Chapter 32 – The Dinner Party
The next morning, Jed and Charlotte got up, ate breakfast and then started getting ready for Saul and Gail to come over. They decided on what they were going to make, and then made sure that they had everything they needed to make it. There were a couple of things that they had to get from the store, so they quickly ran to Walmart and back. With everything in hand, they started preparing the meal. They had a menu planned of French Onion Soup, Roasted Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Carrots and peas, Stuffing, and buttermilk rolls. They picked up a Boston Cream Pie at Walmart. They decided to have just a tossed salad to go with it. Jed would work on the salad while Charlotte prepared the chicken and stuffing to go in to the oven. Charlotte got the chicken in to the oven and started on the french onion soup. She dug out her cookbook and got to work. By this time, Jed had finished making the salad and was sitting at the table drinking coffee.
After the soup was prepared and on the stove heating, Charlotte joined Jed at the table to drink coffee. Jed made a remark about how sexy Charlotte looked when she was cooking. Charlotte responded with a smile, and then her sly, come and get me grin. She turned down the stove, checked the oven once more, and then grabbed Jed’s hand and headed to the bedroom.
After they got cleaned back up, Charlotte made her way to the kitchen to check on the chicken and the french onion soup. Everything was going good. The smell in the kitchen was very good and it made them even hungrier. All that was left to make were the buttermilk rolls and carrots and peas. The chicken still had about forty five minutes to roast, so they went and sat on the sofa for a while.
When it was time to make the buttermilk rolls, Charlotte went in to the kitchen and started making them. Jed joined here and started opening the cans of carrots and peas. He put them in a pan on the stove and turned the burner on low. Charlotte pulled the chicken out of the oven. As she was putting the buttermilk rolls in to the oven, the door bell rang. Jed let Saul and Gail in and directed them to the sofa. Jed sat in the recliner. Charlotte set the timer for the rolls, then set the table. She got out the salad and placed it on the table along with three different kinds of dressings. Then, she went out and greeted their guests. There was still a few more minutes left on the timer, so she stayed and talked until the timer went off.
She came out and got Jed and their guests and then sat them at the table. The table was beautifully set. Gail remarked how well the table was prepared and how good everything smelled. Charlotte gave each of them a bowl of soup and sat the crackers on the table. Saul stated how good the soup was. They all agreed. When the soup was done Charlotte took all the empty bowls and gave them salad plates. Jed helped her put the roast chicken, baked potatoes, stuffing, carrots and peas, and the buttermilk rolls on the table. Jed got out the carving knife and carved the chicken and gave each of them the part that they wanted. Charlotte gave each of them a potato. They sat down and then passed around the other serving dishes with the stuffing, and then the carrots and peas and buttermilk rolls. Then they started eating. Everything was delicious.
When they were finished eating, they all went out in to the living room and started talking.
“Everything was delicious Charlotte”, Gail started.
“I can’t take all the credit, Jed helped a lot”, Charlotte responded.
“It was very good”, Saul added to the others.
“We had a lot of fun doing this”, Jed said as he sat down.
“Next time, we’ll have you over to our house”, Gail stated.
“How’s next Sunday?”, Saul asked no one in particular.
“We’re going away next weekend, aren’t we Jed”, Charlotte stated.
“We’re going to fly up to Traverse City next weekend to look at condos”, Jed stated and then added, “would you two like to go?”
“We’ll have to let you know after we check our schedules, but we’d love to go if we can”, Gail responded without even looking at Saul.
“That sounds like it would be fun”, Saul added.
“We’ll call around Wednesday some time and make the arrangements then”, Charlotte replied.
“Okay”, Saul and Gail said at the same time.
“I am going to go clean up the kitchen and then we can play cards or something if you guys want to”, Charlotte said as she got up and walked to the kitchen.
“Let me help you with that”, Gail said as she joined her in the kitchen.
When the girls went in to the kitchen, Jed and Saul sat in the living room and talked some more. They laughed at the noises coming from the kitchen. Jed remarked about how well Charlotte and Gail got along and Saul agreed. Saul told Jed that that was all Gail talked about after the last dinner that ate together. The girls talked about the guys as they did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. They talked about card games and what they each liked to play.
When they were done cleaning up in the kitchen they rejoined the men in the living room. They discussed what to do next, and decided to play a game of canasta. The four of them headed to the kitchen table. Jed got out the cards and they started playing. They decided to play partners, guys against the girls so that the couples could sit next to each other. They had a lot of fun playing. They would tease each other as the score bounced back and forth. The girls finally got to five thousand first and won the game. The men demanded a rematch. They agreed on a best two out of three. What choice did the guys have? They were already beaten once. The girls teased the guys as they started the second game. The guys said that they would get the girls this time. After the first two hands, the girls had a pretty good led. The guys were not giving up though and quickly rebounded to make the game close by the last hand. The cards were dealt and the hand played. The guys ended up on top for this game. The third game started. The score went back and forth again for this game. Teasing and joking went back and forth as quick as the score. On the last hand, the girls prevailed. Dejected and defeated, the guys kissed their girls and told them it was a good game.
By this time, it was after eleven, so Saul and Gail got their coats, thanked their hosts, and then headed out the door for home. Jed and Charlotte sat on the sofa and listened to music for a little while before they headed off to bed.
