Chapter 391 – Frank Bites the Bullet

After Katie came to get Opal, Frank joined Gran in the kitchen to get things ready for supper. He had gone into two and picked up a few things, including what was needed to make the pineapple mango salsa. He wasn't sure what they were having for supper, but he figured that it would go with most everything. Frank also wanted to talk to Gran. He was going to wait, but decided that he needed to know.

Frank started making the pineapple mango salsa, but he was so nervous and Gran could tell when she looked at him. Wondering what was going on, she walked over to him, stopped him and turned him to look at her.

"What is going on?" Gran asked. "Are you okay?"

Frank just sighed.

"I want to ask you something." Frank said. "But I don't want you to think I am looking for gossip. I just need some information."

"Okay." Gran said, slowly nodding.

"I am going to say three names." Frank said. "I just want your honest opinion of each of them."

"Okay." Gran said.

"Sherri Lloyd, Hannah Trager and Shawna Flaherty." Frank said, softly.

Gran stopped and looked at Frank closer. Part of her wanted to ask a thousand questions as to why and then it dawned on her. She took a moment and smiled at Frank.

"No, no, yes." Gran said.

"What?" Frank said.

"I assume you are asking because you are interested in some way of these three ladies." Gran said. "While I am not going to tell you who you can or cannot date, you asked what I thought. So if you are asking who I think would be a good match for you based on what I know, then my answer is no, no, yes."

Frank nodded and let out the breath that he didn't realize that he was holding.

"What are you talking about?" Father Mark asked coming over.

"Nothing." Frank said, turning red.

Frank walked away and into the back pantry to take a moment and gather himself. Father Mark went to follow, but his grandmother stopped him. He just looked at her.

"Mark Francis Xavier." Gran said in a tone only a grandmother could use. "If he wants to talk to you, he will come find you. He came and asked me a question, not you."

Father Mark ducked his head because he heard the scolding tone in her voice. It had been years since he had heard that tone directed at him.

"Yes, ma'am." Father Mark said.

"Sorry to scold." Gran said. "But he came to talk to me. Now, go downstairs and bring some wine and cider up."

"Yes, Gran." Father Mark said.

Gran gave Father Mark a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. He returned the gesture and then went downstairs. After Father Mark went downstairs, Gran went to check on Frank.

"Sorry." Frank said.

"No need to be sorry." Gran said. "I told him to leave you alone unless you go to him to talk."

"Thank you." Frank said, with a sigh of relief. "As much as I like talking to Father Mark, this is something I want to keep to myself for a bit. I have barely spoken to the ladies other than to say hi and get a name. I don't need multiple people weighing in on what I should do. I trust your opinion of people and thought it would be easier to get a woman's point of view."

"Thank you for the trust." Gran said. "Like I said, I think Shawna would be the best. If you want more detail, I can give that to you later."

"Thank you." Frank said.

"You are welcome." Gran said. "Now come back and help me get supper in the oven. Take a moment if you need."

Frank nodded. Gran went back to the main part of the kitchen to give Frank a moment that he seemed to need. A few minutes later, Frank came out and helped Gran to get supper ready to go into the oven. Father Mark brought the wine up and put it in the fridge. He didn't say a word, but nodded to his grandmother. He then went to join Jack and Elizabeth back at the table. Jack and Elizabeth had moved on to the game of Mancala.

"That is a great game." Father Mark said. "I almost want to take one along and teach some of my brother priests."

"Take this one." Jack said. "I ordered another one for the apartment. I can always get another one for here, but you aren't going to be gone that long."

"Thank you." Father Mark said.

Jack and Elizabeth finished their game and then Elizabeth played a game with Father Mark. Jack got up and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and also to bring one back for Elizabeth. He also wanted to check on supper.

"Do you need help?" Jack asked.

"We are good, thank you." Gran said. "We are almost ready to put most of it in the oven."

"Okay." Jack said. "What are you making?"

"Frank is finishing up the breaded pork chops and will put them in the oven to finish." Gran said. "Closer to when they are done, we will add baked potatoes. We will also steam some veggies. Frank made some of that pineapple mango salsa you guys talked about. There is also some of my homemade applesauce and I have some dinner rolls. I will also put out a fruit platter."

"Sounds good." Jack said. "You haven't done breaded pork chops in a while."

"They are harder to do for a larger crowd." Gran said. "Only so many fit in the cast iron skillet. I know that I could do two skillets, but it i's just a lot of work."

"True." Jack said. "So thank you for making them."

"I know that they are one of your favorites." Gran said.

Jack gave his grandmother a quick kiss and then took the drinks back to the table. What Jack really wanted to do was check on Frank, but after Gran scolded Father Mark earlier, he wasn't going to push it. Once they had everything done and in the oven that they could, Gran fixed herself a cup of tea and Frank went to make himself a before dinner drink. Once they had their drinks, they joined the group at the table.

… … … …

Toward the end of the races, Allie turned and looked up at Nathan.

"Unca Nate." Allie said, patting his chest.

"Yes, Allie-girl." Nathan said, looking at the girl.

"I hungry." Allie said.

"Let me go see what I can find for supper." Nathan said.

"Supper should almost be ready." Doug said. "There is pulled pork in the crock pot. Fruit and veggie trays are in the fridge and there are fresh buns and chips in the cupboard."

"Are you sure?" Nathan asked.

"Of course." Lee said. "We planned for all of us, when we had groceries delivered earlier."

"Thank you." Nathan said.

Nathan turned to Allie.

"Does that sound okay?" Nathan asked.

Allie shrugged.

"Not spicy?" Allie asked. "I try."

"It is not spicy." Lee said. "One bite and if you don't like it, there is something else you can have."

"Okay." Allie said.

They watched the last race and then went to have supper as a group. Allie loved the pulled pork and ate two scoops of it without the bun. She also was willing to try some veggies and dip and loved the strawberries and grapes. She wasn't sure about the pineapple and melon, but that was fine. The guys added barbecue sauce to their pulled pork and made sandwiches with the buns. The fruit and veggies were almost gone and they each had a small bag of chips. It was a nice easy supper and Nathan was glad that Allie was willing to eat what they were. While he knew that he had the dino nuggets in the freezer, he was hoping to get her away from a separate meal and just eat what they were eating.

When they were done eating, Nathan volunteered to clean up since Doug and Lee had gone to the trouble of making sure that there was something for all of them to eat. After supper was cleaned up, the four had a nice evening watching baseball. When Allie finally fell asleep, Nathan took her back to their room and laid her down. He left the bathroom light on as well as a nightlight in Allie's area. He left the door ajar and went back to the living room with Doug and Lee.

… … … …

Once Frank had joined the group at the table, Gran looked at the others.

"What is the plan for tonight and tomorrow?" Gran asked.

"Mass when Grandpa gets back." Father Mark said. "Then after that, I am assuming that supper will be ready."

"Okay." Gran said. "Anything else tonight?"

"Just to relax and hang out." Jack said. "Elizabeth and I will take off about ten tomorrow."

"Okay." Gran said. "That was going to be my next question."

"I might go into town tomorrow." Frank said. "Also Carson and I might get together for supper. It will depend on how things go tonight. He is on-call and was going to let me know in the morning what the plan is."

"Okay." Gran said. "Keep me posted. He is more than welcome to come over here. And just because you have the fifth wheel, it doesn't mean you aren't welcome to come over here whenever you want."

"Thank you." Frank said.

The group continued to talk and as that was going on, James came home. The guys quickly finished setting up for Mass while Father Mark went to change. James went to wash up and change.

Once they were all ready, Father Mark said Mass. While Jack played the piano, they really didn't sing much other than the important parts of the Mass. Father Mark gave a very short homily on the readings. Once they were finished, Gran and Frank went to finish supper. Jack and Elizabeth cleaned up from Mass while Father Mark went to change again. James took a moment to sit and go through the mail.

Thirty-five minutes after Mass was over, the group sat down to supper. James looked at his grandson and nodded.

"In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." Father Mark prayed. "Thank you Lord for the glorious day that we had. Please be with our families that are not here with us tonight. Be with them and keep them safe. Be with Jack and Elizabeth as they travel back to the city tomorrow. And finally we ask You bless this food to our bodies and bless the hands that prepared it. Amen."

"Amen." James said. "Thank you, Father Mark."

Everyone else echoed the amen and started passing food around. Elizabeth wasn't sure about the breaded pork chops. She liked pork chops, but had never had them breaded. She usually didn't order them because they were a bit tougher than she liked when they were pan fried. She took one bite and was surprised how tender it was.

"These are amazing." Elizabeth said. "I have never had such tender pork chops."

"Thank you." Gran said.

"Yes, they are amazing." Father Mark said. "And such an amazing unique flavor profile."

"I marinated them overnight." Gran said. "Then we breaded them with crushed corn flakes and pan seared them before finishing them in the oven."

"Can you write it down for me?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes." Gran said. "But the key is having a good seasoned cast iron skillet with a cover."

"I can get one for the apartment." Jack said. "It will take some time to season it."

"I don't think I have ever cooked with a cast iron skillet before." Elizabeth said. "I would be afraid to do something wrong and make us all sick."

"While cast iron requires a bit of different handling." James said. "It adds great flavor to your cooking and is honestly not that hard to learn."

"Well, I would be willing to learn." Elizabeth said.

"We can learn together." Jack said.

"That sounds good." Elizabeth said. "Now getting back to this meal, what were the chops marinated in?"

"I made a maple syrup marinade." Gran said. "I will write it down for you. Then we breaded them in crushed corn flakes that had thyme and red pepper flakes added to it."

"That is the little bit of heat that I am getting." Frank said. "I wasn't paying attention when we were making them. I was thinking about other things."

"I will write it down for you." Gran said. "These are best done in small batches. While I have a larger skillet, they don't cook as well in large batches."

"Good to know." Elizabeth said.

"What is this salsa?" James asked. "It is different, but good."

"This is a version of the pineapple mango that we had in Minnesota." Frank said. "I picked up the ingredients when I ran into town earlier. It is close, but not quite what we had in Minnesota. It is good and goes well with the pork chops."

"It would be good on its own." James said.

Gran looked at her husband with a raised eyebrow.

"I like pineapple." James said. "I like mango and I like a bit of spice. So why would you think I wouldn't like this?"

"Because it is something different." Gran said.

"I am not opposed to different things." James said. "Have I not tried new things this summer?"

"Yes, you have." Gran admitted.

"I mean I still have my hard limits." James said. "But if it is made up of things I normally eat, I don't see why I wouldn't try it at least once. This is really good and might be good with some homemade chips."

"That does sound good." Frank said. "I will leave the recipe that I found so you guys can make it again if you want."

"Thank you." James said.

The group finished supper. They talked about the races and what others did during the day. No one said anything about what Frank and Gran were talking about in the kitchen earlier. It was a nice relaxing supper after a nice day. They took their time and visited. When they were mostly done, Father Mark cleared the plates and started putting the food away as the rest visited. Jack and James were talking about horses and Elizabeth was trying to take as much as she could in. She loved the light tone of Jack's voice when he talked about the horses and the future.

As Father Mark cleared the table, Frank looked at Gran.

"Can we go talk?" Frank asked.

"Sure." Gran said. "We can sit in the library."

"Okay." Frank said.

Frank got up and went to the library. Gran looked at the rest of the table.

"I am going to go talk to Frank in the library." Gran said. "Please make sure the food is put away. I will clean the cast iron, if you guys want to do the rest."

"Of course, Gran." Jack said.

Author's note: It has been awhile, but here are the promised recipes.

Maple Syrup Marinade Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Pour over meat or vegetables in a resealable bag or container. Seal and refrigerate for the desired marinating time.

Breaded Pork Chops

Breading: Crushed corn flakes with ground thyme and red pepper flakes.

Make an egg mixture with egg and bit of water. Dip pork chops into egg mixture and then into prepared breading. Once breaded, put into a hot cast iron skillet to sear with some butter or oil. Once seared on both sides, put in oven to finish baking. Make sure to cover skillet when putting it in the oven.

Medium bone-in pork chops take about 15 to 20 minutes in a 400-degree oven. Bake extra thick chops (over 1 inch) for about 25 to 30 minutes.

Easy Pineapple Mango Salsa Recipe

Ingredients

1 pineapple

2 mangoes

1 red pepper

1 jalapeno, deseeded

1 red onion

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

2 limes, juiced (about 1/4 cup)

1 tsp salt

Instructions

Chop all fruits and veggies into small, bite size pieces. In a large bowl, add chopped pineapple, mango, red pepper, jalapeno, onion, and cilantro.

Pour the juice of two limes on top along with the salt. Stir until everything is evenly dispersed and coated. Serve with chips, on fish, chicken, steak, or on a salad. Store in fridge for up to 5 days.