until after the pumpkin pie was eaten and the post-feast nap was taken.
However, for Sheila, going through a buffet-style line for the traditional turkey, dressing, and other foods had never felt like a real Thanksgiving, especially when the pumpkin pie was store bought and the whipped cream on top of it came out of a spray can. And eating it surrounded by burly henchman (most of whom she didn't know from Adam) had never felt particularly celebratory in nature. No matter how often or how hard she had tried, celebrating a meal that promoted thankfulness like that had never felt quite right. And for reasons she couldn't explain, she had never known why it didn't feel right…
At least, she hadn't until this year. This year Sheila not only had people close to her to celebrate the holiday with, she actually had a reason to be thankful. Well, several reasons really. However, as she walked through the aisles with Andy by her side, she knew there was still something that was going to be missing, something that had been missing for going on thirteen years now. And unfortunately, the chance was running out to locate them in time for the big reason she really wanted to find them.
She turned to the blue-skinned man whose ring she now wore on her left hand, a frown on her face. "Andy, what are we going to do if we can't find my parents before February?"
"We will, Sheila," he reassured her. "Wade Load tells me he almost has the location pinned down enough to send in Team Possible to find them."
"But what if we don't?" she countered with a bit of her old snarkiness as she grabbed a few yams from the produce section. "I mean, I want my parents to be present at my wedding, Andy. I want them to see me get married, to you."
He smiled as he grabbed a bag of potatoes. "Nnnngg…Sheila, that's not something I can really help you decide. Do you think this'll be enough?"
"Better grab two. Hector eats mashed potatoes like nobody's business, and the twins aren't far behind him in their cravings for them. And what do you mean that's not something you can help me decide. It's your wedding too, Andy Lipsky." A faint glow began to show itself behind her eyes.
He wrapped one supporting arm around her shoulders and placed the other hand on her very pregnant belly. "I just mean that I want to marry you, Sheila. And it doesn't really matter to me whether it happens before or after our boys are born."
The glow instantly evaporated, but the attitude remained. "But if you had to pick. What if my previous self were holding a lighted-up fist an inch away from your face, a smirk on her face, and she was ready to blast you if you didn't answer?"
Andy smiled. "Then I'd say…'before', I think. But mainly because I know that's what you really want."
Sheila sighed, knowing it was the best she was going to get out of him right now. "Alright, fine. What's next on the list?"
The next morning, Kim woke with a wince. Ron's mother had given her some ointment to apply to her backside to ease the pain of the rickety timbers of the back deck using the young woman's rear cheeks like a pincushion, but it still hadn't been a restful night's sleep by any means. And unfortunately, today was Thanksgiving Day—or in terms of Kim and her making a good impression on this side of Ron's family, this was crunch time. And despite her numerous successes at foiling the plots of evil, she felt she had never faced a more important and dire sitch. She knew Ron fully stood by what he'd said about wanting to be with her regardless of what his family said, but for some reason she found herself really wanting to impress these people who had most likely already made up their minds to be negative towards her.
Considering the injury she'd sustained the night before, she decided to pass on her morning run. She grabbed her Kimmunicator and buzzed Ron's, but he was either still asleep or had left the device on the nightstand in the guestroom he was using. Shaking her head with a smile, she sent him a message informing him of her intentions that morning, and grabbed a set of clothes to head for the shower. However, before she opened the door to the room she was using she looked down, and it was a good thing to—had she opened the door she would have been wandering around in a camisole sleep-top and her underwear! Taking a deep breath for focus, she weighed her options and finally decided to slip on a pair of her more modest pajamas before continuing to the shower. Inside she had to be careful to keep the water from stinging her rear, although she probably didn't helped matters with all the scrubbing she gave the area to make sure none of the splinter-holes would get infected. Sitting down that day wasn't going to be a fun experience.
Sighing, she gently toweled herself off and put on the clothes she had brought in the bathroom with her. However, looking in the mirror as she brushed out her hair, she wondered if maybe it might help if she were to put on something nicer than a t-shirt, especially considering the fact that she had only been dressed in her normal t-shirt and capris the day before. However, she had brought only two skirts/dresses with her on this trip, and intended one to be worn when she accompanied Ron and his family to Temple that Saturday. The other she could put on now, but knowing her previous experiences in the kitchen, it was very likely that she'd end up covered in something. And she could always change before they ate. So it basically came down to either making a good impression now and taking the chance of ruining her outfit with food mess, or wait until later to make the good impression.
She tossed the decision back and forth in her mind several times, and still couldn't decide. It was then that she heard a knock on the door.
"KP, you in there?" Ron called, his voice sounding off for some reason.
"Out in a second, Ron," she answered.
Ron knocked again. "Uh, KP, we kind of have a situation here," he insisted with an urgent edge to his voice.
She opened the door to find him nervously holding up a certain balled-up item, one that had been modified from the original outfit seen on the show it came from. Kim's eyes went wide as she grabbed the article, pulling him in the bathroom and shutting the door with a panicked look on her face.
"Ron, what were you thinking bringing this? If your Aunt Alma sees this, or if even your mom sees it, any chance I've got of making a good impression while fly straight out the window!"
"I know," he said with a panic matching her own. "I must have grabbed it accidentally when I was packing the other night. Rufus was the one who pulled it out this morning, and I knew I had to warn you."
"By parading it around the house?" she replied in disbelief. "Ron, I made this Ferret Girl costume specifically for us to keep between us in intimate situations. What if one of your younger cousins had seen you carrying it?"
Ron hung his head, the idea apparently not even having registered. "Aww man, I didn't even think about that. What are we gonna do?"
Kim thrust the outfit back at him. "First of all, you have to get this back to your room and stuff it in the deepest part of your suitcase. I really hate to say this, but it will look a lot worse if I'm the one caught with it. Then, have Rufus guard the suitcase until we can figure out what to do."
Ron nodded. "Okay."
He quickly slipped the costume under his shirt and slipped out the door. She listened for a bit as she heard him quickly scamper back to his room, wincing at the amount of noise he was making in the process. Then, taking a deep breath, she gathered her dirty clothes and toiletries and slipped out of the bathroom herself…and right into the wiry frame and hook-nose stare of Aunt Alma. The surprise caused her to drop everything she was carrying.
"Hmmm," the old woman said with a disapproving stare. "I see Ronald Eugene slip out of the bathroom and head for his room in a hurry, and then not two minutes later, I see you slip out, Kimberly. Mind telling me what you were both doing in the bathroom with the door shut?"
Kim's mind was racing to come up with something plausible, but nothing was coming to mind. Then from behind her she heard Ron's voice.
"That was my fault, Aunt Alma," he said nervously. "I didn't know KP was in there, and I rushed into to use the bathroom."
"So that is why your cheek is red, young man?" the old woman said with a disapproving frown.
Kim turned around, and noted in surprise that her fiancé's left cheek was indeed red. Quickly she put it together and realized he must have seen her be confronted by his aunt, and had slapped himself to help her. She smiled gently.
"Yes, Ma'am," Ron replied. "I accidentally walked in on her, and she slapped me on a reflex. Totally deserved."
Aunt Alma eyed them both with a look that said she wasn't totally convinced, but she still walked down the hall and appeared to have let the matter drop. Kim sighed in relief as she gathered her things from the floor, and Ron came over to help her.
"See what I mean," she said with a pointed whisper, just in case Aunt Alma was waiting around the corner. "What if she had walked by a minute earlier?"
"Yeah, I guess I wasn't thinking. But still, what are we gonna do about…that?"
Kim shook her head as she rose with her arms once again full of her things. "I don't know, Ron. I mean, it's not like we want anybody to know about it, but we've somehow got to keep it hidden until we leave Sunday morning."
"Maybe we could ship it back to Upperton," he supplied as he held the bedroom door open for her.
Kim smiled at the smart suggestion, wondering why she hadn't thought of that herself. "I knew there was a brain under there somewhere. You really are smarter than you give yourself credit for, Ronnie."
"I am what I is," Ron replied with a trademark goofy grin.
After she deposited her things in her room, they headed down the stairs together. The living room was already buzzing with the younger cousins anticipating the start of the televised broadcast of that big parade held every Thanksgiving in New York. Kim found herself wondering if it would have been possible to go see the parade in person, but then she remembered a friend once telling her that in order to get a good seat you often had to be there several days in advance. And from the looks of the pre-show, the weather in New York City along the route wasn't necessarily going to be conducive to the comfort and entertainment of small children. Though Kim did find the thought of how it might be nice for two to view the parade while snuggled under a blanket passing through her mind. Maybe it could be something fun for her and Ron to do sometime…possibly even the next year if they weren't doing anything else…
Kim was brought out of her thoughts by a hard and bony tapping on her shoulder. She turned to find Aunt Alma standing over her, a smile on the older woman's face that Kim instantly felt uncomfortable with.
"Kimberly, if you will please come with me. It's time to get started on the turkeys."
Kim nodded and smiled, but couldn't stop the small gulping that made its way quickly down her throat. She glanced at Ron with a hidden nervousness in her eyes, and he quickly placed a supportive kiss on her cheek.
"You'll be fine, KP," he reassured her softly in her ear. "Remember, you can do anything."
Kim smiled and squeezed his hand in loving appreciation before following Aunt Alma out into the kitchen. On the way, she noticed that most of the of-age women were already in the kitchen and dining room area. Aunt Shannon was currently boiling eggs for a deviled egg dish, Aunt Margot and Cousin Amelia were peeling potatoes, and Sam, Jordan, and Lillian were triple-team chopping a pile of vegetables. Big Mama was working on a stuffing mix, Jean Stoppable was dealing with the beginnings of what Kim assumed would be some kind of bread, and Axel's wife Adrian was working on some sort of dish that Kim didn't quite recognize in its beginning stages. There was also a cranberry station set up that the red-head assumed would be Aunt Alma's task once the older woman showed her to her station. And then Kim saw her assignment…a pair of monster turkeys already skinned and waiting for her attentions. Looking at them, the red-head was struck by the amusing yet daunting idea that each one could probably comfortably fit around her head with room to spare.
However, what caught the young woman by surprise the most was that they both looked like they could just as easily get up and walk off the counter and out the door. Kim found herself feeling just a tad green at the sight of the birds' waiting carcasses—and not just at the prospect of how she was going to cook them either. No, this feeling was reminiscent of the unease she'd felt in her stomach at the sight of blood while helping her own mom with a procedure on Mother's Day her sophomore year in high school. Evidently Aunt Alma hadn't been kidding when she said they were "freshly killed" the morning before. Said woman grabbed a glass and a spoon, and brought them together with a clink.
"Ladies, may I have your attention please." The way she said it made it clear to anyone that she wasn't so much asking for as commanding the attention. "As you all know, it is tradition that the newest woman in the kitchen is the one responsible for the main course her first year with us. This year, the responsibility for making this meal successful falls solely on the shoulders of Ronald Eugene's new fiancée, Kimberly Anne Possible. I'm sure she will amaze us all with what she manages to come up with."
The look Aunt Alma followed that little speech with told Kim in no uncertain terms that the older woman expected the "amazement" to come in the form of shock and horror at how bad the birds turned out. Glancing around the room, it wasn't too hard to figure out that most of the other women also expected the same thing. Somehow, word of the red-head's kitchen woes had managed to make it around the family already. Even Jean was looking at her with a sympathetic smile on her face, and Kim could almost hear the "good lucks" the woman was mentally sending towards her. In fact, the only ones who were actually smiling without a sense of dread or foreboding behind their smiles were Sam and Jordan, both of whom gave her thumbs up of support.
Kim nodded her understanding, took a deep breath, and turned towards the waiting birds. Alright, Possible, you can do anything, so you can handle this. Just do like Ron said and take it one step at a time. Basting first, and cook longer on a lower temperature if necessary.
As she stepped up to the birds however, her built up confidence flew out the window as she suddenly had a flash of something she wished she'd asked Ron. Taking a deep breath, she turned towards the rest of the women, hoping they'd be more help than she suspected they would.
"What sauce do I use to baste them?"
Before any of the other women could speak up, Jean smiled and replied, "Kim, that decision is up to you entirely. My first time, I used a lemon pepper marinade, but Sam's first time she used an orange juice blend that turned out very nice."
Aunt Margot scowled. "Yes, but Samantha's bird was also way too sweet, if you remember, Jean."
Her daughter sighed. "Mom, its Sam or Sammy. And you said you were impressed with me that day."
Aunt Shannon frowned. "The point is, Kimberly, part of being responsible for the main course means adding your own personal touch to it. Surely someone of your worldly experience and intelligence can figure that out on your own."
Kim nodded. "Yes, Ma'am. I just wanted to make sure I didn't do something that someone would be allergic to."
Big Mama smiled warmly, evidently seeing through the flimsy excuse to the young woman's hidden distress. "Don't you worry about a thing in that department, dear. Only allergies in this family deal with manners towards new people."
Aunt Alma looked at her mother shrewdly. "Mother, you know just like the rest of us that a woman who cannot cook does not truly deserve the title."
The smile disappeared from the Levinstein matron's face. "Alma, that will be quite enough of that. You let that young woman tend the birds, and you get to work on those cranberries. Or are you looking for a repeat of last year's fiasco when the cranberry sauce wasn't thick enough."
That's the answer, suddenly flashed through Kim's mind.
Quickly she headed over to the fridge and opened it, hoping to find what she needed. While it was there, there wasn't nearly enough, or at least Kim didn't think it would be enough. She shut the door and approached Ron's mother.
"Mrs. S., I need to borrow the keys to the car for a bit. Need to run to the grocery store."
Jean looked at her quizzically for a minute before it dawned on her what the young woman was thinking. Or at least part of what she was thinking hit her. Smiling, she pointed at her purse and nodded. Kim grabbed the keys, and quickly rushed out the door. A few minutes later, Jean was surprised when her son poked his head in the kitchen.
"Hey Mom, where was KP going?"
"Ronnie?" his mother said in surprise. "I thought Kimberly would take you with her."
Ron shook his head. "No, she was out the door before I realized it, and she drove off before I could get outside."
Jean shrugged. "Honestly Ron, I don't know what she's up to. She had one of those looks on her face though—the kind she gets when she thinks of something she wasn't expecting."
Ron nodded and shut the door, the same question running through his mind that was now flying through his mother's as well: Kim, what are you up to?
Less than thirty minutes later, Kim returned, carrying several bags with her. When Ron tried to stop her and ask what was going on, she merely kissed him on the cheek in response and headed back into the kitchen, a strange smile on her face. And inside when she started on her project, Jean could only squint and scratch her head a bit at what the red-head was doing. However, she shrugged and returned to the bread she was making, trusting that Kim had somehow come up with something…even if the young woman was making a bit more mess than necessary.
Around forty-five minutes later, Kim slipped the first bird into the oven and set the timer. However, Jean was confused even more by the low temperature the young woman had set the oven on. Another fifteen minutes, and Kim slid the other bird in, and raised the temperature quite a bit. Ron's mother wondered just what the young woman had in mind for cooking the birds equally, but she also knew this was something Kim had to either succeed at or fail at on her own if the red-head wanted to gain the approval of the Levinstein women. The moment the birds were in and going, Kim set about helping the other women with their various tasks. She chopped veggies with Sam, Jordan, and Lillian; assisted Aunt Margot and Amelia with the potatoes; and even tried to help Alma with the cranberries. Every so often, Kim would open the oven and pour some of her concoction on the two turkeys, once or twice pouring so much that Jean worried she was going to drown the birds and make them too moist.
However, Kim seemed…relatively confident in what she was doing. Either that, or she was so nervous that she wasn't thinking straight. Jean merely shook her head, particularly when Alma kept leaning over the young woman's shoulder with a less-than-approving eye. Around noon, the feast finally started coming together, though they were still waiting on Kim's turkeys to be done. However, when Alma tried to pull them out, Kim shook her head.
"Not ready yet," was her only reply.
Aunt Alma eyed her suspiciously. "Are you just saying that, Kimberly, or do you actually have a plan for them?"
Kim glanced at the clock on the stove. "Needs another thirty minutes to an hour. Otherwise, they won't be fully cooked."
Ron's mom blinked in surprise. From what she'd heard from her son, his fiancée had the world's worst track record in the kitchen. According to Ron, when the two of them had worked at Bueno Nacho in ninth grade, Kim had experienced trouble with simple burrito folding. And everyone in Middleton knew the story of the "girl who can do anything" being dragged down the hallways of Middleton High by a rogue mixer when the pair took Home Economics. Whatever the red-head had cooking (both literally and figuratively), Jean could only hope she wasn't attempting to fly by the seat of her pants, as the women of the Levinstein clan would see through that immediately.
At the appointed time, the birds were removed from the oven, both having gained a golden brown color to them. Kim looked extremely pleased, but Jean could also see the slight perspiration of nervousness beginning to form on the young woman's brow. The food was brought into the dining room, and the women all went to change into nicer clothes. When Kim came back down, Jean took note that she was holding Ron's hand as if her life depended on it. After the prayer of thanks, Aunt Alma stepped forward before they all sat down, and cleared her throat.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to propose something a little different today. Seeing as Ronald's fiancée Kimberly was the one to prepare these birds, I think it only fitting that he be the first one to taste them."
Big Daddy smiled. "A fine suggestion, Alma. Ronald, if you will please step forward to accept the first bite."
Though she could tell he tried to hide it from her, Kim knew her love too well to not see the gulp of nervousness Ron let slide down his throat. However, he still stepped forward bravely to accept the piece of meat that his grandfather sliced off. The minute the morsel entered the young man's mouth, his eyes went wide and he turned to look at Kim with a look of complete shock on his face.
"Well, Ronald," Aunt Alma said with a sneering smile and a none-too-polite tone, "how did she do?"
a/n
As always, reviews and comments are always welcome. :)
Also, for those of you waiting on the conclusion to Why Didn't You Tell Me Sooner?, your wait is almost over. Had a regular reader ask if I would mind waiting a few weeks longer before I posted the reveal so they could read it, and they just gave the green light. So expect the "Chapter 2: The Reveal" to appear soon. :)