Something to be thankful for.
Thanksgiving, what the hell was she thinking? Working the night before and now here she was standing in the kitchen of her apartment, the sun not up yet trying to fix a traditional dinner for her oh not so traditional family.
Eric and Maggie would be arriving later in the morning coming down from Minnesota so that they could spend the day together like normal families did on the holidays. They were so far from normal that Abby had to wonder what she had been thinking when Carter had suggested the idea.
"Oh come on Abby, its Thanksgiving what would it hurt?" Carter said as the where riding the EL into County.
"It is my family, no telling what would get hurt." She just couldn't imagine willingly spending the day with Maggie. Granted so didn't dislike her, but well holidays they just didn't do.
"I promise I will be there. It will be nice." He said as the EL came to a stop.
"You'd better… you leave me alone and that will be the last thing you do." Abby said.
Abby pulled the turkey from the fridge. She and Carter had gone shopping three days ago and that should have been enough time for the bird to defrost. She yanked it out kicking the door shut with her foot.
"Why did we need a 20 pound turkey for four people?" She muttered, granted Carter liked to eat, but this bird was massive and still felt frozen. She started to get the oversized turkey ready for stuffing, and then struggled stuffing the bird. It wasn't as easy as it looked at first and it was definitely not as easy as Carter had made it sound.
"Don't worry." He said as they strolled through the grocery store getting the things for dinner.
"I have never cooked a turkey before John; I think I have reason to worry." Abby said.
"It's like cooking a giant chicken." He said, "come on you can do it, nothing to it."
"Can you cook a turkey John?"
"Oh sure." He said grinning slyly now at her.
"What the hell do I do with this?" Abby said, "Trussing, how do you truss a turkey?" She stared at the kit on the counter top and she walked over and got a cup of coffee and then leaned against the counter top. "I'm going to so get even with him." Abby muttered as she wondered if it was really something that needed to be done, what was the worst thing that would happen? Abby didn't think she didn't want to know the answer to that one.
Finally she had the bird in the oven. It would spend the majority of the day in there cooking to become their late lunch, dinner, whatever you wanted to call it. She still wasn't overly comfortable with what she was doing. She wanted to have as much done as she could get done now. She got the Jell-O made and in the fridge to set, there was a pumpkin pie in there for dessert.
They were planning on having mashed potatoes, cranberries, dinner rolls, squash, sweet potatoes, stuffing, some green been casserole that John had asked for. Abby wasn't a stranger to the kitchen she was just a stranger to Thanksgiving dinner.
"Don't worry," he said, "I'll be home in time for dinner. I will go in work and then come straight home. We're not until four so that gives me plenty of time."
"Famous last words John Carter." Abby said as she was making one final double check in the fridge before starting everything bright early and she didn't want to find out she didn't have something that she needed.
"It will be fine, you'll be fine, and we will all be fine. And if something perhaps does go wrong there will be several doctors here."
"Comedian you be." She said giving him the evil eye before rolling them. "How many people did you invite again?"
"There will be you, me, Maggie and Eric, Kerry and Henry, Neela, Elizabeth and Ella." He said, "I promised you I wouldn't invite the world."
"Yeah well sometimes I just don't trust you, and I have good reason."
"Oh," He said wrapping an arm around her waist as he spun her from her position around to face him. "Low that's just low."
Abby finished her coffee and started to set the table for the seven who would be there for dinner. She was feeling pretty good about everything and Maggie and Eric showed up right on time. Eric finding his way to the couch to watch the football game that was coming on.
Shortly there after, Elizabeth and Ella showed up followed by Kerry and Henry. John would be there in about an hour. Everything was right on… oh that was not a good smell coming from the kitchen. She pulled open the oven and well the turkey just didn't look right.
"Is that how it's supposed to look?" Abby said noticing that there were other sets of eyes on her.
"I don't know." She heard Elizabeth answer. "I only cooked a turkey once."
"I don't think so either Abby." She heard Maggie's voice now too.
Abby looked at the two women standing there with her and knew that this wasn't good. House full of people who should know how to cook and that wasn't the answer she'd been hoping to get. She ran her hand through her hair pushing it back. "Okay." She took in a deep breath, "anyone got the number for butterball."
"1-800-butterball." She heard Eric's voice from the kitchen.
Kerry made sure that Henry was where he was safe before making her way to the kitchen. "Here." She said, "at least one of us knows how to cook." She took the oven mitts from Abby and rescued what was to be there dinner. "Just needed basted." She smiled.
With dinner disaster diverted everyone settle into watching the game, playing with the toddler or talking. At 3:30 Neela arrived. Abby was getting worried now as she started to finish getting the rest of the meal put together. Mashing the potatoes and the likes. She glanced at the clock what felt like every 2 minutes waiting and anxiously expecting the front door to come open. Four o'clock arrived and there was no John. 4:15, no John, 4:30 cranky hungry toddler and no John.
"What could have kept him?" Abby muttered. She gave Kerry a "sorry" look as she started to put dinner on the table in hopes that he would come walking in any second now. No he'd better not be walking he had better be running and very out of breath.
45 minutes late John finally came through the front door. "So sorry that I am late." He said making apologies to everyone as he entered. "I'm really sorry Abby." He said smiling. "I know I said I'd be home on time and all but see right when I was getting ready to leave I got a phone call and it took me longer to get there and back here." He started to explain.
He was cut off by a voice and they all watched Neela's face light up with delight as she whispered, "Michael." And there still in his Army dress was indeed the one and only Gallant.
"I hope you don't mind that I brought one more."
Abby watched Neela's face and just smiled at Carter. "No," she said as the all started now to file around the table, Abby grabbing an extra plate and chair. "And I think that I know what we all have to be thankful for this year."