Chapter 86

We hadn't set the alarm when we went to bed. I looked over at the clock and it was a few minutes past seven. Despite Jack's constant complaining about having to get up early all the time, I noticed he wasn't in bed. Laurie groaned and rolled over as I eased out from underneath her arm. She took her doll with her and hugged it as I got out of bed.

Jack must have figured out how to use the thermostat because the apartment was nice and toasty. I followed a cable that was coming out from under Jack's computer desk down the hallway to the kitchen. It ended up in the back of his new laptop which was open on the kitchen table. He had a cup of coffee in his hand and was leaning back in his chair, watching the screen.

I poured myself a cup of coffee. "How's your new toy?"

"I love it. It's great."

I took a drink to wash the morning breath out of my mouth, then leaned over and kissed him.

"What's with the long cable? Doesn't this thing have wireless?"

"Yeah, it sees the network but it says it's security enabled."

"That just means you need the password. It's Bozo."

I unplugged the cable from his laptop and walked him through getting his wireless connection. I also built a network including both of his computers.

"Hey, I wonder if we could get this from the house?"

"I don't know. I've never tried. You thinking of moving out?"

"No. I just thought maybe I'd let Mary use this once in a while."

"That's nice of you but think real hard before you do that. She won't only have access to everything you have on the laptop but everything you can see on any of the computers on our network. Plus your Internet bookmarks and any history. In case you haven't noticed, Mary is a very curious person."

"You mean nosy."

"You said that, not me."

I went over to the counter and got the package of cookies, bringing them back to the table and taking a bite out of one.

"Have you taken Posie out yet?"

"No, neither of them have been outside today."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Give him a new toy and he forgets all his responsibilities. Come on, Guys. Let's go outside."

The dogs followed me into the living room. I let Bozo out, then picked Posie up.

"Good morning, Sunshine."

She licked my face as if I had cookie crumbs all over it.

I carried her down and let her loose at the bottom of the stairs. She ran around to the grass underneath them and did her thing.

I chewed on my cookie while they used the facilities, then broke the last of it in half, giving them each a piece.

"You two are going to get soooo spoiled today, you know that don't you?"

I opened the kitchen door to the house and peeked in. Mom was already working, her hair up with a rag around it and a red and white checked apron covering her front. I went inside, followed by the dogs.

"You're starting early," I said.

"Starting? I just put my third set of pies in the oven."

"Wow. I didn't think. Do you need me to cook anything for you?"

"No, I've got it covered. Just make sure the ham is ready when we are."

"No problem. What time do you plan on eating?"

"I figure it'll be around two. Better have it ready by 1:30, though. You can keep it warm in a one fifty degree oven."

"I can do that. There should be room if you want to put anything else in there to keep warm."

"I don't have anything but a lot of people are bringing dishes with them. Some of them might need to be kept warm. Or we may need to get both microwaves going and warm up some things."

"Whatever, just let me know. Mi kitchen es su kitchen."

"That's supposed to be casa."

"Never mind casa. There are some rooms I'm not willing to share."

"How did your meeting go last night?"

"Very well, thank you. I asked Paul, by the way, and he's coming. I didn't ask him to bring anything."

"That's just as well. We're going to have food coming out of our ears if everyone brings what they said they would. What's my son up to?"

"He's playing with his new laptop."

"Oh, he's made enough to buy a new laptop?"

"No. I mean yes. He's made enough to buy one but he didn't. Sensei is low on cash because of his divorce and starting his business over and a bunch of other stuff. He had a laptop he bought for his daughter that she didn't take and he and Jack worked out a deal for it. Part of it is pictures of the daughter so the worst that could happen is she doesn't get them and Jack has to pay the difference. But I don't think that will happen. He's turning into quite a salesman."

"Jack? A salesman? Are we talking about the same person?"

"Yes, Ma'am. You should have seen him last night. We took Laurie to Denny's for dessert after our meeting and the waitress was complaining that this youth group was probably going to stiff her. He went over and talked to them. He says he gave two of them his email address and one of them mine so he must have told them about both businesses. Then he told them some story about Christ taking care of the people around him and equated that to leaving a big tip."

"What did your waitress have to say about that?"

"She has no idea he said anything. She just said she'd been wrong about them and told us that all of them left big tips for her."

"Good for Jack."

"Yeah. Then he left a fifty for her. For four desserts and a couple of coffees."

"Four deserts? I thought it was just the three of you."

"Laurie and I took too long to finish ours."

"Oh, I see. Well, whatever you do, don't forget your cranberry sauce. I swear, every holiday I get a can of that stuff and every holiday I don't remember it until we're all sitting down at the table and somebody asks for it."

"It's already done. The three of us made it yesterday and it's been setting up overnight in the refrigerator. Since I made a double portion, I divided it into two dishes so we can put one at each end of the table."

"That's a good idea. How does it taste?"

"Don't know. It was warm when we poured it in the pie plates and I haven't messed with it."

"Pie plates? You mean those aluminum ones?"

"No. I've got a couple of Pyrex plates that I've had for years. They were just the right size for what I needed."

"That's good. I don't want any tin plates on my holiday table. Speaking of things on my table, do you have some change from that ham I sent you out for?"

"I'm sure there is. We got some other stuff while we were out. I'll look at the label and figure out what I owe you and I'll give it to you later."

"All right. Just remember, no change, no Thanksgiving dinner."

"Yes, Ma'am. Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"I'm going to put Mary to work later so I should be fine. Unless you want to peel some vegetables for me."

"What have you got?"

"Well, I've got both potatoes and rutabagas. You don't have to do them all."

"Mom, this whole day is put aside for Thanksgiving. That means eating and visiting and helping out. What have you got?"

"I've got a twenty pound bag of Russets and probably half as many rutabagas."

"Are you going to make all of them?"

"I said you didn't have to peel them all."

"That's not what I'm thinking about. You're not going to have enough room on your stove for all that if you're making anything else."

"Oh, I didn't think about that. How do you feel about boiling a couple of pots? I'll still mash them all down here."

"No problem. I'm glad to help. Let me have them."

"Are you sure?"

"Mom. Let me have them."

She pointed to the bag of potatoes sitting on the counter and opened up the refrigerator. There was a big brown grocery bag inside, full of rutabagas.

"Anything special about these?" I said as she handed them to me.

"No, peel them just like potatoes. Make sure you scrape both ends real good. You don't want any of this fiber stuff and you can cut off this hard part at the bottom."

"Okie Dokie. You know where I am if you need anything else. Come on, Guys."

Mom opened up the door and the three of us went out. I was trying to figure out how I could carry both bags with one arm so I could pick up Posie when I saw Mom pick her up. "Go on up. I've got her."

Mom opened the door when we got there and put Posie down. Laurie was on the couch when we came in.

"Aunt Joooooon," she cried, running over and jumping in Mom's arms.

"Hi, Baby," she answered, cradling her so she was sitting, her side against Mom's chest.

"Hello, son of mine."

"Hi, Mom."

"I hear you're joining the clergy."

"You what? ... Oh. That. I just used one of their stories to make some kids think. Most people think the parables just show how he was a god and don't think they have anything to do with the way they live their lives."

"I'm sorry. Jill didn't tell me which stories."

"Oh. The one about the water to wine and the one about the fishes and the bread. I just said he took care of his friends and they should take care of the waitress."

"Good for you."

I went into the kitchen, put the potatoes and rutabagas on the table and pulled out the ham to check the label. I got my purse and took out what I had, then went back to the living room.

"Jack, have you got three dollars?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills and plucked three bills from it.

"Damn! Have you got enough money in your pocket?" I said.

"I keep telling you. I need to figure out some way to open a business account."

"I'll ask Myra later if she found something."

"You won't have to wait that long. She's bringing the kids over. Something about the cable being disconnected and they want to watch the parade."

"Both DSL and cable?"

"Evidently they're the same thing. She has high speed Internet from the cable company and just calls it DSL."

Mom said, "What's the difference?"

"DSL is sent on top of a phone line. What the cable company sends is completely different."

"That tells me a lot."

"They're just different," I said. "Like microwaving and the oven."

"Whatever. I've got to get back to my pies."

"Mom. Here's your change from the ham."

"Thank you. You can eat dinner with us now."

"Thanks. Now I won't have to hold your veggies for ransom."

I opened the door for her and Myra was coming up the stairs with Billy in her arms and Annette following them. Mom said hello and then took off to get back to her kitchen.

"What's happening, Myra?" I said after Mom was gone.

"Oh, our cable is out and Annette really wanted to see the parade. I thought it might be back on in time but they're telling me it will be the end of next week at the earliest."

"That means your Internet will be out till then too?"

"Afraid so."

"Well, you go ahead and do what you have to do. I have a bunch of potatoes to peel."

"Can you use some help?"

"Sure. You and Jack get them organized then come on in."

I went into the kitchen and put out some food for the two dogs. They were in the living room now but sooner or later they would want to eat. Dogs are like old people. They're creatures of habit when it comes to meal times.

I put the stopper in the kitchen sink with the waste disposer and started filling it with cold water. I dumped about half the potatoes in it, then scrubbed them off with a plastic scouring pad I've got. I know, I know, I was going to peel the skin off anyway, it's something I learned as a youngster and I've just kept it up. Who wants to peel a dirty potato, anyway?

I put them in the other sink as I washed them. I'd just finished pouring the rest of the bag in when Myra came in.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Over next to the dishwasher ... second drawer down on the left side. There should be some potato peelers in there."

She pulled out one, then dug around. "I can only find one."

"That's fine. When I'm ready, I'll look for the other. Grab that big pot that's hanging over there."

She got the pot and brought it over. I got the drain plug for the other sink. It's was the kind that either allows water to pass or blocks everything, depending on how far you twist it. I moved the potatoes out of the way and put it in the drain, set to allow water to escape.

"Just peel away to your heart's content. Rinse when you're done, then put them in the pot."

She started peeling and I finished scrubbing the rest of the potatoes. I got the bag of rutabagas and dumped it in my sink. I scrubbed them all, putting them on the counter next to the sink as I finished them. Once they were done, I emptied the water. Myra and I got whatever peels we could get out of her sink and put them in mine, then I ran the garbage disposer and ground them up. I put the rubber drain cover in at an angle so I could let water out but block the rutabagas, then I dug through the drawer and found the other peeler. I started in on the rutabagas, putting the skinned ones back on the counter.

Jack came into the kitchen. "Anything I can do?"

"Sure. You want to cut up potatoes?"

"Sure."

"Get the cutting board and a sharp knife." You might as well set up near the stove."

"OK. Now what?"

"Get yourself a couple of pots and put them on the stove."

"Done."

"Grab some potatoes out of that pot Myra's filling. Cut them into pieces so we can mash them."

"How big?"

"I don't know. You want it in cubic kilometers, parsecs or what?"

He cut one in half and held up one of the pieces. "This big?"

"Again."

He cut that one and held it up.

"Again."

This time it looked good. "About that size."

We all got back to work. "Myra. Did your kids eat breakfast?"

"Sort of. They had about a handful of Fruit Loops each and a glass of milk."

"You mean milk on the fruit loops?"

"No, they eat them like candy. They put them on the table and sort them by shape and color and eat them one at a time."