The Brady Eight: Just Starting Out
A Welcome Aboard Sequel
Chapter 57
A/N—The green bean casserole recipe is my own.
The next day. Thanksgiving Day. Mike, Peter, Jan, Bobby, Cindy and Ryan are eating breakfast. Carol and Carolyn are asleep in the master bedroom. The phone rings. Mike answers, revealing his mother.
Mike: Hello?
Agnes: Mike, Happy Thanksgiving! How are you guys?
Mike: Carolyn has another ear infection.
Agnes: Sorrowful. I'm sorry.
Mike: Carolyn was up and down all night, so they're asleep.
Agnes: I hope they're getting good rest.
Mike: They fell back asleep around five. Changes the subject. How was your trip?
Agnes: We had a great time, but glad to be home.
Mike: Are you still planning on coming for dinner today?
Agnes: We are. I've got the beans, rolls, and pecan pie made.
Mike: We've got the turkey in the oven. Marcia's coming over at ten to help fix the fruit salad, dressing, sweet potato casserole, cranberries, and chocolate cake.
Agnes: Thomas and I can come over then. Glad you've got the double oven. We'll definitely be making good use of them today.
Mike: Yes, we will. See you in a couple hours.
As they hang up, Carol enters, carrying Carolyn.
Carol: Who was that on the phone? Sitting Carolyn in the high chair and preparing her youngest daughter's breakfast.
Mike: Mom. She and dad will be here at ten also.
Jan: What do you want us to do?
Carol: When Marcia and your grandparents get here, I want you and Cindy to start working on the fruit salad, dressing, sweet potato casserole, cranberries, and chocolate cake. If Carolyn will let me, I'll help.
Cindy: Mom, you don't have to do that. We've got it covered.
Bobby: What about us?
Mike: We'll need the living room, family room and bathrooms cleaned and the tables set up.
Bobby: Clearing his place. 'kay. I'll start in the bathroom.
Peter: I'll get my suite cleaned.
Jan and Cindy clear their places and leave.
Carol: Sits at the table. Did you tell her about the baby?
Mike: No. They left right after homecoming, and didn't have much access to phones, so they don't know yet.
Carol: Smirks. They're going to be really surprised when they come over.
Mike: Chuckles. Yes, they will be.
Carol: You know you'll catch flack for not telling them about the baby.
Ryan: Speaks and signs, giggling: Mommy daddy baby!
Carolyn: Signs, giggling: Mommy daddy baby!
Carol: They may tell for you.
Mike: Kisses his wife. Looks like Carolyn's feeling better.
Carol: Smiles. She woke up giggling.
Mike: How are you two feeling?
Carol: Yawns. Sleepy.
Mike: Why don't you go back to bed?
Carol: I'll be okay. I'll take a nap when the twins go down for their naps.
Mike: They exchange a peck. Good.
Ten o'Clock
Mike, Peter and Bobby clean the house while Jan and Cindy work on the fruit salad and cranberries. Ryan plays with his trucks in the family room, while Carol rocks Carolyn. The phone rings and Jan answers.
Jan: Brady residence... hi, Marcia.
Marcia: I'm not going to make it to dinner.
Carol listens, curious.
Jan: Oh?
Marcia: I think I've come down with a stomach virus. I was up all night.
Jan: Ugh! I'm sorry. Feel better soon.
Marcia: Thanks.
They hang up.
Carol: Marcia's sick?
Jan: Yes. She was up all night with a stomach virus.
Carol: Ugh. Can the two of you handle things until your Grandmother gets here? I don't think Carolyn's going to let me put her down right now.
Mike enters the room, overhearing their conversation.
Mike: Concerned. Carolyn's ears hurting again?
Carol: Yes. She and Ryan were playing and she put her hands over her ears and started screaming. I gave her more Tylenol.
Ryan: Cawyn's ear hurt.
Mike: Yes, Ry, Carolyn's ear hurt.
Cindy: Calls out. Mom, how much brown sugar do I put in the sweet potato casserole?
Carol: Half cup of brown and half of white. Look in my Betty Crocker Cookbook. The recipe's in there.
Cindy: Found it, thanks!
There's a knock on the sliding glass door. Agnes and Thomas walk into the house.
Agnes: Hugs her son. Missed you guys.
Mike: I'm glad you enjoyed your trip.
Thomas: Picks up his youngest grandson. Ryan, my boy! How are you?
Ryan: Mama Daddy baby!
Mike and Carol blush.
Thomas: Yes, you're mama and daddy's baby boy.
Ryan: Pointing to his mother. Baby! Mama baby! Mama ha... have baby!
Agnes: Confused. What is he talking about?
Carol: Handing Carolyn to her husband. Mike?
Mike: C'mere, Kitten.
Carol: Smiles and rises. Surprise!
Agnes: Stunned. You're...?
Carol: Places her hand on her abdomen. I'm fourteen weeks along... due in mid to late May.
Carolyn: Protesting; speaks and signs. Mommy!
Carol: Holds her arms out. I'll take her.
Mike: I've got her. You need a break.
Carol and Agnes bring in the food from the car and join Jan and Cindy in the kitchen. Mike and Thomas are in the family room with the twins. Thomas builds block towers while Ryan knocks them down. Mike rocks Carolyn.
Ryan: Smashes a tower. Smasssshhhh!
Thomas: Begins another tower. Let's build another one. To Mike. He reminds me so much of you when you were little. You loved to build and smash towers. To Ryan. Maybe you'll be an architect like your Daddy.
Ryan: Building. I techt!
Thomas: Chuckles. Yes, you are.
Carolyn squirms.
Mike: Speaks and signs. Are you waking up?
Carolyn smiles and crawls off her father's lap. She finds a toy and gives it to her dad.
Mike: Speaks and signs. You wanna play?
Carolyn: Speaks and signs. Play me ball.
In the kitchen.
Carol joins her mother-in-law and middle daughters in the kitchen.
Carol: Anything I can do?
Jan: We haven't started on the dressing yet.
Cindy: Who's got Carolyn?
Carol: Your dad has her. Starts the dressing.
Agnes: We've got it under control if you need to rest.
Carol: I'm okay.
Agnes: Checks the turkey. Turkey's looking good. Did Sam and Alice bring it over?
Carol: Yes, on their way out of town.
Agnes: How are they?
Carol: Doing well. Sam's hired some new assistants, so he and Alice are able to do some traveling. They're going to Yosemite this weekend.
Agnes: Smiles. Old Faithful was beautiful. You guys ought to go camping in Yosemite one year.
Carol: We may have to do that when the twins and this little one are older.
Cindy: How long do I put the sweet potato casserole in for?
Carol: Thirty minutes at three twenty-five.
Jan: Mixing the cake. Do we want coconut or pecans in the chocolate cake?
Carol: We don't have enough pecans.
Agnes: Coconut might be nice.
Jan: Looks in the freezer. I think we're out.
Carol: Look in the bottom drawer. There might be some there.
Jan: Nope, none there.
Carol: Then, I guess we're out.
Cindy: Put chocolate chips in it... make it chocolatier.
Jan: Looks in the refrigerator. No chocolate chips, but we do have peanut butter chips.
Cindy: Oooh! Put those in!
Jan: All right.
Peter and Bobby finish cleaning and go into the family room. They greet their grandmother on the way in, and their grandfather once they enter the room.
Bobby: We've got all the cleaning done. Can me and Peter shoot some hoops?
Mike: Have you set up the tables and put place settings down?
Peter: Not yet.
Mike: Set the tables up first, and then you can shoot some hoops. We'll use the dining table to eat, but we need another table set up for the food. Need place settings for ten. Forks, knives, spoons, plates, bowls, and glasses. The dessert plates and forks can be put on the table with the food.
Bobby: Got it.
Mike: Oh, and see if they need any help in the kitchen.
Peter: Okay.
The family sits down for Thanksgiving Dinner. Mike prays.
Mike: Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day
We bow our hearts to You and pray.
We give You thanks for all You've done
Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son.
For beauty in nature, Your glory we see
For joy and health, friends and family,
For daily provision, Your mercy and care
These are the blessings You graciously share.
So today we offer this response of praise
With a promise to follow You all of our days.
Amen.
Hands the carving knife to his father. Dad, will you do the honours?
Thomas carves and serves the turkey, signaling the start of dinner.
Jan: Grandma, Grandpa, tell us about your trip.
Agnes: It was lovely! We first did the "National Parks Loop," visiting Yosemite, Death Valley, Zion National Park, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches/Canyonland National Park, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Craters of the Moon. Then, we traveled through the north, visiting Chicago, the Great Lakes, and all the way to New York. We worked our way down the East Coast, and visited Patricia and her family.
Mike: How are they doing?
Agnes: Gordon's accepted a promotion, so they'll be moving to Orlando.
Bobby: Road trip!
Agnes: David's been accepted to Florida State for next fall.
Mike: Oh really?
Thomas: Yes. Majoring in mechanical engineering.
Mike: Wow!
Agnes: And Ginger may make the Dean's List again.
Carol: Good for her! Still pre-law?
Thomas: Yes. She's also applying for law schools. Meghan still wants to be a vet.
Cindy: Where else did you go?
Agnes: After we left their house in Atlanta, we finished our trip by taking a tour of the south and southwest, and stopped by Rick and Sharon's in Tucson. Chad just got a job at the hospital as a radiologist. He really enjoys it.
Mike: Sounds like you had a great trip.
Thomas: We did.
Agnes: Carol, how are you feeling?
Carol: Really good. Not a whole lot of morning sickness.
Agnes: That's good.
Meanwhile, at Nora's parents' house.
Shirley: How's your family?
Greg: Good.
Nora: Supplies. Jan won homecoming queen this year.
Shirley: Smiles. Good for her!
Nora: Yeah, she was so excited.
Donald: How's your dad's business going?
Greg: Fine. He's working on a new mall... said the owner's a really good guy, but demanding.
Donald: How so?
Greg: Dad said Mr. Anderson wants a movie theatre in the west end of the building, but the parking lot is too small to accommodate theatre attendance. I agree with Dad. The access road is awful over there.
Shirley: And your mom?
Greg: The twins are keeping them, especially my mom, busy.
Nora: And they're expecting another little one in May.
Shirley: Surprise. Really!
Greg: Yes.
Shirley: I came from a big family. I loved having a lot of brothers and sisters. We wanted more kids, but we were blessed with just Nora and Tom.
Greg: Kisses Nora on the cheek. And she's the greatest.
Nora: Giggles. And what about Tom?
Greg: Plays along. He's the greatest too.
Nora: Blushes. Aww, Greg!
Greg: Well, you are! Tries a bite of the green bean casserole. Nora, this is really good.
Nora: Thanks. It's my specialty. Instead of cream of mushroom soup, I use cream of potato. Then, I use cheddar cheese fried onions, and add cheddar and pepperjack cheese. I've never cared for cream of mushroom.
Greg: Me either. I like mushrooms on pizza, but not in soup. I hope you made your pecan pie. Swoony. I love your pecan pie.
Nora: Giggles. I did, except it's chocolate pecan pie.
Greg: I'll be sure to try it.
They exchange a quick peck. Shirley and Donald smile, seeing their daughter has found true love.
That evening.
Jan sits at her desk in her bedroom and finishes her letter to Aunt Jenny.
Dear Soul Sister,
Sorry you didn't get my last letter. This semester's been busy. I won Homecoming Queen! Even though I won Princess the last couple years, it was still a surprise. I'm also entering another painting into the Art Show. I hope I place well in Nationals. It wold be nice to win, but I'd be happy even with Honourable Mention at Nationals. I've got college paid for: tuition, books, room and board, so this would be icing on the cake.
Bobby and Cindy are heading back to Regional Spelling Bee. They hope to make it past the written exam at Nationals. He's still into baseball, and Cindy's still loving being cheerleading captain.
Marcia's helping with a fashion show after Thanksgiving. Mom, Cindy and I are modeling in it. I like the dresses Marcia's picked for me. She's got a great eye in fashion.
Peter and Julie are no longer dating. She moved to Oregon at the beginning of the school year. He's been on a few dates here and there, but nothing steady. He escorted Shelley at homecoming.
Greg and Nora are still dating. He went to her house for Thanksgiving. We missed having him here. It was the first Thanksgiving without Greg or Marcia (she got a stomach bug, so she couldn't make it). Greg and Marcia didn't go camping with us this past summer. I suppose this is the firsts of us going our separate ways, and not always getting to be at family events.
Ryan and Carolyn are as cute as ever and talking up a storm. Mom says they've gone headlong into the "terrible two's." She's got another ear infection. Hope she'll eventually grow out of them.
I don't know if Grandma or Grandpa's told you, but mom's pregnant again. The baby's due in May. Mom thinks it's a girl. Sure surprised us all when they told us.
Speaking of May, I can't wait to graduate. Don't tell mom or dad (they don't know yet), but I got accepted to Norton College. I know what I want to major in: architecture. I want to be an architect like Dad. I'm telling them Christmas.
I've got some ideas for our trip next summer. I'd really like to go to Japan, especially Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, and Kyoto.
Miss you tons.
Love,
Your Soul Sister
-End of Chapter 57-