"Thanksgiving Through The Years (Part 2)

Present Day

Kitty was very thankful that nothing serious happened to her daughter. Speaking of her daughter, Kitty was trying to think of what Ruby could do to help in the kitchen tomorrow. The little girl was looking forward to being the special kitchen helper. As Kitty looked at the menu, inspiration struck. She would have Ruby help make the biscuits. Kitty stood up from the desk and went to join Matt and Ruby on the couch.

"Are you all set for tomorrow?" Matt asked as he folded the newspaper and put it on the coffee table.

"I am," Kitty replied. She looked over at Ruby. "Young lady, it's time for you to go to bed."

"I not sweepy yet," said Ruby. "See, my eyes are wide open."

"You're gonna need your sleep if you want to be my special helper tomorrow," said Kitty.

"Your momma's right," Matt said to his daughter. "Let's get you to bed."

"Oh I awmost forgot," said Ruby, grabbing her beloved dolls.

Matt, Kitty, and Ruby walked into Ruby's room and began Ruby's bedtime ritual of getting her ready and tucking her in. All snuggled in her covers, Matt and Kitty gave their daughter a kiss goodnight and left the bedroom. They walked back to the parlor room. It was too early for them to go to bed. Besides, they liked to wait until Ruby was asleep before they retired to their room. It usually didn't take Ruby long to fall asleep, maybe five minutes at the most.

Matt sat down on the couch and gently pulled Kitty down next to him. He started kissing Kitty's cheek and then moved downwards. Kitty tilted her head to the side, giving Matt access to her neck. Knowing their daughter just went to bed for the night and that she could disrupt them, Matt and Kitty didn't go any further than kissing. They certainly didn't want their four year old daughter to see things that a child shouldn't see. Matt and Kitty figured it was alright for Ruby to see her daddy and mama give each other kisses. However, bedroom activities were saved for the bedroom.

"So what job are you going to have Ruby do tomorrow?" asked Matt, giving Kitty one last kiss at the base of her neck.

"I've decided to let her help with the biscuits. I think that's something she can help with," Kitty answered, enjoying the sensations of Matt's kisses.

"We told our daughter she needed to get to bed so she wouldn't be tired for tomorrow. Maybe we should do the same thing," Matt suggested.

"I think that's an excellent idea," Kitty agreed. Both she and Matt stood up. "Lead the way, Cowboy."

Matt took Kitty by the hand and led her to their bedroom. Before reaching their own bedroom, Matt paused at Ruby's bedroom. He slowly and quietly turned the doorknob and peaked inside. He wanted to make sure that Ruby was fast asleep. Matt was pleased to see that Ruby was fast asleep. Not wanting to wake her up, Matt quickly, but softly closed the bedroom door.

"Is she asleep?" Kitty whispered.

"Sleeping like a little angel," Matt answered. He and Kitty continued onto their bedroom and went to bed.

The next day Kitty made a simple breakfast of oatmeal. There was no point in filling up on a big breakfast, when they were going to be eating a Thanksgiving feast in a few hours. With breakfast eaten and everything cleaned up, it was time to prepare the Thanksgiving meal.

"Kitty, I'm gonna go to the ice house and get the turkey," said Matt, as he put on his coat and headed outside.

A few days earlier Matt and Festus had gone out on their annual Thanksgiving turkey hunt. They had been doing that for the last four years and were always successful. This year was no exception. Matt was able to bring home a nice big turkey. The turkey had been in the ice house for the last few days. A couple of minutes later Matt returned with the turkey.

"Matt, that's a good sized turkey," Kitty observed. "I'll have you put in the roasting pan over there, so I can get it ready to cook. Thanks."

"Alright," said Matt. He walked the turkey over to the roasting pan and placed it inside.

While Matt and Kitty were dealing with the turkey, Ruby was patiently waiting for her job. Finally, unable to wait any longer, Ruby asked what her special kitchen job was. "Momma, what's my spesho job?"

"I thought you could help with the biscuits," Kitty answered. "How does that sound?"

"Oh boy!" Ruby exclaimed. "Daddy, I get to howp with the biscuits."

"I bet they'll taste fantastic," Matt addressed his daughter. He then turned to Kitty. "I'm gonna go into the parlor and clean my handgun."

"Sounds good," said Kitty. "Ruby and I will be busy in the kitchen."

Matt didn't like cleaning any of his guns when Ruby was around. It wasn't that he wouldn't be careful if Ruby was around. He just felt better if she wasn't. Someday he would take her hunting with him, but that was in the future, not now. Normally he would clean his gun while he was at work, but he didn't have the time.

"Let Momma season the turkey and get that and the stuffing in the oven, and then we'll start making the biscuits," said Kitty.

Kitty grabbed both her and Ruby's aprons. She put her own on and tied it in the back. Walking over to Ruby, she placed the little apron on her and tied it in the back. After their aprons were on, Kitty lifted Ruby up onto one of the kitchen chairs and walked over to the turkey.

Kitty looked at her turkey recipe and notes. She seasoned the turkey by following the notes on the piece of paper. Looking at the size of the turkey, Kitty calculated that it would take a good four hours for the turkey to cook. The turkey should be done around noon. That was perfect because they planned on eating around that time. She placed the turkey in the oven, and walked over to the kitchen table.

"Now, let's get to those biscuits," said Kitty.

"Good, 'cause I been waitin'" said Ruby.

"You've been very patient," Kitty complimented her daughter.

Kitty grabbed a mixing bowl and set it on the table in front of Ruby. She then grabbed all the ingredients needed for the biscuits and placed them on the table. Kitty looked at her recipe and started measuring out the ingredients. When each ingredient was measured out, Kitty would give the measuring cup or spoon to Ruby. It was Ruby's job to pour the measured ingredients into the mixing bowl. Kitty was pleased to see that Ruby was able to get all the ingredients into the bowl.

With all the ingredients in the bowl. Kitty used her hands to completely knead everything together. Once she knew the ingredients were thoroughly mixed, Kitty let Ruby knead the dough. Ruby loved squishing the dough in her little hands. Kitty let Ruby knead the dough for a couple more minutes, before going to the next step.

"I think that's good," said Kitty. She took a towel and wiped off Ruby's hands. "Now, I'm gonna spread the dough on the table, and I'll let you press out the biscuit circles."

"That sounds fun," said Ruby.

Kitty sprinkled some flour on the table and spread the dough on top, making sure the thickness was uniform. Grabbing a round cookie cutter, Kitty addressed her daughter. "Watch what I do and then you can do it. You dip the cookie cutter in the flour and then you press it into the dough. After you press the cookie cutter into the dough, lift it up and then place the circle on the baking sheet." Kitty was doing all of that during her explanation. "Do you want to try to do one?"

"Yes, pwease," said Ruby.

Kitty handed Ruby the cookie cutter. The first thing Ruby did was dip the cookie cutter into the flour. Ruby was about to put the cookie cutter into the middle of the dough, but Kitty stopped her. She explained to Ruby to make the circles next to each other. Ruby pressed the cookie cutter next to her momma's circle and then lifted it. She took the circle she made and put it on the baking sheet, next to the one her momma did.

"How did I do?" Ruby asked

"You did great," said Kitty. Ruby beamed with pride. "I'm gonna let you work on the biscuits, while I get the potatoes ready."

Kitty started to peel the potatoes for the mashed potatoes, and Ruby continued pressing out the circles for the biscuits. When Kitty first started peeling potatoes a few years ago, she wasn't too quick at it. However, over the last few years, her potato peeling had become faster. According to her notes, she would have to peel about two pounds of potatoes.

Matt had finished cleaning his gun and walked into the kitchen. "Awe, look at my girls in their cute aprons," he teased.

"Matt Dillon, if you want to enjoy this delicious food, I suggest you stop the teasing," said Kitty.

"Yeah, Matt Diwon, if you want to enjoy this dewishes food, I 'gest you stop the teasin'" Ruby mimicked her momma.

Both Matt and Kitty couldn't help but laugh at their little girl. "Are you done cleaning your gun?" asked Kitty. Matt nodded yes. "Well then, why don't you grab a knife and help me peel these potatoes."

Matt grabbed a knife and stood next to Kitty. "Your wish is my command, purty lady." He started peeling the potatoes with her.

"Momma, I can't make no more biscuit circos," Ruby announced.

Kitty walked over to the kitchen table and looked at the dough scraps. She put them together and Ruby was able to make two more biscuits. Kitty put the baking sheet of the unbaked biscuits on the counter. She would have to wait until the turkey was done before she could bake them. That wasn't a problem. The biscuits wouldn't take long to bake and they would be warm for dinner. Kitty cleaned up Ruby and the kitchen table. As she was cleaning, Matt was finishing with the potato peeling.

The morning went on, and the Dillons finished with their Thanksgiving preparations. It was several minutes after noon, when Doc, Newly, and Festus arrived. Doc and Newly rode in Doc's buggy, and Festus rode Ruth. Walking into the house, Doc had his pies from Delmonico's and Newly had his cranberry sauce. They walked into the kitchen just as Matt was taking the turkey out of the oven. Matt placed the roasting pan on the counter, and Kitty put the biscuits in the oven. Next Matt carefully used meat forks and lifted the turkey onto a serving platter, and carried the platter to the table.

"Everything smells delicious," Newly commented. "Where do you want me to put the cranberry sauce?"

"Let's put the cranberry sauce on the table. Doc, you can put the pies on the sideboard. We'll eat those later," Kitty instructed.

Newly and Doc did as Kitty instructed. Kitty placed Ruby onto her chair and then went to get the mashed potatoes and gravy. After placing those on the table, Kitty took the biscuits out of the oven, placing the biscuits onto a plate. All the food had been placed on the table and everyone was sitting at their seats. They bowed their heads and Doc said grace.

"Dear Lord, we thank you for this delicious meal and the wonderful people that are here to share it. We also thank you for the many blessings you have bestowed upon us. Amen," he said.

"Amen," the others echoed.

Matt took a carving knife and started carving the turkey. Each person passed their plate up to Matt and he placed some turkey on it. The rest of the food was passed around, and each person served himself or herself. Kitty prepared Ruby's plate for her. The drinks were either water or milk. Matt and Kitty tried not to drink alcohol around Ruby. Kitty thought about serving coffee, but decided to serve the coffee with the pies. She also decided the adults could have a shot of Brandy while Ruby was napping.

Over the next half hour, the Thanksgiving feast was devoured. Matt and Kitty would keep some leftovers for themselves and Ruby. They would give the rest to Doc, Newly, and Festus. Matt washed Ruby up and instructed her and their guests to go and relax in the parlor. He and Kitty would clean up the kitchen. Doc was about to argue, but Matt and Kitty wouldn't hear of it. They told him to go and enjoy time with his granddaughter.

Matt and Kitty finished cleaning up the kitchen and joined their extended family in the parlor room. Newly and Festus were sitting on the couch talking, and Doc was sitting in one of the chairs, reading a story to Ruby. Matt knew the story Doc was reading, and knew Doc was near the end.

"Ruby, when Grandpa Doc is done with the story, it's nap time," said Matt.

"I have to take a nap on Thanksgiving?" Ruby questioned.

"Yes, you do," Matt replied. He could see the disappointment on Ruby's face. "Just a short one. When you get up, we'll have pie."

Ruby thought for a moment, before agreeing. "Okay, just a wittow nap. Then I gonna have pie."

Kitty took Ruby to the water closet before putting her to bed. Ruby didn't take as long of a nap as she usually did. She slept for about an hour. That didn't bother Kitty. Ruby went down later than she normally did, and Kitty didn't want her to go to bed later than normal that night.

As promised, when Ruby woke up from her nap, everyone ate the pies. Doc brought both an apple and a pumpkin pie. It was hard to decide which one to eat, so each person had a small slice of each one. The adults drank coffee with their pie, while Ruby had a glass of milk.

"Wael, I must say that all the food today was mighty tasty," said Festus, rubbing his stomach.

"I made the biscuits," Ruby proclaimed.

"I thought them there biscuits were the best ones I've ever eatin," said Festus, winking at Ruby.

Everyone continued to enjoy the pie and each other's company. At one point Kitty went and got Ruby her coloring books and crayons so she wouldn't be bored at the table. As the conversations between the adults continued, Kitty silently observed the scene before her. She absolutely loved what she saw and was very thankful for the life she had. She knew she wouldn't trade one minute of it for anything.

Matt looked over at Kitty and noticed the look on her face. He knew exactly what she was thinking because he was thinking the same thing. He reached over and put his hand on top of hers. Kitty looked over at Matt and saw the smile on his face. She returned the smile. It had been another successful Thanksgiving.

The End of "Thanksgiving Through The Years"