Chapter 89 Let's Make Dinner
Elizabeth rolled over and gently nudged her sleeping husband playfully in the side. "Lucas. It's time to get up we have everyone coming for dinner tonight and we need to get the Turkey on and the children taken care of."
"Elizabeth, are you sure you want us to cook dinner?" Lucas asked less than thrilled about the idea.
"Yes Mr. Bouchard, I am. Now get up. You tend to the girls and I will tend to Caleb and then we will head to the kitchen. Bring their bassinets downstairs so we can tend to them easier if need be and let Katie and Debbie sleep in."
"Alright, let me get dressed." Lucas said hesitantly wanting to get out of bed on this fine Thanksgiving Day.
"Lucas Bouchard, are you forgetting something?" Elizabeth asked a little bit upset.
Lucas returned to give her a good morning kiss. "I was not forgetting." He wrapped his strong arms around her and passionately kissed her. "Is that better?" He teased.
"Absolutely. I don't think I could go a day without one of your kisses." Elizabeth said returning his affection.
Lucas headed to the nursery to take care of the girls and brought Caleb to Elizabeth. They fed them, changed them and took them downstairs to the family room so they would have them close. Then they made their way to the kitchen.
Elizabeth had Lucas pull the turkey out of the refrigerator and place it in a turkey pan. She handed him some stale bread, celery, onion, broth, sage, and eggs. "Okay Mr. Bouchard, we are going to stuff this turkey." Elizabeth informed him.
Lucas picked up the ingredients and began to place them in the turkey. Elizabeth started laughing. "Is this amusing you wife?" Lucas responded.
"Darling you have to mix the stuffing up before you place it in the turkey. Here is a cutting board and knife chop the celery up into little pieces." Elizabeth showed him what to do.
"It is way too early for a cooking lesson." Lucas teased.
Soon he had mixed everything up the way she showed him and stuffed it into the turkey. They placed the leftover stuffing in another pan. Then she had him place the turkey in the oven to bake. They set the other pan in the refrigerator for later.
"You did a fine job Mr. Bouchard." Elizabeth teased.
He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in for a deep kiss. "I had a great teacher." Then he turned on some music and they danced around the kitchen while cleaning up the mess and preparing the rest of the food for the dinner.
Helen entered the kitchen. "How will you two ever get dinner ready dancing around the kitchen and tripping over each other?" She said jokingly.
"Good morning mother! Here is your coffee. Can I get you Danish?" Lucas asked.
"Thank you Lucas. I'll go sit at the table and wait for your father. He should be down in a moment. First, I am going to peek in on my grandchildren. They are so beautiful." She detoured through the family room as she admired her grandchildren.
Jack came running down the stairs. "Momma, can I have some eggs?"
"Lucas darling, Can you get Jack some scrambled eggs while I work on some pies for this evening?"
Lucas made scrambled eggs knowing it was something simple that he could do. He never had a need to be a cook so this was a whole different experience for him. "Here you go son."
"Daddy, can we train today?" Jack asked excitedly.
"Not today, Jack. I promised your momma that I would help cook dinner. Would you like to help us?"
"Ya! Ya!"
"Alright, we will help momma once you eat your breakfast." Lucas said patting him on the shoulder.
Lucas returned to the kitchen where Elizabeth had him rolling out dough for pies. "I have a new appreciation for Gustave. This is absolutely exhausting." Jack joined him and Lucas pulled up a stool for Jack to stand on as they made the pies together.
The rest of the family began to stir once they smelled the food cooking. The pleasant aroma awakened everyone. There was the smell of sweet apples and cinnamon. Jonathan grabbed the paper and his coffee and joined his wife at the table. Katie, Debbie, and Gladys also joined them at the table. "It smells good in here Elizabeth." Jonathan said with a smile.
The day went on and dinner had come together quite nicely. Everyone had showed up and they had a wonderful meal together. Lucas was feeling absolutely exhausted from all the cooking. He was too tired to even eat. He picked up Addy out of her bassinet and sat down in the rocking chair. Jack sat on his other leg. Jack brought a book and Lucas began to read. Elizabeth looked over and Lucas was holding their children, his head was drooped and he was sound asleep.
Jack turned to his daddy and squeezed his cheeks. "Daddy, wake up."
Elizabeth walked over to her husband and took Addy from him. "Darling, why don't you go on up to bed, I will join you shortly."
Lucas excused himself from their guests and headed up to bed thankful he had not chosen to be a chef. He had decided he was less than passionate about cooking.
Hours later Elizabeth snuck into their room trying to be quiet as not to wake him, but it was too late. She put on her evening attire and crawled up next to him in their bed. Lucas pulled her close and draped his arm over her. "I love you Elizabeth, good night."
"Good night, Darling. You did great today. I love you!"