A Touch of Grace

[ chapter twenty one: crispy ]

Chapter 21: Crispy

"Something's burning..." my father's voice trailed as he entered the house with a bag of potatoes. The smoke detectors immediately sounded as the words left his mouth.

"The turkey! Grace, the turkey!" my mother shouted from the top of the stairs. Following her panicked yells was the sound of her scrambling to come down the steps with heels on. I heard a loud thud and unlike Avery, who simply glanced at the bottom of the stairs and snorted, I jogged over, followed by my father. I saw my mom at the bottom of the steps looking a bit dazed and I helped her up. "Did you get the turkey?" she asked me and I shook my head as I pulled her from her spot on the ground. Halfway up, she began slapping my arm. "Go get it!"

I slipped past my father and approached the oven. I grabbed the mitts and lifted the heavy, burned bird from the confines of the cooker. Placing it down, I removed the cloth hands, examining the burnt skin that layered the bird. My mother came in seconds later and sighed, placing her head in her hands.

"Ooh, burn," my dad grinned as he entered the kitchen, placing the potatoes on the counter.

"This isn't the time for your jokes!" my mom snapped. The doorbell rang and Avery sighed.

"I got it," she announced and I imagined her slowly getting up from her spot on the couch. The sound of the door opening greeted my ears and I looked at my mom. "It's the Carson family!"

I felt a knot form in my stomach. Phoenix is here. Mrs. Carson walked in and her eyes immediately fell on the turkey and a small smile formed on her lips. My mom sighed. "I know, I know, I burned the turkey to a crisp."

Each of the guests from next door entered the room with a food item in their hands. Piper held two pumpkin pies and Brooke held two apple pies. Phoenix, who was wearing a cute dress shirt and slacks, had a large pot with green bean casserole in it. Alex had two bread pans, one with corn bread and the other with banana bread. Paige had a tray of cookies, which I'm hoping are chocolate chip. And here we are, pegged with the task of making the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob, and we've failed. The corn still has a chance though; it's sitting in its pot on the stove. We haven't even started the mashed potatoes, though. And we all see the devastation the turkey has posed upon us. Glancing at the clock and reading that it was half past five, I determined that we wouldn't be eating until seven, if at all.

"It's okay. Who needs turkey anyway?" Mrs. Carson asked curiously, watching as her kids placed the home cooked items on the counter. My mom cringed each time they were set down and I had a feeling that each food item reminded her of her failures.

My sister, decked in the dress our mom made her wear, entered the kitchen and sighed. "Why don't we just buy a premade turkey?" she inquired. "I mean, I'm not going to get it, but someone can."

"We might as well," my mom announced as she looked around. "Who's driving?"

"I'll go," Phoenix piped and I looked up, meeting his gaze. Does he want me to go to? I widened my eyes slightly as if silently asking and he almost invisibly bobbed his head up and down. I began slipping past people, trying to be inconspicuous. Outside, I thought, I need to get outside.

As I was slipping past Alex and Paige, the two girls chuckled and rolled their eyes. "Have fun on your supermarket date," Paige piped quietly and I shot them both a look. Ever since their arrival yesterday, they've been making comments a bit too loudly and I'm scared everyone's going to find out about me and Phoenix by the end of this meal.

I managed to make it out of the kitchen and to the yard right before Phoenix burst out of the house with a handful of bills, which I'm guessing came from my mother's wallet. She doesn't always put the bills in neatly. We quickly jogged towards his car with secretive smiles on our faces. As I got into the passenger's seat, I adjusted my dress and Phoenix smiled. "You like pretty," he smiled at me and I offered him a large grin.