WE GATHER TOGETHER by Edward L. Woodyard

We Gather Together Chapter Forty-Five

Sam McCulloch could smell the sausage for the stuffing searing in the kitchen as it wafted up the stairs into their bedroom. He buttoned a pair of lined khaki pants and tucked in a Stewart plaid flannel shirt. He then slipped on a pair of low-cut duck boots and ran a quick comb through his gray hair, before putting on his horn-rimmed glasses and stepping into the upstairs hallway.

He looked into Ben's room to see that it was just as Ben had left it when he came home last month for his mother's birthday; Julia had laid out some winter clothes on the bed for him to take back to college after Thanksgiving. He then opened the door to Annie's room which was where Aunt Emma would be staying; Julia had placed an extra blanket and towels on its bed.

He decided to check out Scott and Drew's room with its twin beds and dual dressers; it still had intact its wall of trophies, plaques and honors from high school but was becoming a utility room as Julia stored items from downstairs to get ready for winter, as well as all the upcoming family holidays. Rolls of Christmas wrapping paper and a bag of pre-tied bows were lined up on Drew's bed.

Sam walked downstairs and retrieved his digital camera from the end table by the couch. He then took his tweed flat cap from the brass coat tree in the foyer and grabbed a brown leather suede coat from the hall closet. He yelled into the kitchen, "Starting to smell good in this house."

Sam peered around the doorway into the kitchen from the hallway to see Julia at the stove, using a wooden spoon to sauté chopped onions and celery in a steel skillet. "Which car do you want me to take?"

He placed the camera on the counter and slid on his suede coat.

"Either one," she answered. "Wait, I may need the Jeep. Take the Audi."

He took a key fob from a hook under a bookshelf by the doorway and turned back into the hallway. "Sam, didn't you forget something?" Julia asked.

"Oh yeah," he said, coming back into the kitchen. He kissed Julia as she sautéd the onions and celery. "I should be back in an hour."

"You going into town for just an hour? It'll be two hours at least. And no need to stop by the coffee shop and Castlebury Garage this trip. Annie and Cara should be here by the time you get back."

On Saturday, Sam had stopped by the garage to fill up his five-gallon gas can for his snow blower and wound up spending close to three hours talking politics and town news with the garage owners and mechanics. Meanwhile, Julia was texting him from home, worried that something had happened, but later discovering that he'd failed to recharge his cell phone.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, kissing her again and taking his camera which he put in the front pocket of his suede coat. Julia watched Sam open a back hallway door and enter the garage.

She took the steel skillet from the glass stovetop and hurried to the garage, "Sam, don't forget to pick up the turkey from Mauro."

Julia returned to the kitchen and poured the contents of the skillet into a ceramic bowl filled with bread cubes which she mixed with the wooden spoon. She covered the bowl with plastic wrap and put it aside on the island counter, hearing the garage doors open and Sam's car start. She went to the back hall and found a sack of potatoes in a pantry.

While all the planning and preparation were a lot of work, Julia thought to herself, what she loved most was being able to cook for her family, especially at Thanksgiving. It was worth all the time and effort to see the smiles around the table every year. Even though there was one smile she couldn't see, she knew that his smile was always there in her heart.