Char's Days in Nido City
By: Alpha29King
Chapter 6: Together for Thanksgiving
Summary: Halloween has come and gone. Now our favorite psychic couple is getting ready for the next great holiday of the year. Thanksgiving.
A/N: Sorry for the wait. I will stop using Pokemon currency, because it hard to the math with it, and I'll start using the currency that I'm most familiar with. This way, it'll be easier to understand.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Char and Knight walked down the aisle of the grocery store. She held the list while Knight pushed the cart. The kids were at the Nightwinter's, while their parents shopped. They were shopping dinner tomorrow night for when family and friends could come over to celebrate the giving of thanks. The table would be full of veggies and appropriate desserts. That the way she decided for the Everglade family's Thanksgiving dinner to be since the day she married him.
After their date night, Char found out she was pregnant. Knight was ecstatic with the news, while the kids had mixed feelings about it. They were lucky that there was an unoccupied bedroom, so they chose to make it into the nursery. Knight decided to take his time preparing it since the baby was still about eight months away.
So not to stress herself, Char directed her husband to what they needed the next night, even reaching the higher shelves for the things that were higher up. They weren't even halfway done getting the things she needed. The things that were barely in the cart were a few packs of flour, three gallons of buttermilk, a few pounds of fresh fruits, berries and veggies, a can of pumpkin pie filling, and ten large containers of cream cheese. Char kept crossing out what they've got and looking at the paper with the deals she picked up at the door.
"Knight," she stopped at the meat section. "How much are the turkeys?"
The Gallade looked at the price tags. "Hmm… seventy-two cents a pound."
"And the hams?" Char added.
"Eighty-seven cents a pound," he replied.
"Get the one of each, and make sure that they're the heaviest," she ordered.
"Yes honey," Knight muttered.
After getting the two meat products, the moved on to the drinks and beverages.
"Can you get five bottles of white wine and two cartons of orange juice," she said.
"Mmhmm," Knight nodded, grabbing the wine bottles from a shelf then the juice cartons from the fridge.
"Ah crap," Char realized she missed a few items.
"What is it?" Knight asked, putting the orange juice in the cart.
"We missed a few things from the dairy section," she answered, embarrassed.
"Tell me what they are, I'll go get them," he offered.
"We need some sour cream, a large block of cheese, and some whipped cream," Char listed.
Knight ran to get the things they have missed, smiling. He loved that embarrassed look on her face. After an hour or so of shopping, the last thing they got were four twenty-four packs of soda and a twelve pack of beer (at Knight's suggestion), they checked out and left.
At home, Knight offered to help, but she waved him off. After he left to play poker at Shadow's house with Jack, Evan, and Silver, she called Susan and Mage for their help in preparing a few things that needed to be set overnight before cooking. Mage did as instructed and emptied the wine bottles and orange juice into a large plastic tub, before slowly dipping the turkey in it to marinate overnight. Once she saw how many piecrusts Char had made, Susan's jaw dropped.
"How many pies are you going to make?" Susan was curious.
"A lot," Char replied without not taking her eyes off the crust she was rolling out.
"Why so many?" Mage cut in.
"Knight has huge sweet tooth, and apparently the twins inherited it," the Gardevoir said, while putting the rolled out crusts into pie tins. "Thanksgiving is the only day I allow them to eat as much dessert as they want."
"You don't mind if me and Mage bring our own dishes to compliment the dinner tomorrow, do you?" the Espeon asked.
"Of course not," Char smiled, putting the covered pie tins in the refrigerator. "I don't mind."
It was an hour before they were done. Knight came back right after Mage and Susan left. Then Char shuffled throughout the house, cleaning everything she got her hands on. Knight had learned the hard way to stay out of her way when she got like this. So he went to do the only she assigned him. Clean ALL the bathrooms in the house, and that meant making them spotless and sparkly. Juliet enjoyed helping her mother out, though it did make it seem like cleaning hurricane swept through the house. Whenever she did a chore, Char made sure she did it well and thoroughly.
"Almost finished," she whispered repeatedly to herself through her heavy breathing, even though she was already done with kitchen, halfway with the living room, with the dining room still to go.
Knight had just finished cleaning the two downstairs bathrooms when he walked into the living and saw his wife on her knees, scrubbing a green paint stain from the bright white carpet. It hurt him to see his wife stressing herself like this. And all that stress was definitely not good for the baby. He knelt down to be at eye level with Char and pulled her into a hug, which caught her off guard.
"Take a break, okay honey," he whispered lightly into her ear. "You're stressing yourself."
"No, I'm not," she said, trying to push herself out of the embrace.
"Yes you are," Knight countered. "And it's not good for the baby."
"I want it to be perfect tomorrow," Char was trying to hold in her tears.
"I know and it will," he promised, looking up at the antique grandfather clock. It read three-thirty in the afternoon. "Why don't you go to the spa and relax yourself. Heck, if you want you can take Mage and Susan with you."
"But what about the chores?" she asked after managing to pull away.
"I'll finish 'em," the Gallade said before kissing her forehead. The bewildered look on her face almost made him burst out laughing. "Don't worry, I've got five extra pairs of hands to help me upstairs."
Char searched his face for sign that this was all a joke. She found none. She also knew that he wasn't going to stop until she did what he asked.
"Alright, fine," she gave in, which made him smile. "I'll go to the stupid spa, but you owe me."
"That's my girl," Knight said, helping her up. "Why not also get the full experience while you're there. I promise that by the time you come back, the house will be so damn spotless."
"For your sake, you better hope so," Char threatened, only to cause Knight to chuckle.
Char called her friend and they agreed to go with her to the spa. Their husbands gave them enough money for the full experience as well. After they left, Knight ordered the kids to clean their rooms thoroughly. Since Juliet's room was always clean and organized, he ordered her clean and vacuum the dining room. Studying the green spot a bit wasn't getting anywhere, so pulled out his cellphone from his shirt pocket and dialed Shadow.
"…Yo, Shadow, it's me, Knight… Can I borrow your Rug Doctor… To clean my living room carpet… You wanna help me clean my house, why?… Oh, okay… Seeya in a few."
The next day, Knight got up nice and early, before the alarm clock went off, and reset the alarm. It was five-thirty in the morning. He wanted to let Char sleep in a bit, since she went to bed a little later after getting a few things ready in the kitchen. Her day at the spa had done wonders for her complexion and her mood.
Knight exited his bedroom and softly, closed the door behind him. Then he proceeded to wake up his kids. They promised to get up early to help without complaining, and they kept their promise. After leaving them to shake off their sleepiness, he went downstairs into the living room. The green spot was gone and the whole carpet looked brighter that ever. His promise to his wife was kept, even though he had to get the help of Shadow and Silver. The dining table was spotless and sparkling due to the polish. So were the chairs. ALL the bathrooms were so clean, that you could practically eat off the toilet. Char was impressed when she came home from the spa.
Knight entered the kitchen and set five bowls on the table and poured some cereal into them. Then made him self some instant coffee and grabbed a cranberry bagel from the pantry and bit into it immediately. Roger was the first one to come into the kitchen, followed by Bianca and Dorothy, then Juliet, and finally Arthur. He explained to them the game plan while they ate their cereal. Once they were done with the somewhat short breakfast, they set to work.
The twins were given the job set the tablecloth on the dining table. Knight came in later and arranged the tableware and silverware. Roger vacuumed the living room and used his psychic powers to suppress the noise. Arthur did the breakfast dishes and Juliet placed the finished pies in the fridge, ready to be baked later. Knight took the turkey out of the marinade, placed it in a turkey pan and stuffed it with the stuffing that Char made the night before, and covered it with aluminum.
The Gallade decided to wait until ten before putting the turkey in the oven. At about six-forty-five, they were done, so the kids sat down on the couch. They were getting ready to watch the annual Thanksgiving Day parade on TV live from Guardian City. In the meantime, Knight started making potato salad, which was one of the few things he knew how to make.
Being a part-psychic had its advantages, because at around nine o'clock, Char woke up and he could sense that she was PISSED. So he did the only thing he could think of, he started the espresso machine and made a full breakfast for his angry wife. After setting a full cup of coffee and a plateful eggs, bacon, and toast on the table, he sensed murderess intent behind him.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty," he teased. "Your breakfast awaits, milady."
"You fucking bastard," Char snarled in a low tone so the kids would hear, as she took the chair in front of the morning meal. "You messed up the entire day."
"No need to get mean and no I didn't." Char was going to argue, but her husband cut her off. "Ever since the day you moved into my apartment with me back in Psychic, I've studied your cooking style, so that one day I could give you a day off. I know how to cook a turkey now."
"You didn't have to reset the alarm clock," she said after swallowing a bite of the toast.
"Of course I did," he retorted, placing a hand on her abdomen. "I don't want you getting stressed and losing our baby because you miscarried. Besides, the turkey is already stuffed and I was just about to put it in the oven."
"You spoil me," the Gardevoir said, then giggled once her plate was empty.
"Because I love you and the spoiling is not over, now go watch the parade with the kids," he said softly and kissed her.
Char refilled her cup and headed to the living room. "You owe me double."
Knight chuckled, placing the dirty dish in the sink and set the oven to the right temperature. "I know."
By the time their friends started to arrive, Char in the dining room helping to arrange the food. The turkey and ham were set up right to each other at the center of the table. Around them were a platter of buttermilk biscuits, three gravy boats, a large bowl full of mashed potatoes, and few other delicacies. The pies were in the oven.
The Rybak family (Shadow and Susan) walked in first. They were followed by the Nightwinters and the Cormacks (Evan and Verity). Juan invited his friend who were polite and well mannered. The Prescotts (Jack and Harmony) were the next arrive. The last two guests to appear were unplanned and a total surprise to Char. When she opened the front door, she saw two of the few Pokemon she thought she'd never see again. Her brother, Alec, and sister, Kel, were standing right in front of her.
"How'd you find me?" Char asked, glaring at them.
"With a little help from Psychic PD," Alec admitted.
"May we come in?" Kel asked politely.
"Fine, come in," Char said, sighing and opening the door wider to let her siblings in. "I was just about to start Thanksgiving with some guests of mine."
Char led to the dining room and introduced them to her friends. Once the quick introductions were done, they sat down and said Grace, after which the guys grabbed their plate and went to the living room to watch the football game. The girls and ladies stayed in the dining room and chatted. Char reconnected with her sister. The only two girls in Juan's circle of friends, Elisa the Pikachu and Ashley the Flaffy, were good conversationalists.
After the game was over, Knight went into the fridge a pulled the twelve pack and led the men down to the basement for some poker, while they waited for the pies to be done. Arthur brought down his video game console from his room and connected it to the TV and surround sound. When the desserts were ready, the boys were barely finishing a round of one-on-one in a shooter game. They took turns and went through a tourney tree to see who was the best. It was a shock when Roger and Aaron made it to the finals. In the end, Roger barely managed to take the win. Aaron, for a five-year-old, was good.
Just how Char had predicted, Knight and the twins went overboard with the pies and cheesecake. It was about eight at night when everybody said their goodbyes and headed home. Since Jack and Harmony didn't live in the neighborhood, they had to drive, but the pregnant Absol wouldn't let her drunken Mightyena of a husband behind the wheel, so she drove. Juan's friends would be sleeping over at his uncle's house. When Kel and Alec were about to leave, Char offered to let them stay the night.
"Its okay, Char," Kel said calmly. "Alec and I are staying at hotel."
"I insist," Char pushed on. "Besides, Alec is drunk and you don't know how to drive."
"Alright, fine! You win," the older Gardevoir gave in. "I don't want Alec to get into trouble with your husband, him being a cop and everything."
The sisters hugged, then turned to go back into the kitchen, but stopped when Juliet came stampeding down the stairs, yelling.
"IT'S SNOWING OUTSIDE!"
At that, the five children slipped into their sweaters and ran out. The four adults came followed behind at their own pace. The stood outside, facing the sky with their mouths open, hoping to taste some snowflakes. Knight gently took Char's hand and led her into the snow, where he spun her in a waltz.
"First, you help me this morning and now you're dancing with me in the snow," Char said, trying to hide the surprise in her voice. "So, my knight in shining armor, what's next?"
"Guess," he whispered, smiling.
"Hmmm…" Char thought for a bit. "Nothin' in mah noggin."
"Merry Christmas," he whispered, pulling her closer, that their horns rubbed against each other, and kissed her.
From the porch, Alec and Kel sat on the bench.
"I guess Little Char did okay," Alec admitted, smiling.
"Yeah she did," Kel nodded in agreement. "Though I am a little jealous that little sis got married and started a family before me."
"Aren't we (hic) all."
Character List-Juan's Friends
David-A Charmeleon. Ninth grader, babysitter, jock.
Marcus-A Heracross. Seventh grader, neighborhood troublemaker, BMXer.
Benjamin-A Lombre. Tenth grader, culinary prodigy.
Nick-A Machoke. Tenth grader, biker.
Ashley-A Flaffy. Eighth grader, preppie.
Elisa-A Pikachu. Eighth grader, preppie.
Isaiah-A Grovyle. Ninth grader, car expert.
Jose-A Luxio. Ninth grader.
Chris-A Marshtomp. Ninth grader.
Michael-A Nidorino. Ninth grader.
Anthony-A Combusken. Eighth grader.
Daniel-A Noctowl. Tenth grader.
Andrew-A Croconaw. Ninth grader.
Israel-A Totodile. Sixth grader, child prodigy, nerd.
New Location(s)
Guardian City: A city similar to the NYC, in size and population.
What do think? I know it's not a lot of detail like I wanted as well some of you guys, but I was in a real big hurry. I just hope you enjoyed it. Review and wait for chapter 7, my Christmas chapter.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING & MERRY CHRISTMAS
(screw happy holidays)