Abound in Love (16 page)

Laura
chuckled and shook her head.  “Dalton,” she reminded him in a mock-scolding
tone.  “The casserole was on the list.”

He made
a face.  “I guess I blocked it out,” he murmured.  “I mean, that list was
pretty long.”  He glanced at the large wooden table, splayed out with food that
was already done.  If only the turkey would cook!

He
narrowed his eyes, as an idea formed.

Laura
noticed.  “What, Dalton?  Do you have an idea?  I know the kids are getting
hungry.”

Although
Thomas had spent the lunch hour at his future in-laws, he was coming home for
Thanksgiving supper with his family.  Macy was joining him, as were Candace and
the children.  Dan’s folks had been kind enough to postpone their celebration
for the next day, so the children could enjoy the holiday with both their
father and their mother on separate days.

“Dalton…”
Laura prompted.  “What are you thinking?”

He
turned toward her.  “Could we broil it?  I mean, it would definitely get done
quicker if we broil it.”

Laura
laughed.  “Well, the skin would probably turn as black as the marshmallows on
the yams, so no, we probably shouldn’t broil it.”  She furrowed her brow in
thought.  “I know!  Cut into it.  That’ll allow the heat to get to the center
better.”

“But
will it dry it out?”

“At
this point, I don’t really care,” she answered honestly.  “I know everyone is
starving.  Well, except for Thomas and Macy.  I’m sure they’re full.  If I
remember right, Macy’s mother is a superb cook.”  She frowned.  “Why didn’t we
all just go over there?”

“We
weren’t invited.  We should have ordered pizzas,” Dalton said glumly, as he
stabbed the turkey and then shoved it back into the oven.  “I’m going to turn
up the temperature a bit,” he told her.

“Okay.”

They
stood back and stared at the turkey through the glass in the oven.  Thomas
walked into the room.  “Hey, the table looks great,” he commented, but
frowned.  “What happened to the yams?”

“Nothing
that can’t be fixed,” Dalton assured him.

“Okey,
dokey then,” he said.  “I’ll leave you two to finish supper.”

“Uh
huh,” Laura said, her eyes still riveted on the turkey.

“Does
the turkey do tricks?” Thomas asked, biting back a chuckle.

“I’ll
show you a trick,” Dalton warned, lifting his fist and waving it around
menacingly.

Thomas left
the room.  They could hear him laughing from the living room.

“Wanna
make a run for it?” Dalton whispered.  “We could be enjoying a ‘cooked’
Thanksgiving meal at Denny’s before they even discover we’re gone.  Or, maybe
Macy’s folks have leftovers they’d be willing to share.”

She
pretended to consider the suggestion, but shook her head.  “We should probably
see this through, considering we made a commitment.”

Suddenly,
Thomas poked his head into the kitchen.  “You did take the giblets out of the
turkey, right?”

“The
whatlets?” Dalton said, confused.

Laura
turned toward Dalton, her expression stricken.  “The stuff in the turkey
cavity,” she prompted.  “It was wrapped in plastic.” 

His
eyes were equally concerned, but then he emitted a relieved sigh.  “Yes, I
distinctly remember removing something out of the center of it.  I … think… so
… anyway.”

“Was it
wrapped in paper?” Thomas asked.  “Plastic,” he clarified.

“I
guess it was either paper or plastic,” Dalton said, struggling to remember.  “I
mean, it’s not as if it was wearing a ski jacket.”

Laura
giggled and Thomas burst out laughing.  “Well, it’s clear you both have things
well under control…  Not,” he added with a delighted snicker as he retreated
from the kitchen.

“Who’s
idea was this again?” Dalton asked, and gestured toward the doorway.  “Was it
his?”

Laura
shook her head.  “No, I’m afraid this is all on us.  Well, me, first and
foremost.  You only signed on to help me.”  She gave a wan smile.  “Thank you. 
By the way, the next time I open my big mouth, remind me of today.”

“Oh, no
worries,” he assured her.  “This day will definitely live on in my memory. 
Gosh, your mom used to make it look so easy.”

He
abruptly burst out laughing.  “No, no, that’s not true.  It was Dan’s mom who
makes any meal look easy.  Your mom’s meals looked pretty much like this one.”

Laura
grinned.  “I come by my cooking talent honestly then,” she said agreeably, and
took her voice down a notch.  “Let’s blame Mom.”

He
laughed and suddenly tugged her toward him and wrapped her in his arms.  She
felt him give a deep, withering sigh.

“Dalton,
are you all right?” she asked, concerned.

“Yeah. 
I just need a hug.”

***

“Well,
that was…  The turkey was…  Well, anyway…”  Thomas gave an exaggerated wince. 

“It was
a good effort,” Kenny said with a crisp nod, and sounding much older than his
years.  “A good … effort.”

Laura
grinned at her nephew.  “Thank you, Kenny.”

Thomas’
eyes lit first on Laura, and then on Dalton.  “But you’re telling us, you
forgot dessert?”  He arched a brow.  “Wow.  That’s disappointing.  But then
again, if you two had done the cooking…  We may be better off…”

“Oh,
you got enough at Macy’s folks’ place anyway,” Dalton said in a surly tone. 
“It’s the others here who have a right to complain.”

Laura
shot Dalton an accusing glance.  “Dessert was on the list.”

He
groaned.  “The list was really long.”  He pinned her with a look.  “Hey, you
wrote the doggone list.  It seems to me you’re a tad more culpable than me for
forgetting desert.”

“It’s
all right,” Candace interceded, laughing.  “I happen to have a couple pies in
the car, just in case you needed them.”

Thomas
grinned her way.  “You always used to do that because Mom’s desserts didn’t,
er, usually turn out.”

She
shrugged, and then smiled, as if recalling a fond memory, and then turned to
Kenny.  “Son, will you get the pies out of the back seat of the car?”

She
appeared to brace for him to resist, but instead, he jumped up.  “Is it
locked?”

“No.”

“Okay!” 
He dashed outside and returned a moment later carrying two pies.  “Mom, was I
supposed to bring the cake in too?”

“If
anyone’s hungry for cake,” she said.

Thomas
let out a delighted whoop.  “Candace made cake!”

“Your
favorite,” she told him.  “Orange cream.”

Kenny
grinned and hurried outside to get the cake.  He soon came in, holding the
platter carefully.  He set it down beside his uncle, who promptly rose to
retrieve a cake slicer.

Soon,
everyone was calling out their dessert preferences, while both Dalton and Laura
eased back in their chairs.  Both were spent from the effort of cooking, but
enjoying the festivity around them.  If they didn’t know better, it would have
seemed like any other happy holiday.

But
unfortunately, Dan was conspicuously missing, as were their parents.

As if
on cue, the phone rang.  Laura rose to answer it, since Thomas was still
cutting into the desserts, and Candace was passing the plates around.

“Hello.”

“Laura,
is that you?” her mother cried. 

“It’s
me.”

“Happy
Thanksgiving, honey.  Are you enjoying your holiday?   I heard it’s sunny and
sixty-five in Atlanta today.”

“Don’t
remind me,” she said, but realized she wasn’t actually missing Georgia today. 
She was happy to be exactly where she was at the moment.  “And what’s the temp
in sunny Arizona?” she asked with a smile.

“Oh,
honey, you really don’t want to know, do you?”

“No, I
guess not.  How’s your Thanksgiving going?  And how’s Dad?  We miss you both.”

“We’re
doing all right, though we really miss you kids.  We did consider getting on a
plane, but I’m afraid I have an ear infection and the doctor wouldn’t release
me to fly.”

“You
definitely don’t want to fly with an ear infection,” Laura acknowledged.  “And
I’m sorry you have one.  I thought you were done with that business, having
moved to Arizona.”

“I know,
me too.  I do so much better in the summer here, but I still fight the
occasional ear trouble during late autumn.  Anyway, enough about me.  Tell me,
how is it seeing Dalton again?”

Laura
gasped.  It was the last question she expected her mother to ask.  “I … don’t
know what you mean.”

“Oh,
Laura, you do too.  You were so in love with that boy…”  She chuckled.  “He was
awfully taken with you too.”

“He was
not!  He didn’t know I existed.”

“Oh,
sure.  He spent as much time at our home as my own children did.”  She gave a
dubious chuckle.  “He never noticed you…?  Oh, Laura, you do make me smile.”

“Mom!”

Her
mother continued chuckling, but Laura sensed a sudden shift in her mood.  “How
is your sister?”

Laura
sighed.  “I wish I knew.”

“Are
she and Dan doing any better?”

“You
know, I meant to call you to talk to
you
about that.  Do you have any
idea why they split up?”

“No, I
really don’t.  Candace isn’t talking, I’m afraid.”

“Mom…”

“Yes?”

“We’re
really worried about her.  And the kids…”

“I
know,” she murmured sadly.  “Thomas has told me she doesn’t spend much time
with them.  Laura, that’s not like her.  Despite everything else Candace may
have been…”  She paused, apparently to regroup.  “Anyway, she was a wonderful
mother.  I was so proud of her whenever I saw her with those kids.  I just …
can’t imagine…”

Laura
heard the catch in her voice.   “Mom…?”

“Laura,
I’m sorry that your sister commanded so much of your father’s and my attention
when you were growing up.  We didn’t mean for you to be cast aside, but you
were always so grown up and level-headed.  Even when you were tiny.  Candace,
on the other hand, just ‘required’ more attention, and Lord knows, it wasn’t
always the positive kind.”

Laura
hadn’t expected an apology from her mother.  But despite receiving it, she felt
the old hurts once again. 

“Laura,
are you there?”

“Yes,
Mom.  And it’s … okay.”

“No,
honey, it’s not okay.  Your dad and I look back and wish we could do things
differently.  We should have rewarded your good behavior with the kind of
attention Candace received for … the bad.”  She gave a sad, brittle laugh. 
“Not that she was ‘bad.’  She was just … high maintenance, I guess you could
say.”

There
was much Laura could have said in reply, such as she knew her parents had
enjoyed having a daughter as stunningly beautiful and popular as Candace, as if
that fact reflected on them.  And that they had doted on her, to the exclusion
of their youngest.  But she didn’t.  Instead, she sat quietly for a moment and
glanced heavenward.  “Lord…” she prayed silently, “please help me to come to
terms with my past.”

She
felt a peace come over her.  Yes, she could continue to feel slighted by her
parents, or she could realize they were human, and that raising children was
clearly much more difficult than she’d ever imagined, and that they had done
the best they could for each of their children.

And it
was probably true, the old adage that the ‘squeaky wheel gets the grease.’  She
should have been … squeakier.

For
whatever reason, the thought brought a smile to her lips.  She should have
squeaked more.  Problem solved.

Dalton
happened to approach her and noted the laughter in her eyes.  He arched his
brows in question.

“Did
you need something, Dalton?” she asked.

“Oh,
Dalton’s right there with you?” her mother said, failing to mask the suggestive
note to her voice.

“Mom,”
Laura said with a warning tone.

“I’ll
let you go, honey.  Will you call me soon?  Or, better yet, fly out and see
your Dad and me on your return trip home.  We really miss our youngest.  Oh,
and do tell Dalton ‘hello.’”

“I love
you, Mom.”  Her eyes were twinkling as she hung up the phone.

She
found Dalton eyeing her speculatively.  “It looks like you and your mom had a
good talk,” he observed.

“We
did,” she said, still smiling at her epiphany.  “She says ‘hi.’”  She chuckled
again.

“What?”
he prompted.

“You
know how they say, ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease’?”

“Yes.”

“Mom
said some things that made me think I should have ‘squeaked’ more when I was a
kid.”

To her
surprise, Dalton nodded, seeming to understand what she meant by the remark. 
He stared intently into her eyes and reached toward her, smoothing his hand
across her brow.  “It’s not too late, you know,” he told her.