A Walk Down Memory Lane

Chapter 1-Chicken, Stale Bread, And Tacos: A Classical Thanksgiving Dinner

"Joe, come help me with Pollo."
"Pollo? Que es?"
"A chicken."
Dad was in charge of cooking dinner this Thanksgiving, and so far it wasn't working out great. Apparently he had bought a chicken instead of a turkey, and now he was having difficulties with cooking it. He insisted we were having a Mexican Thanksgiving although it made no sense.
"The chicken is ready," My father yelled out from the pantry.
I knew from the moment Mom charged Dad with the honors of Thanksgiving dinner, that this would be one helluva ride. "I need you to grab some stale bread!" I counted three seconds, and then I heard him continue. "Never mind..." I rushed down stairs to prevent my father from any more frivolous mishaps. As I reached the bottom step my phone rang. Pulling out an iPhone 8 (That's right! This is the future!!!!!) I answered it.
"I'm going to be home a bit late," Mom's tired voice rasped. Working for a rather abusive boss, this was often the case. I remember one time on my 7th birthday, she had to work a 14 hour shift. I was disgruntled when I heard of the news, and I went to bed feeling cheated.
Mom worked in some "secret mind lab" although most of the time she was only joking when she described it that way. Her job required a lot of dedication to her duties. This became a problem when she worked a holiday shift. But hey, what are you gonna do?
"Go ahead and start cooking the turkey (obviously unaware of the chicken-turkey situation) and remember to NOT use stale bread when cooking the stuffing." I heard the line go dead. She hadn't even said good bye. Today was definitely a hard work day.
I sauntered into the kitchen where a stale bread stuffing was being prepared by yours truly, my Dad.
I heard our home phone ring. Dad checked the caller ID. "Ella Nor Corp."
Huh. I was pretty sure Mom's work never called unless... Crap! I snatched the phone off its charger and answered. I heard a voice speak those words I could and would never forget...