A Christmas Visitor by Thomas Kinkade & Katherine Spencer

Author:Thomas Kinkade & Katherine Spencer [Kinkade, Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781101215357
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2009-10-27T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

MOLLY WAS UP TO HER ELBOWS IN A SPINACH AND cheese mixture. Betty grabbed a spare apron so her silk blouse wouldn’t get spattered and watched carefully.

It was late Tuesday afternoon and Betty had left her office early. She had stopped by to pick up some takeout and ended up hanging out back in the kitchen, watching Molly cook. It was her favorite entertainment lately, Molly had noticed.

Molly picked up a shaker of nutmeg and carefully sprinkled it over the large bowl. “My secret ingredient,” she whispered. “Even Sonya doesn’t know.”

“It looks pretty good from here. I bet you can use that filling with a lot of that stuff. Not just the spring rolls.” Molly was going to use the spinach to fill slim, cigar-shaped rolls of crispy pastry, one of her signature hors d’oeuvres.

“I want to try it in miniature ravioli. I just haven’t had the chance to experiment.”

“Things should slow down after Christmas,” Betty predicted. “My office is dead. I’m going to close Christmas week. It’s not worth the bother to stay open, and my staff appreciates the break.”

“What are you doing for the holiday, Betty? Any plans?” Molly knew the topic was a sensitive one for her friend. Betty had been divorced years ago and had a grown son who was now in law school in Chicago. Her ex-husband had remarried and had two small children. Other than that, Betty had no relatives nearby and sometimes spent the holidays with whichever current boyfriend was hanging around. Once in a while, she was entirely alone.

“Good question,” Betty said. “Brian is going to Ted’s house this year,” she said, mentioning her son and ex-husband. “I’ll get him after the holiday, for a few days I hope. I might take one of those last-minute cruises to the Caribbean. I keep seeing great deals online.”

Oh, the giddy freedom of single life. A cruise to sun-drenched, tropical islands. Being waited on day and night. Your every whim satisfied by a snap of your fingers. Massages, pedicures, chocolates on the pillow…

Still, Molly wouldn’t give up her own hectic, crazy, triple-tasking lifestyle for a thousand Caribbean cruises at Christmastime. She admired Betty in so many ways and yet felt sorry for her. It was hard to believe that a woman who was so successful and accomplished had so few strong, emotional connections. Molly knew Betty didn’t want it to be that way. It was just the way her life had turned out and now that she was older, it seemed harder every year to find a long-term relationship.

“Want to come to our house Christmas Eve? I mean, if you don’t do something wonderful and exciting? It’s just family. But we’d love to have you.”

Betty looked a little hesitant. “Your parties are always wonderful—”

“—if you don’t mind being surrounded by the whole, ginormous Morgan clan,” Molly put in. “I do understand that it’s not everyone’s idea of Christmas bliss.”

Betty laughed. “Let me think about it, okay?”

“No problem.” Molly stirred the mixture, carefully scraping the sides of the huge bowl.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.