Tony and the kids went over to Mona's and knocked on the door. When she didn't answer, Jonathan expressed concern that she might not be awake yet. Tony banged harder.
"Mona!" he called.
Mona yelled from the inside, "Go away!" I'm still sleeping!"
"Let us in Mona! You've got the only working full size refrigerator and we need access to it!" Tony called.
"Alright," Mona grumbled, opening the door with a yawn. She smoothed down her hair. "I'm not even dressed yet."
"You look beautiful as always, Mona," he said as sweetly as he could, then "Move out of my way!"
He heard Mona complain to the kids as he pushed his way in towards the kitchen. "Geez, kids, you don't want to get between Tony and his kitchen!"
Grover scrambled out of the way. He was underfoot, looking for his breakfast.
"Don't worry Grover, I'll get you your kibble," she said, and then aside out of the corner of her mouth she added, "as soon as the task master here lets me."
Tony started pulling ingredients out of the fridge and setting things up on the counter. He whipped out his to-do lists from the night before to the kids' dismay. He handed Jonathan a hand drawn diagram showing how he would like the dining room table to be set, and sent him back to the house to start laying out the dishes and cutlery. He gave Sam a Pillsbury tin roll of biscuits. He turned his head away as he handed it to her. It pained him, but there was no time to make rolls from scratch. Mona was in charge of the mashed potatoes.
Confident that everyone was working satisfactorily, he hoisted the turkey out of Mona's fridge and made his way carefully back to the kitchen in the main house. He set it up in the roasting pan and got the oven preheating. Once it was in the oven he began the green bean casserole, the sweet potato casserole, and the stuffing. It was boxed stuffing—no time to re-toast bread and make it all from scratch, so his plan was to toss in some sautéed carrots and celery to spice it up a bit. No onions. Angela had bled all over the onions and he wasn't going back to the supermarket.
Angela popped in now and then to see how things were going, but after a quick chat, he always ushered her out. Once Sam had made her rolls, she came down to get started on the next item on her to-do list which was helping Jonathan set the dining room table.
xxx
Several hours later, the table was set, and the turkey had come out of the oven and was looking fantastic. Tony was mentally patting himself on the back for saving Thanksgiving, with the aid of the whole family of course. He lit candles on the table, poured some wine for the adults, put on some music and went upstairs to change. The kids and Mona had already gotten dressed (per their to-do lists and schedules), and Angela had gotten ready earlier too, carefully and taking her time. While Tony was dressing, the rest of the family set some of the sides on the stovetop and in the oven to reheat.
Grover kept getting underfoot in the kitchen, searching around for scraps. "Jonathan, take him to your grandmother's, will ya?" Tony said.
"Sure Tony, come on Grover!" Jonathan said. "We'll go out the front. I left your bone in the living room. You don't want to forget that-you need something special to chew on too today!"
"Let's move the turkey to the dining room table," Tony said as he came into the kitchen. "We need the counter space and I'll carve it there when we are ready." Tony carefully held the platter while Sam held the door open for him. He placed it on the table and stood back, looking at it proudly.
"Look at that Sam! Did I make a great-looking turkey or what?"
"Looks great Dad!" she agreed.
Back in the kitchen, everyone was helping out, stirring pots, passing potholders back and forth as they pulled things out of the oven.
"Jonathan, I gotta hand it to you. This cranberry sauce looks delicious!" Tony stuck a spoon in and gave it a stir. He popped a small bit in his mouth.
"Ahhhh!" he immediately spit it out. "Jonathan! What did you put in here?" He lifted the bowl and was studying it, tilting it this way and that.
"Just what you told me, Tony! Cranberries, sugar, water, orange juice."
"Let me try that," Angela said, sticking her own spoon in it and tasting it, grimacing. "Um, Jonathan, I don't think you put sugar in here."
"Yes! I put two whole cups, just like the recipe said."
"You may have put two cups of something in there, but it wasn't sugar," Angela said.
"No, it was sugar, from the blue sugar bowl."
"The blue bowl is salt! The red bowl is sugar!" Tony said.
"Uh-oh," said Mona, trying to back up.
"Where are you going, Mona?" Tony asked.
"Maybe we don't need cranberry sauce or mashed potatoes, either. Who says they need to be part of Thanksgiving anyway?"
"Mona," Tony whined, "what do you mean?"
"Well," Mona grimaced, "If Jonathan put salt in the cranberry sauce, I think I put sugar in the mashed potatoes. He used the blue bowl and I used the red bowl."
Tony rushed over to the pan of mashed potatoes and dragged his finger through the top. He closed his eyes, made a quick prayer, and licked his finger.
"Well, they are definitely sweet." He announced. He puckered his lips and pushed the pan farther back on the counter.
"OK, so we'll skip the cranberry and mashed potatoes, that's no problem. No problem at all." He was trying to convince himself that it was okay. Yes, it would all be okay. "We've still got the rolls, my stuffing, the turkey of course, and the vegetables."
"Still a feast!" said Angela, encouragingly. "Tony, why don't we get started."
"Yes! Let's head into the dining room. Everyone can sit down and I'll start bringing the food out."
"We can help, Tony." Jonathan said.
"No, no. Too many cooks in the kitchen. Plus, mashed potato and cranberry sauce disasters aside, you all have done so much. I know I've been a little, um—"
"Like a drill sargeant?" Sam suggested.
"No….I was gonna say stressed," he said.
"And a drill sargeant."
"I admit that I may or may not have pushed a little hard, but I only wanted our first Thanksgiving all together to be perfect," he said. "But, as Angela reminded me, as long as we're together, it'll be fine." It hurt way down deep to say it, but he thought maybe saying it out loud would help him believe. And everyone really had worked so hard, and family is what really mattered anyway. He gave Angela a small smile.
"Sam, would you please take the green bean casserole, and Jonathan, will you grab the butter?" Tony asked, off Jonathan's embarrassed look, Tony added, "It's fine, really Jonathan, we don't need the cranberry sauce."
"I'll grab the sweet potatoes," Mona said, picking up the glass casserole dish. "Oh, they could be a little warmer," she added. "Let me warm it up a little more."
"We can always get started without the sweet potatoes and come back for it," Tony said. "Oh!" he suddenly remembered. "I forgot to heat up the lasagna! It's still in your fridge, Mona!" He thumped his hand against his forehead. "I'll get it in a little bit. Let's just get started."
Mona stayed back in the kitchen to reheat the sweet potatoes. Tony grabbed the tray of rolls and mumbling under his breath like a mantra, "as long as we're together, as long as we're together," he led the way, pushing through the swinging door into the dining room. He was the first one through, and the first one to spot Grover, standing on top of the dining room table, face in the turkey.
"Grover!" he yelled. "Get down from there!"
"Bad dog!" Angela said.
Grover leapt off the table, turkey leg dangling from him mouth, and out of the room. Mona came rushing in from the kitchen.
"Wha-?" Mona sputtered.
Angela and Tony turned to Jonathan, murder in both their eyes.
"Jonathan, you were supposed to take him to Mona's apartment!" Tony said. "Uh!" he got closer to the turkey, to assess the damage. "Oh, I can't look. Hold me, Angela." He whimpered.
Angela rallied, "Tony, it's okay, remember? As long as we're together." She turned to Jonathan. "We'll talk later young man," she said with gritted teeth. To Tony she said in a higher pitched, voice, trying to sooth him, "And we still have the rest of the meal! Right?"
A loud boom came from the direction of the kitchen. Everyone startled, Sam dropped the platter of green beans and Tony spun around, the tray of rolls forgotten in his hands. The platter shattered, green beans exploded outwards, and rolls skittered across the floor. Everyone was frozen in place. They all looked from one to another, silently.
"What was that?" Sam asked, tentatively.
"A car backfiring?" Mona suggested.
"In the kitchen?" Tony sprang into action and ran into the kitchen, with the whole family following. Sweet potatoes and glass were everywhere. On the countertops, dripping from the cabinets, on the floor, even on the ceiling.
"Oops," said Mona. "I gotta go!" She started running for the back door but Tony grabbed the back of her shirt.
"How exactly did you try to heat up the sweet potatoes, Mona?" he asked. His words were clipped.
"On the stovetop…." She said, quietly, turning to face him.
He nodded, lips pursed. "Did you know that a glass casserole dish can not go on the stovetop?"
"Well, I do now…." She said.
They all looked at each other and looked around the kitchen. All the food sitting on the countertops was inedible, either because of the salt/sugar mix-up or because it now was sprinkled with a sweet potato and glass mixture. The green beans and rolls were on the floor in the dining room and the turkey had been massacred by the dog.
Tony was the first one to crack. It was either cry or laugh. He started to laugh. Then one by one they all joined in.
xxx
Later, they all sat around in the living room on the couch, munching on Chinese food (with a side of lasagna), while Grover sat in the corner with a dog bowl full of turkey.
"You know what? Even though it was a complete disaster, we all worked together as a family to make it happen." Tony paused as he reconsidered his words. "Or not happen," he corrected.
"Here, here!" said Mona. "I propose a toast!" She raised her wine glass.
"To family!" said Angela.
"To family!" said Tony, Sam, and Jonathan as they all clinked glasses.
"And to never hosting Thanksgiving again," said Tony.
The End