How Dolly Parton Saved My Life by Charlotte Connors

Author:Charlotte Connors
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780767930161
Publisher: Crown
Published: 2008-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

I stumble through the front door of the quiet house and set my purse down on the hall table. Crisis averted. While I prepared the seven turkeys for our Thanksgiving delivery service, Cate was in charge of cooking the majority of them this morning since she was just going up to her mom’s place in Marietta for dinner and would have the morning free. Daisy was also supposed to cook a couple in her home ovens and bring them over to Jelly Jar, then help deliver them. But managing five turkeys and one vegetarian feast was too much for one person. In retrospect, we should have known that.

After her frantic call, Jo came to pick me up, her own half-cooked Thanksgiving turkey resting precariously in the backseat, on her way to Jelly Jar. One of the Jelly Jar ovens had caught fire, ruining the turkey inside, not to mention the expensive nonstick finish. I had to restuff the bird with my special Sausage Apple Stuffing, which I made on the fly, then cook it, along with the other four turkeys, in the two other working ovens, then deliver the full meal to the waiting Hanlon family.

The whole time, I kept thinking about my twins, eating Thanksgiving dinner without me. That and the glee on Edith’s face as I rushed out of the house, deserting my family. She finally had confirmation that I really am a bad mother. But at least, I reminded myself, as I scrubbed out eight roasting pans in the Jelly Jar kitchen, I didn’t have to give up my own family’s bird.

The front rooms of my house are dark as I walk in, but I see a flickering light coming from the living room. It’s past the twins’ bedtime, but it sounds like Mike got them to sleep. I walk toward the doorway, then smile as I see Mike curled up in the recliner, a brown crocheted blanket pulled over his shoulders, his eyes closed. Home Alone is playing silently on the screen before him. I walk over and sit gingerly on the edge of the recliner and lean into my husband, curling my tired body against his. He wraps his arms around me, and we sit, silently, savoring the quiet moment.

“You know what I’m thankful for?” Mike whispers, nuzzling my cheek with his nose. “I’m thankful for my beautiful wife.”

“And I’m thankful for my wonderful husband.” I sigh, enjoying the warmth of his body against mine. It’s been so long. “And my precious children.”

We rock slowly in the recliner, until my eyelids feel so heavy that I know I will just fall asleep right here unless I move. I stand up slowly. I pull Mike to his feet and take his hand, and we walk slowly toward the stairs. I give him a kiss on the nose, then let his hand drop so I can go to the kitchen to get a glass of water to put next to my side of the bed. The stairs

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