by Emma Willey

Created on: November 08, 2008   Last Updated: October 11, 2009

Dinner with In-laws

After the end of World War II, Chuck and Audrey, newlyweds during the war, settled down in their small house they rented when they got home from their respective army assignments. Happy to be home at last and relieved of their military duties, they decided Audrey would cook Thanksgiving dinner for Chuck's family.

Audrey had spent three years cooking for troops in the army so she knew how to cook, but cooking for her new in-laws would be a trial for her, a chance to show her new family her expertise in cooking. She invited them all, mother and father-in-law Jack and Florence, elderly Aunt Alice, brother-in-laws Joe and Dennis and their two wives, Mary and Edith. Joe and Mary had four small children too so it would be a houseful.

Aunt Alice came early to help on the morning of Thanksgiving. The new bride had spent hours the night before preparing the turkey and putting the dressing together to stuff the turkey first thing the next morning. She got up early to do the stuffing and get the big bird in the oven to start roasting for the occasion. She thought she had everything well in hand and went back to bed to catch another nap. She still had pies to make later in the forenoon.

When Audrey got up, she had one more chore to finish. She would clean the gizzard from the turkey and cook it, so she could dice it up in the gravy later. But it wasn't in the refrigerator where she had left it in a plastic container. She said, "Has anyone seen the gizzard? I put it in a container in the fridge last night." Aunt Alice spoke up, "Oh, yes, I knew you must want it in the dressing so I just pulled the turkey out of the oven, and poked it inside with the dressing."

Audrey got her pies in the oven, and decided she would change her plan and not have giblet gravy this time. The aroma in her kitchen got better every minute, considering the turkey, sage dressing and the smell of the spices in the pumpkin pies permeating the house. Everything was going to be just fine.

Things went well, Thanksgiving dinner was served cafeteria style because the little house didn't have room for a large dining table. Audrey stood in the kitchen dishing up more gravy when her brother-in-law Dennis came in and cuddling up to her ear, "You forgot to clean the gizzard, Audrey, but I won't tell anyone," he whispered as he dropped the gizzard into the garbage can. Nobody ever heard about that in all the years Audrey was part of that family. She and her brother-in-law shared a secret from that day forward. Dinner with her in-laws turned out almost perfect. .

The End

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