WE GATHER TOGETHER by Edward L. Woodyard

We Gather Together Chapter Thirty-Eight

Julia McCulloch went to her desk in the far corner of the living room. As she sat down, she saw in the back window that the morning sky was a bright blue. She knew that the temperatures early this Tuesday were near freezing; the leaves on the rhododendrons had drooped and curled overnight. She pushed up the sleeves of her gray wool pullover so to do another place card.

She wanted to get the place card done before her grandchildren came that afternoon with their mothers to help prepare the house for Thanksgiving. She had decided to dress today in a "utilitarian" style, wearing a pair of faded corduroys and tennis sneakers; she wasn't planning on leaving the house or entertaining the garden club. Since Sam would be the one going into town later to do errands, he could be the one who dressed respectably for this day.

Julia could hear Sam mutter under his breath in the den as he again tried to figure out how to get the timer to work on his new digital camera. She smiled to herself as she dipped her calligraphy pen into the bottle of India ink and wrote Alison Donnelly on the blank place card. She left it in the middle of the desk blotter to dry. It was spelled just as Ben had told her over the phone last evening, one 'l' in Alison and two 'l's in Donnelly.

Sam walked into the living room as he drank from a coffee mug; he was still in his bathrobe and slippers. He set his new camera down on a front table by the door while Julia returned the India ink and calligraphy pen to her bottom desk drawer. "I'm going to have to go see Bob Lundgren. I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"I'm sure he'll be able to help you," Julia replied. "When you're in town, I have a few things you can pick up, if you would."

"I know about getting the turkey from Mauro."

"And a couple of bottles of Nouveau Beaujolais from Eleanor would be good. Also, I had Bonnie alter a skirt for me."

"Anything else?"

"It'll get you out of the house for a while this morning. Annie and Cara are bringing the kids out here after lunch. We're setting up the dining room table. But before then, I need to make the stuffing and get that out of the way. I also need to organize the potatoes, yams and vegetables."

"Want me to go the root cellar?" Sam said, smiling at her. He finished his coffee.

"I am not Sarah Harris McCulloch, Sam," she responded, "although there are times when I sure do feel like her."

"I'm thankful I'm not Old Jake, tromping through the woods to bag a wild turkey."

"No," she answered, "you just get to pick one up from Mauro, plucked and ready for the oven."

"I guess I better shower and get dressed. Heard from any of the kids today?"

Julia looked over at her cell phone on the desk. "No messages. Ben said he would be busy with classes all day. He has another test this morning. And Drew said last night that he has meetings all morning about this new Worldwide expansion."

Sam handed Julia his empty coffee mug. "I'm wondering if he's thinking of having Kyle Rosenberg do the architectural plans. I know Kyle's pretty busy. Maybe I'll stop by Kyle's office when I'm in town," Sam said, looking over at Julia as she stood up from her desk, "To learn about his availability."

"Sam, it is Drew's company now. Let him make the decisions about whether or not he's going to consult with Kyle," admonished Julia. "When Drew wants your advice, he will ask for it. In the meantime, don't necessarily offer it. Drew can get to Kyle in his own good time."

"It's just that. . ."

"'It's just that' nothing, Sam," Julia said, going into the kitchen and placing Sam's coffee mug in the sink, "Now, there's some hot water upstairs waiting to rinse off all that soap you're going to put all over yourself."

Sam watched Julia retrieve her cell phone from her desk. "Any word from Emma?"

Julia shook her head no, "Maybe later. Her ship doesn't dock in Miami until tomorrow. Besides, the transportation strike is still on."

Julia returned to the kitchen as Sam shuffled up the stairs to the second floor. He told himself that he should get himself new slippers or better yet, he would hint to someone that Santa might consider bringing him a new pair in about a month's time.