In Secrets in Storyville, when Kate's daughter, Mandy, announces her plan to do a family tree for a school project, Kate's parents and grandmother are against it. Kate doesn't understand why - but she's determined to find out. However, in order to have a peaceful Thanksgiving with her family, she decides to let them think she and Mandy have agreed to drop the project. Whatever it takes to keep the peace.
Here’s an excerpt from the book:
Dad
patted his stomach. “Gloria, you’ve outdone yourself this year. Everything was
delicious, as always.” He raised his eyebrows. “But there was something
different about your stuffing.”
“I
added mushrooms this year.”
He reached
across the table and patted her hand. “Well, it was the best I’ve ever tasted.”
My
mother actually blushed. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She stood up. “Is anyone
ready for pumpkin pie?”
We all
shook our heads.
I
laughed. “I’d love some but it’ll have to wait till later. If I have another
bite, I won’t be able to get out of this chair. Thanks, Mom.”
One by
one, we all pushed back our chairs and stood up. Dad, Gram and Mandy headed for
the living room to watch TV. Mom and I cleared the dining room table, carrying
the leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and cranberry into
the kitchen.
It felt
good to have things back to normal. Although I hated deceiving my parents, I
was glad I’d decided to do it. I shuddered to think what Thanksgiving would’ve
been like if they knew the truth about Mandy’s project.
“I’ll
wrap up some of everything for you to take home,” Mom said. “That way, you
won’t have to cook dinner tomorrow. How early do you have to be at work in the
morning?”
I
sighed. “Five o’clock. It keeps getting earlier every year. I’d like to shoot
whoever invented Black Friday.”
“Well,
it’ll be over before you know it. At least it’s only once a year.”
Easy
for you to say, I thought. You’ll be snuggled up in your warm bed. But, of
course, I didn’t say that. Instead, I asked her, “Do you want to wash or dry?”
I hope everyone has a happy and peaceful
Thanksgiving!
