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Thanksgiving is gathering together at the table,
to give thanks for having our loved one's together,
once again, and being thankful for what we have in each other,
and the love that sees us through happiness, and hardships.

 

Jerry Jacks pauses at the front door of the Scott boarding house. The Jacks had only gotten into town a couple days before and it was right on time. Not snow particular but the wind had picked up chilling a body to the bone. Probably could have gotten a few more days in out at the homestead but they'd been cutting it close getting back to Lady Jane before today's holiday. If there were any streets in this cow town they'd been rolled up for Thanksgiving. The only sign of action was outside of town where the chinamen lived. Everyone else was either with family or had plans. Jerry takes a deep breath allowing the sharp air to cut into his lungs.

Jax comes out of the boarding house having seen his brother from the front parlor window. He adjusts his wool scarf under his shearling coat and then pulls on his gloves. "What you up to, Jere?"

"Da and Lady Jane come up for air yet?" Jerry asks ruefully. Propriety went out the window when his parents hadn't seen each other in a bit.

"Should see them some time today. Dinner is at two." Jax laughs. "You out here hiding from Mrs. Scott?"

"Maybe if I had been the one to deliver that ham to her, I'd be golden too." Jerry says ruefully.

"Well as you said, you and da burned a few bridges back there in the valley. Only fair I should mend them. Doing a little business with the Taggart's for Mrs. Scott and then delivering mail to the rest in the valley fit the bill."

"Mrs. Scott seemed disappointed that all you brought back was the ham."

Jax puts a boot up on a nearby bench and rests his weight on it. "According to Lady Jane the ladies in the valley help out Mrs. Scott on occasion and she always looks forward toward their visits. She couldn't have meant Mrs. Lansbury though. That woman's taste buds must be gone... everything that the Cassadines served was... salty."

Jerry shakes his head and laughs. "Had more than one meal at the Cassadines and I'll tell you now... that woman's taste buds are just fine. The dinner was salty for the same reason as a saloon serves nothing but salty faire. Sells more liquor. It worked just fine on you and Da."

Jax rubs his forehead remembering the headache he'd had the day after the dinner at the Cassadines. The day that the Jacks had packed it in the valley for the winter and headed back to Charlestown. "I seem to remember you not feeling too well the day after either."

"Yeah, well I was so busy trying to stop you from spilling your guys right there in front of Miss Cassadine to know what Da was giving away on the other end of the table." Jerry says ruefully. "The only thing I can hope is that Da is too cagey to give anything away drunk or sober as a judge." otherwise it'll be a hanging judge for us.

 

 

 

 

 

It is honoring those that aren't with us,
and being grateful that they existed in our lives.
I give thanks to God, for so much in my life...
for the love of my family, my friends,

 

The big house is bustling with activity. Everyone was home for the day even Jason. He'd known there was no way of getting out of Thanksgiving dinner he'd tried in years past and paid in guilt dished out in a soft tone from Miz Lila. But hell or high water he was out of here as soon as the meal was over. And if everything went as usual that would be about three after the cook threw a tizzy and charred the turkey. The cook is a holdover from the Indian War days. At least that is the story that he'd been told. The cook is aces at keeping the powder dry and didn't need a Sharpes to take out a moving target and at a fair distance. But that didn't have anything to do with putting a meal on the table that was fit to eat. Most days Reggie helped out with the day to day cooking so there was normally something that wouldn't kill ya otherwise you were better off with beans down at the cookhouse.

Emily comes out on the front porch tugging at the corset that she had to wear for all major holidays or when company is coming. Today is double whammy: Thanksgiving and the Cassadines coming to dinner. "This is a horrible idea." if I don't get out of this thing I'm going to keel over dead.

"You're telling me." Jason tugs at the overly starched collar. If he didn't get out of this thing he was going to strangle.

"This is all the Old Man's fault you know." Emily kicks at the hem of her dress.

"He created Thanksgiving?" Jason just lifts a brow.

"No, but he was the one with the bright idea of bringing back a photographer from Helena. Got Grandmother all excited. The Cassadines have seen me in pants before. I could have talked her into not making a fuss... if there wasn't going to be proof for posterity."

"If I killed him could I take off this damn collar?" Jason suggests helpfully.

AJ steps out of the big house. "Doubt it. Grandfather would probably just get Reginald to run the camera. Reggie's been learning from the photographer. I think Grandfather is planning on buying a camera just so there will be plenty of pictures of his dynasty."

"I'd sorrowfully regret it but I could kill him too. Or at least knock him from here to Sunday." Jason offers.

"I can't believe that Grandmother invited the Cassadines to dinner." AJ shakes his head. "Ever the optimist, if she's trying to keep the Cassadines on speaking terms with us. Someone really ought to warn them. They've been nothing but kind."

"Miz Natasha will hopefully clue them in. She's had enough experience while she was visiting with Grandmother."

"So you'd think she'd know better!" Em protests. "Or invite us over to their house for Thanksgiving."

"Probably got something to do with them not being Americans." Jason says wryly.

"I wonder how much it would cost to have Mrs. Taggart come out to fix a meal. Give Cook the night off. Too late for Thanksgiving but maybe Christmas. Then if we could arrange to get snowed in...." AJ says wistfully.

 

 

 

 

for those who have touched my heart in some little, and big way,
and for all of His simple beauty that abounds...for all that we have.
I am truly blessed,

 

"Gram, you have outdone yourself." Sarah compliments as she takes a deep breath coming into the cabin. "Everything smells so great!"

"Dinner should be on in about a half hour." Audrey checks the green beans as they are the last item to go on the table along with the dinner rolls. "You can tell Zander and Elizabeth it's safe to come out of hiding."

Sarah starts to defend her sister and beau and then just shakes her head. "Well you wouldn't believe how clean the barn is. Everything is just pristine. And Zander and Elizabeth are both being secretive out there I think they are working on Christmas presents and don't want anyone to know... not even each other."

"I do love this time of year." Audrey assists Sarah in setting the table.

"Every time of year is your favorite time of year, Gram." Sarah reminds. "... until the next one comes along."

"Well they all have so much potential and something different to recommend each one." Audrey goes over to the stove and pulls out the turkey that Zander had shot just the day before. The turkey would have to rest for a bit before it would be ready to carve. And there is just enough time to finish the rolls.

"And nothin' lasts longer than anyone can bear." Sarah brings out the glasses. "By the time we get sick of being indoors and have finished the last book unread it'll be rolling onto spring and we won't have a minutes rest."

"So much to be thankful for this year." Audrey muses and then she shakes her head. "Darling, why don't you go out and tell the others they just have time to get cleaned up."

 

 

 

 

and I have but one wish,
and that is for peace in our world,
bringing all of us together in harmony, and love.

 

It's amazing how much comes back to a body. It had been a few years since being part of a real family with all the daily chores or special occasions like holidays. Holidays at Jakes are a sad affair. Men with families stayed at home and the rest well if they had somewhere else to be then they were there. Flo had reluctantly given up a little of the cooking allowing Dara to make the desserts for the Thanksgiving dinner: a peach pie made from tinned and a sweet potato pie as well. Best use up the sweet potatoes cause they just don't keep as well as a regular potato in the root cellar.

Marcus had gone out the day before with the Spencer's to go hunting and came back with a plump goose that wouldn't be making it's way south. That was actually kinda late on the trip down. Maybe the Taggart's ought to try their hand at domestic geese since they didn't have a dog on the property. There is nothing more protective or noisy than a flock of geese. Mean too if the occasion called for it. Dara keeps the thought to herself not wanting to push or make suggestions that Miz Flo might take as overstepping.

"They look too purty to eat." Marcus comes in from the outside shedding the coat his mother had made from an old wool blanket and hanging it and his hat on a peg by the door. He comes over to the stove to warm his hands.

"If I put in salt instead of sugar then they probably are." Dara teases. "The water is hot in the kettle if you want a cup of tea?" At Marcus' nod she prepares the teapot allowing the boiling water to steep over the leaves.

"The wind is cutting straight thru today. Where's my mother and Gia?"

"Out in the barn finishing up chores." Dara looks over at the big man who having warmed up sufficiently has moved over to the table. "I think it is about the only way that your mother could let me actually cook in her kitchen. To take a step away...." Before Marcus might take offense she continues. "... and I understand that. I don't know how the Spencer's or Hardy's do it. All those women in one kitchen."

"There is surely just one general." Marcus leans back from the table giving Dara room as she pours him a cup of tea and places it in front of him. "That's how Gia thinks of Audrey Hardy and Laura Spencer-- as the driving forces for those homesteads. And I have noticed that Luke and his son spend a lot of time out at their hunting site."

"You mean the still." Dara clarifies with a quick grin.

"You do catch on quick."

"You spend a lot of time out there too."

"But I'm actually hunting." Marcus counters wrapping his hands around the mug of tea, the hot liquid finishing what the stove had started. "The Spencer's are going to be too. They've got their share of the hogs as it was their mash that fattened them up but with that many mouths to feed going bird hunting isn't going to cut it. I think they waited as long as they did because the smoker wasn't available."

"That's right, Gia told me about that. How you smoked an elk for the Cassadines up the road."

"If the Spencer's had caught something they could have smoked it themselves or salted it. When we first moved to the valley the Cassadines shot a bear that Miz Spencer did mostly salt."

"Could be they figured you'd take offense if they didn't bring it to you to smoke." Dara offers an alternative explanation.

"I hope that is not the case." Marcus frowns.

 

 

 

 

Our Father, we thank Thee for this food
That lies before us.
We thank Thee we are able to reach out
And touch the hand
Of one next to us.

 

Luke swallows a sigh as he holds Laura's hand on one side and Barbara Jean's on the other. There were just a couple of times a year that Laura insisted on starting dinner with a blessing-- Thanksgiving and Christmas. And he supposes he can put up with it twice a year if it made her happy. Course he wasn't that much of a hypocrite that he actually gave the blessing but instead left it to his wife. As he ignores the words Laura gives up to her God he gives his own little blessing. Thank whoever that Laura and the kids haven't seen the things I've seen and can still believe in this comforting pap. As soon as the chorus of Amen's go around the table Luke stands up with carving knife and fork. "Lets eat!"

Bobbie starts passing plates up from Lucky at the end of the table and Carly next to her up to Luke to fill. The smaller side dishes would be passed around. "Laura, everything looks wonderful."

Laura smiles at Bobbie. "Yep, I think that this year we've outdone ourselves."

Carly rolls her eyes in Lucky's direction. Sure everything looked fabulous and her stomach is hollow from saving up for this feast but this mutual admiration society is enough to put anyone off their feed. Unable to resist the opportunity to generate a conversation or even a little controversy, Carly while handing Lucky back his plate. "So Lucky, I was really surprised that you weren't having Thanksgiving dinner down at the Hardy's this year since you started doing Sunday dinners over there now."

The heated comments come from a variety of directions.

 

 

 

 

We thank thee for the many things
Which we so often take for granted,
For we can hear and see and walk.
Help us to always come to Thee
For confidence,
And courage,
And hope.

 

The tables are filled at the Scott Boardinghouse. Hannah's hands are shaking she is so tired as she sits down at the far end of one of the tables. Everything had been set out, everything was as perfect as she can make it. Of course she'd been up since long before dawn working on this meal. Since there was no way that she could have gotten one of the women from the valley to help her she'd had to make do with one of the chinamen from the other side of town. That in itself had been a strain with their foreign ways.
Baldwin had stirred himself to make sure that the fireplaces were roaring and that everyone had a libation while they'd waited for dinner. He's a social man. If he'd had his way he'd run for territory governor, or at least mayor of the town. But probably he'd wait until the homesteaders outnumbered the miners. Because Baldwin in his heart of heart is a reformer and the first thing he'd do as mayor would be to drive all the sinful influences from the town. Course the only way that he could possibly get elected would be if Old Man Quartermaine endorsed him... or that had been the case up until recently. Hannah watches her husband in deep conversation with John Jacks.

"You put on quite the spread, Mr. Scott." One of the single men who was staying the winter tells Baldwin.

"I do believe in giving value for the dollar, sir." Baldwin says grandly. "It's the Christian thing to do."

The Christian thing to do would be to not charge them double on the holiday. Hannah listlessly pushes the dinner she'd slaved over around her plate. Seems lately that she just wasn't hungry.

"Are you alright, Mrs. Scott?" Jerry asks carefully eyeing his hostess.

Hannah forces a smile. "Of course, Mr. Jacks. I was just... counting my blessings."

Jerry looks at the other end of the table. "Right."

 

 

 

 

And we thank Thee on this
Thanksgiving day
For the many blessings we have enjoyed
During the past year,
And may we continue
To receive Thy blessings
During the coming year.
Amen

 

The Quartermaines and the Cassadines gather in the front parlor of the mansion in the middle of the the Quartermaine spread. There is evidence of how the house had grown over the generations as well as the difficulties that had been faced by the family. Natasha had pointed out upon their arrival the family plot marked with crosses. Family being a loosely used word, Emily had explained to Nikolas. Anyone that had worked for the Quartermaines was family. So the crosses represented staff that had been lost in the Indian Wars, babies that hadn't made it to their first year and forty years of hard desperate living on the frontier.

"This is a damn fine port." Edward declares taking a sip of the gift that The Cassadines had brought along. "Haven't tasted one so fine since..." He ponders on that for a moment. "I believe there was a private reserve for a deal I signed in St. Louis. Course whiskey is the drink out here. Whiskey or beer."

"I find neither to my taste." Stefan admits with a small nod. "But I am aware of the difficulty in obtaining port locally. I attempted to order a glass at a local drinking establishment the last time I was in Charlestown."

Jason chokes on one of the nibbles that Reggie had put out to take the edge off of everyone's appetite just in case the dinner didn't turn out... again. "You ordered wine at Jakes?!"

Stefan's small smile is self mocking. "I am aware of the... incongruity. I believe next time I travel to town I shall... bring my own."

Emily feels Nikolas' eyes upon her and finally just can't put up with it anymore. "What?!" She hisses between clenched teeth.

"I apologize for staring. It's just that I don't think I've ever seen you in a dress before."

Emily stomps to her feet; her face flushed with embarrassment. "I'm going to go check on what's keeping Reggie."

Nikolas follows her from the room. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. Please forgive me for being so forward. It's just that... I like it."

"Being forward?" Emily counters.

"Of course not, I meant...." Nikolas stops and takes a deep breath. "I have great admiration for you... that's developed over your visits to the valley... for your conversation... I just...." Nik stops again this time shaking his head. "It is unlike me to be so... clumsy."

Emily crosses her arms in a defensive posture. "I've always took you for being kinda a clod but put it down to you being a soddie."

"I have made a mess of things, I know..." Before Nikolas can continue attempting to state his case there is a crash from the back of the house where the kitchen is.

Reggie comes out of the kitchen hoping to head off anyone coming to check out the disaster and sees Nikolas and Emily standing there. "Um... dinner is going to be a little late. I'd fill up on the soup and nuts."

 

 

 

 

Okay that is going to be it for Thanksgiving, for November 1883. I just can't take anymore. We're going on to December 1883. Y'all have seen enough Quartermaine Thanksgivings to know how they go. So sing a little chorus of We Gather Together and lets get on with it. Deb

prayers are from:

 http://lauraskeepsake.com/thanksgiving.html
&
http://www.wcwcw.com/factsandimpressions/

 

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