Stirring Up Romance by Janet Lee Barton

Author:Janet Lee Barton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Nine

Thanksgiving had been a blessing for Elise. . .if for no other reason than it seemed to have perked Frieda up considerably. The last few Thanksgivings, after Carl passed away, had been very hard on both of them. But this one was different and special because they were able to share it with Derrick, who hadn’t been around family in so long. It did her heart good to see him so happy.

Frieda seemed to have regained some of her energy and began helping Elise in the kitchen a little more often. Elise watched and learned as her mother-in-law made her chicken fricassee—one of Derrick’s favorite dishes. Carl hadn’t liked it much, so there had been no reason for Elise to learn to make it before now. But after seeing Derrick’s expression when he took his first bite of the dish, Elise was determined to learn what some of his other favorites were.

“I think you must like chicken better than Carl did. He preferred beef.”

“I like beef, too,” Derrick said. “But there aren’t many ways you can cook a chicken that I don’t like.”

“Carl was just a little pickier than Derrick,” Frieda said. “But they both ate what was put before them. Derrick just enjoyed more of it than Carl did.”

“And so Mama began to make more of what Carl liked.”

“Son, I didn’t play favorites. You know that.”

Derrick chuckled. “I do. I’m just teasing you.”

Elise couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been right, though. It probably had been easier to make what Carl wanted since Derrick liked it all.

That night, after she’d cleaned the kitchen, Elise looked through the Fannie Farmer Cookbook that Frieda had brought with her. There were several chicken dishes she thought she might try. She flipped the pages looking for more.

Derrick came in a little later. “Would you like some cocoa? Mama said she would, and I have a hankering for it, too.”

“That sounds good.” Elise shut the cookbook. “I’ll—”

“No, you sit. I know how to make it. It’s one thing I make really well.”

“I’d love a cup, then,” Elise said, watching him gather the cocoa, sugar, and milk. He pulled out a battered old pan she rarely used and put it on top of the range.

“Mama taught me how long ago. I love it this time of year—makes me sleep better.”

Frieda came into the kitchen with her crochet bag. She’d found something to keep her hands busy in quiet moments. She loved to crochet, and after meeting Caroline, she was busily crocheting a complete layette for the baby-to-come. Her hands seemed to be flying across the piece she was working on as Derrick went about making the cocoa.

He moved the teakettle over so that the water would boil, and he put milk in the pan to scald it. Elise watched him mix the cocoa and sugar. He added a pinch of salt and mixed it in. Elise thought he added something else, but she couldn’t see what it was. Once he decided that the milk was ready, he poured boiling water into the dry mixture and stirred it into a paste.

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