Nikita was very happy. It was 5:00 a.m. in the morning and she wasn't used to getting up this early unless there was a mission involved, but it was Thanksgiving and everyone had agreed to come to her place for a Thanksgiving celebration. She wasn't exactly thrilled about spending the day with Operations, but since she had invited all of her closest Section friends, including Madeline, she knew she had to invite him as well.
Besides, it was Thanksgiving. A day for family and friends. Since she had none of the former, she could use all of the latter she could get. She was certain he would behave long enough to get through one meal. She had invited everyone for Noon. It was her first attempt at making a Thanksgiving feast, and she hoped everything went well. She had made her stuffing and filled the turkey the previous evening. Now she placed it in the oven and hoped it got done in time.
Everyone had wanted to bring something, but she told them no. She wanted to do this meal on her own. But they kept bugging her, so she finally relented. Madeline was bringing pumpkin pies, Birkoff was bringing dinner rolls, Walter and Belinda were bringing fruit salad, Operations had said he would bring the cranberry sauce, Gail was bringing her famous "Better than Sex a/k/a/ Robert Redford dessert" and Michael said he would bring something.
Typical Michael. Wouldn't give you a straight answer if his life depended on it. "Something." Just how did you plan around "something"? Nikita had peeled the yams for candied yams. She had peeled the regular potatoes for the mashed potatoes. Everything was going smoothly. She had made cole slaw last night and it was in the refrigerator, just waiting to be placed in individual serving dishes. The corn and peas were sitting in the cans on the counter until she was ready to heat them up.
Nikita checked her list again to make sure there was nothing she was forgetting. Nope. She had everything she needed. She checked on the turkey and basted it and then turned on the television to watch the Macy's Parade. Just then there was a knock on the door. Nikita opened it to find Walter and Belinda standing there. They had called earlier and asked if she wanted them to come early and help with anything. She said they could come early, but she didn't want them helping with the meal.
"Hey Sugar," Walter greeted her.
"Hey Walter, Belinda. I'm glad you could come. Come on in and make yourselves at home." Nikita took their jackets and hung them in her closet.
"I see you're watching the Macy's parade," Belinda commented. "I always love to watch that parade. We always did when I was a kid, and I guess it's a tradition that's stuck with me."
Nikita smiled at Belinda even though she felt a very small stab of pain at the thought of family traditions. She never had any kind of family tradition growing up, except being abused by her mother and her boyfriends. It would be wonderful to have grown up in a family that had the kind of traditions Belinda was talking about.
"I love to watch the parade too. That's what today is all about. I'm starting my own traditions," Nikita finally answered. She headed back out to the kitchen when she heard Walter call>
"What can we do to help, Sugar?"
Nikita laughed and said "Nothing. I have everything under control."
Walter smiled at Belinda and whispered, "Yeah, for now. Just wait. She'll be a basket case by the time everyone gets here." Walter decided he was going to help whether she wanted him to or not. He headed out to the kitchen to find Nikita and see what she was doing. She was reading a recipe for candied yams. Well, if she followed the recipe, then there shouldn't be a problem.
"Walter, what are you doing? Get back in there with Belinda. I told you I don't need any help."
Walter stood back and watched her for a few seconds and replied "Well, I'm gonna help anyway. At least let me set the table."
Nikita laughed and finally gave in. "Fine. Everything is over there in the cupboard. I've already put out the tablecloth, so just make sure there are place settings and chairs for eight. Thanks."
Walter got everything out and started setting the table. Belinda got up and helped him. Nikita had set the potatoes on the stove to boil and was putting the yams, the brown sugar and the molasses in the frying pan. Once she had that finished, she made sure there was enough ice in the freezer for the glasses. Then she checked on the turkey again and turned up the heat just a little because she was afraid it wouldn't get done in time. Next she placed the vegetables into pans and set them on the stove. She knew enough not to turn them on yet. It only took a few minutes to heat up vegetables and there was another hour and a half before everyone would start arriving.
She checked the list one more time and then, deciding everything was under control, she went in and plopped down on the sofa with Walter and Belinda and watched some of the parade. Just then there was another knock at the door. Nikita didn't know who that would be because she told everyone to be here at noon. She opened the door to find Madeline standing there with a pie in each hand.
"Hello Madeline. Come in. I wasn't expecting anyone so soon."
Madeline smiled and entered the apartment. "Well, I figured you could probably use some help. I know that making a Thanksgiving meal is not an easy thing to do. So here I am. Hello Belinda ... Walter."
Nikita took the pies and placed them in the kitchen.
Madeline followed her and asked "So, what can I do to help?"
Nikita smiled at her and then very nicely replied "Nothing. I want to do this by myself. Just go on in with Walter and Belinda and watch the parade."
Madeline looked at the young woman for a few seconds and then decided to let her have her way. "Fine. But if you need anything, just give a yell."
Nikita sighed with relief. She was nervous enough about this meal without having everyone in the kitchen watching her or trying to help her. She could do this if they would just let her. She check on the potatoes to see how they were coming. They were getting soft, but not quite to the point where they could be mashed yet. She checked the turkey again and decided it was coming along nicely. Then she check the yams. The potatoes were starting to soften, but the syrup seemed to be sticking to the pan. "Great" she thought. Now what am I going to do?
She turned down the heat and went back to the recipe to see if there was an easy answer to this one. She didn't want to burn the yams but she had to get them done in time for the rest of the meal. Finding no answer, she just decided to let them do at the lower temperature and keep a closer eye on them.
There was another knock on the door. "Oh good," she sighed. Everyone must have decided to come early. Just what I didn't need.
"Walter, would you get that," she called out to him. "Sure thing" he replied. Walter opened the door and there stood Operations with the cranberry sauce in one hand and beautiful fall arrangement of flowers in the other. Nikita walked out to greet her guest and was surprised to see the flowers.
"Hello Operations. Thank you for coming."
Operations handed her the flowers and replied "Thank you for inviting me. It's been a long time since I'vebeen to a real Thanksgiving meal."
Nikita placed the bouquet in the center of the dinner table. It was absolutely beautiful. "Thank you for the flowers. They make the table complete." Operations smiled and proceeded to take the cranberry sauce into the kitchen and place it in the refrigerator. Nikita followed. Having Operations in her kitchen was making her nervous. She wasn't sure what to say and he didn't seem to want to leave.
"So Nikita" he finally spoke up. "How can I help? I know you wanted to do this by yourself, but I know this is too much for one person to handle. Please let me help."
Hearing the almost pleading tone in his voice, and after his comment about not having been to a real Thanksgiving meal in so long, Nikita figured she had to let him help. But that was it. No one else was going to get mixed up in the meal.
"Well," she finally answered "I'm having a problem with my candied yams. They seem to want to stick and I'm afraid they will burn."
Operations chuckled and then said "Oh yes. Candied yams. They do tend to be difficult. How about if I take care of them for you. That way you don't have to worry about them and you can take care of everything else."
Nikita took Operations up on his offer and decided it might not be such a bad thing to have him around after all. Nikita turned the vegetables on low to simmer and then checked the other potatoes. They were just about ready to be mashed. It was 11:30 by this time. Just then there was another knock at the door. Walter called out.
"I'll get it, Sugar." Walter opened the door to find Birkoff and Gail on the other side. "Hey you two. How 'ya doin'. Come on in. We're just watching the parade."
"Hi Walter," Birkoff answered. Gail laughed and said, "Oh good we haven't missed Santa Claus yet. I love to watch Santa make his arrival."
Walter laughed and took their coats and hung them up in the closet. Gail carried the dinner rolls and her dessert out to the kitchen. She was shocked when she saw Operations standing there in the kitchen wearing an apron. She was even more shocked that he and Nikita seemed to be getting along quite well.
"Hi Nikita. Here's the rolls and my dessert. Where do you want me to put them?" she asked.
Nikita turned to Gail and said "Hi Gail. Thanks. Put the dessert in the refrigerator and just lay the rolls down there. I'll put them in the oven and warm them up as soon as I take the turkey out."
Gail did as she was told and then went back to the living room to watch the parade. She sat down beside Birkoff and said "I can't believe those two in there. They're getting along like best friends. You'd never believe there was ever a problem between them." Then Gail realized that Madeline was sitting there and blushed to the top of her head. Madeline noticed and smiled.
"Don't worry, Gail. I agree with you. I think it's great ...a surprise, but great." Everyone else laughed at the idea of Nikita and Operations actually getting along.
Nikita was beginning to get a little flustered. Everyone was here, except for Michael. Now was the time to start getting everything finished up. She took the turkey out of the oven and decided it was finished. She removed the stuffing, placed it in a small glass dish and then put it back in the oven. She took the dinner rolls and placed them on a tray and put them in the oven as well. Operations decided that the yams were done and turned the heat way down, just enough to keep them warm.
Then he turned to Nikita and said "How about I carve that for you?" Nikita was grateful.
She turned to him and said "Great. That would be a big help. How about the yams, are they done?"
"Yes they are," he replied, "I've turned down the temperature so they'll stay warm but they won't burn. Now where is that electric knife?"
Nikita showed Operations where the knife was and he began carving the turkey. Nikita was mashing the potatoes and everything seemed to be going wonderfully. The turkey seemed to be just fine. The potatoes were coming along nicely, the vegetables were warming up and the stuffing and rolls were in the oven. Nikita couldn't believe that everything was going so well. She had just finished adding the milk and butter to the potatoes. Something was nagging at her, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
"Okay, the turkey is done and on the platter. Do you want me to put it on the table yet or keep it on the stove to stay warm?"
Nikita told him to just put it on the stove and cover it with aluminum foil. Nikita finished the potatoes and put them back in the oven to stay warm. It was just about noon and everything was ready and all seemed to be just perfect. They just had to wait until Michael got here and then she would put everything out. Then it hit her.
"Oh no" she cried. Operations turned around and asked what was wrong. Everyone in the living room had heard Nikita and stopped talking long enough to hear what was going on.
"I can't believe it" Nikita cried. "I forgot the gravy! I don't have any gravy. Now what are we going to do?"
CHAPTER TWO
Nikita slumped back against the cupboard. She was ready to cry. She had made all the arrangements and lists; she had checked everything over and over again. How could this have happened? She wanted everything to be so perfect. Operations could tell that Nikita was getting distraught. He needed to diffuse the situation quickly. "Don't worry about it, Nikita. It's no big deal. We can eat Thanksgiving dinner without gravy. I've eaten mashed potatoes plenty of times without it."
Nikita looked up at her boss and tried to figure out what had gotten into him. He was just being so ... nice and helpful. Well, she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. "I know we
Operations chuckled and replied "I don't think that will be the case, but if it is, so what. That's why we have water!" Nikita laughed and started to feel a little better. Pulling herself together, she said "Well, I guess we had better start getting things set out. I guess everything's ready. All we have to do now is wait for Michael to arrive."
Madeline had come into the kitchen after hearing Nikita's wail. She had just stayed in the background and listened to Operations handle the situation. She was a little surprised herself at how well the two were getting along. After Nikita pulled herself back together Madeline made her presence known and asked what she could do to help. "How about if you put the cole slaw out and I'll start getting the potatoes ready. Operations, would you please take the rolls out of the oven and place them in that basket?" Soon everyone else had come in to see how they could help. Gail was getting the candied yams into a serving dish and Birkoff was retrieving the stuffing from the oven. Belinda was filling all the water glasses and Walter was just sort of directing traffic.
Then there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it" Walter called. He opened the door to find Michael standing there with his arms full. "Hey Michael. Nice to see you" Walter said. Then in a whisper "Did you get it?" Michael nodded his head yes and Walter smiled. Nikita came to greet Michael. "Hey Michael, glad you could make it. What do you have there?" Michael handed the container over to her saying "Be careful. It's hot." Nikita headed for the kitchen with Michael following. Michael had also brought along a French silk chocolate pie for dessert. He placed it in the refrigerator as Nikita opened the container he had handed her. She couldn't believe her eyes.
"It's ... gravy! I can't believe it. Just when I thought everything was ruined ..." Nikita was smiling from ear to ear until as she turned to looked at Michael. Then it hit her. Walter had seen the storm brewing on Nikita's face and ushered everyone out of the kitchen quickly. Nikita turned to Michael and asked "So, how did you think to bring gravy? Quite an unusual dish to bring, isn't it?" Michael sighed. He knew what she was thinking. He'd have to play this very carefully or else it would ruin the whole day ... not just for himself, but for everyone.
"Walter called me. When he found out you had forgotten the gravy, he called and told me." Nikita was fuming now. "So, that's why you wouldn't tell me what you were bringing! You were waiting to see how badly I screwed up or what I burned and then come to the rescue. You didn't think I could handle it. You just knew I'd mess up. Well, gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Michael."
The group in the living room was trying not to listen, but Nikita's voice was getting louder by the second. Walter was pacing ... he knew this was partly his fault. Michael shouldn't be taking the whole blame for this. He headed towards the kitchen to intervene when Operations stopped him. "Just wait a little while longer, Walter. Let them try and work it out. If they can't get passed it themselves, then we'll interfere. But they need to work it out between themselves if we have any chance of enjoying the rest of the day."
Madeline was again surprised at Operations' insight. He was right on the money, though. Michael and Nikita needed to sort out the problem themselves. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long, or the meal would get cold and then Nikita would be angry all over again. Madeline decided to speak up. "Hey, there's a football game coming on. The Lions and the Steelers. How about we sit down and watch until it's time to eat." Everyone else, who had been standing around not knowing what to do, followed Madeline's suggestion. Things had quieted down in the kitchen, but they weren't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one -- there were sharp implements in there after all.