Jack probably should have asked Eric if he knew how to cook before accepting his Thanksgiving invitation. Shawn's repertoire ranged from Kraft Easy Mac to Tuna Helper, but didn't quite extend to mashed potatoes or Turkey. Eric's ice sculpture had melted, and all they'd managed to come up with was an Easter basket and a plastic Santa Claus.
Jack stepped back from the counter. "I guess we should have started with something a little simpler than Thanksgiving dinner."
"Yeah," Eric sighed, "like toast."
Shawn pulled a blackened turkey out of the oven, setting off the smoke detector. "Eric, what temperature did you put the turkey in at?" he shouted over the alarm.
"It didn't say on the box, so I just turned the knob all the way!" Eric yelled.
Just then they heard a knock on the door.
"What now?" Jack muttered under his breath. When he opened the door he found the Matthews, plus Topanga, bearing a full turkey dinner. "Come in!"
Alan, holding an apparently bone-free pumpkin pie, walked over to Eric. He must have noticed the look of surprise on Jack's face. "Did you two actually think we believed you could pull this off?"
Eric's sister, Jack thought her name might be Moira, whirled around to put her two cents in "Yeah, you guys couldn't even make toast."
The Matthews were, naturally, the kind of people who went around the table every Thanksgiving and announced what they were thankful for. Ordinarily, Jack would have hated this, but this year he actually had an answer ready when his turn came.
"I'm thankful for my brother."
Shawn smiled, much more broadly than he usually did. "I'm stealing his thing."
