Chapter 29
Betty, Joe, Mary, Matt, Mark and Luke were up early on Thanksgiving, to start working on dinner. Luke was in charge of the meal. Even though Luke was only fifteen, he could out cook everyone else, including Joe and Betty. He even had a part time job as assistant chef at Francisco’s.
The year before, Luke overheard Betty talking about deep-frying the turkey. Luke was trying to get the family to eat healthier and he protested. He staged a takeover of the kitchen and cooked the entire meal by himself.
His meal was so healthy and delicious, that this year he was given total control of the meal, and everyone else assisted him.
Sarah and Becca made placemats and name cards for each person. There were two tables set up for the dinner. Joe told them that there would be thirteen people for dinner. When they asked Joe who the last two guests were, so they could make out their name cards, Joe told them that he would make them out himself.
About an hour before dinner, Jim arrived, bringing a floral centerpiece for the table. He tried to make small talk with the children without making them angry. Matt and Mary felt uncomfortable sitting in the room with him.
Ten minutes later, the last two guests arrived. Matt was surprised to see Joe’s grandparents walk into the room. Joe shook hands with his grandfather, gave his grandmother a quick hug, and then introduced them to everyone else.
Finally, it was time to sit down to dinner. At the larger of the two tables, Betty sat at one end and Matt at the other end. On one side of the table were Joe, Mary, Luke and Mark. On the other side were Jim, and Tom and Lucille Williams. John, Paul, Sarah and Becca sat at the smaller table.
Everybody held hands and they all said what they were thankful. Joe’s grandparents said they were thankful that Joe was giving them a chance to be part of his life. Betty was thankful that her whole family was together for the holiday. Joe was thankful for his family, especially Mary. Matt said that he was thankful that his father was trying to turn his life around.
The dinner was excellent and Luke got compliments from everyone. As the dinner progressed, Joe began to feel more comfortable around his grandparents and Matt was being polite to his father.
After dinner, Betty and the younger children cleaned up, so that Mary and Matt could talk with Jim and Joe could talk with his grandparents.
Joe told his grandparents about his parents and they told him stories about Joe’s father when he was a boy. It would take a long time for Joe and Matt’s emotional wounds to heal
Over the next several months, Joe grew closer to his grandparents. For Jim, it was more difficult. He was making progress with the four older children, but the four youngest were still scared of him, because they barely knew him. Joe had been more of a father to them than Jim.
Joe helped Jim get a job with a reputable accounting firm in San Francisco, and Jim bought a small house in town to show his kids that he planned to stay this time. Joe paid back all of the money that Jim had embezzled from his previous job, with interest, and they agreed to drop all charges against Jim.