literal leigh 05 - joyful leigh Read Free Page A

was no way I was going into the basement to find the furnace. I opted for a heavy sweater, a thick blanket, a warm cat, and some hot tea.
    It wasn’t long before I could imagine the old house full of happy guests enjoying a Thanksgiving feast. Luna seemed to have read my mind.
    “Meeoow.”
    “Oh I’m sure I can handle it. How hard can it be? There’s got to be a million recipes for cooking a turkey and all the other stuff like...well, whatever else you serve with a turkey. Sweet potatoes and yams and…wine.” Yes, it would be my first attempt at a big holiday meal, but I was excited. I wanted to prove to myself that I was not only a successful woman with a promising career but also one that could go toe to toe with the best of the traditional domestic goddesses out there. I have to admit that my imagination included all of my awestruck guests gushing out streams of praise for my fabulous cooking abilities. I planned to take it in stride. “Oh, you’ve never tasted anything that good? Thank you, but it was nothing, really.”
    “You’ll see, Luna. It’ll be great.”
    To follow up on the conversation I had with Hunter, I decided to call his parents and invite them over.
    “Hi, Millie. I’m calling to see if you guys would like to come over here for Thanksgiving dinner. Would that be okay with you?”
    “Sure. Did you already talk to Hunter about it?”
    “Yep! Just last night. He said it sounded good to him.”
    “And did he mention anything about a turkey?”
    “Yeah. I’m pretty sure he did. He said it would be nice.”
    “Really? That’s wonderful. Max and I will bring the turkey that morning then. We can prepare it together.”
    “Awesome! See you on Thanksgiving morning, Millie!”
    After I was off the phone, I had to share my joy with Luna the cynical cat. “Super great news, Luna! I won’t even need to buy a turkey. I really don’t think it takes too long to cook one if she is planning on bringing it over Thanksgiving morning. Oh, Luna. I know this sounds cheesy, but I can just picture myself with my future mother-in-law, bonding together in the kitchen as she shows me her age old recipes.”
    “Meow. Meow.”
    “No, I don’t feel bad for not sharing the experience with my mom. Hell, the only thing I’ve ever seen her make on Thanksgiving was a martini.”
    “Meow.”
    “Keep your negative thoughts to yourself, cat. This will work out great. Who knows? Maybe it’ll become a new Epstein-Kovacs tradition.”
    “Meeeeooow.”
    “No, not a tradition of calling 911 on Thanksgiving. You always expect the worst case scenario. You know that, right? Well, you can just kiss my ass. My Thanksgiving Day feast is going to look like a fucking Norman Rockwell painting.”
    Luna scampered off and I leaned my head back. I could pull this off. I went through my contacts list and made a flurry of quick calls. By the time Hunter was awake, I had confirmed that my parents, my sister, Bill and the kids, Lindsey, Kelly, Luke, Derek, Brad, Esmeralda, and Marie Laveau would all be coming. Gertie and Randy happily agreed to come the day before. Our house desperately needed some personal touches. I have to be honest, I lack any sense of décor. I mean real décor, worthy of an old historic house like the Schlitt house. You know the kind of décor that makes people walk into an old house and say, “Wow! I didn’t know this old place was a museum or an art gallery now.” If someone came in right now, they would see the empty boxes and dusty remnants of a major home improvement strewn about. They would be more likely to say something like, “Oh. So this is where you live.” As if they were visiting you in a rundown flop house.
    “Good morning!” Hunter called from the stairs that came down into the foyer next to the living room. I turned around just as he walked in through the door, wearing only a pair of gym shorts. “Christ, it’s freezing in here!” Hunter pulled his arms up against his bare chest and