6. The Knock on the Front Door

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October 1943

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October 1943

The alarm clock went off and George reached over to turn it off before turning back to me.  I knew I had to get up to see to his breakfast and make his lunch for work, but I had such a headache the night before that I was sure I was coming down with something.  He stroked my arm.

"How do you feel Winnie?" he asked.  "Still have the headache?"

"Worse," I mumbled.  "Must be a cold coming on.  Give me a few minutes and I'll get up to get your breakfast going."

"No, you stay in bed," he said, patting my arm.  "I can get my own.  Goodness knows I can fry up a couple of eggs, some bacon and toast.  I'm not that useless."

"George, you're not useless at all," I smiled.  "I'm awake anyways and have to get Rebecca up for school.  I'll go back to bed after I get her seen to, I promise."

"You're a good woman," he said, as he sat up and stretched.  "I hope we get a letter from Bucky soon.  The fighting in Italy has been hard but they must get some time away from the fighting."

He headed for the bathroom to wash up and shave while I put my robe on and headed down to the kitchen.  It was cold down there and I went down to the cellar to put some coal in the furnace.  I made a note to order some more coal soon.  Back in the kitchen I put the coffee on and turned on the gas burner on the stove, placing the cast iron frying pan on it with half a dozen slices of bacon in it.  While those began to cook I cut half a dozen slices of bread from the loaf, and pulled a couple of eggs out of the ice box.  Four of the bread slices were buttered then I layered some delicatessen meat and cheeses on them, before slicing them in half and wrapping them in waxed paper.  The other two slices were put into the toaster for George's breakfast.  Along with a piece of apple pie, an apple, and several cookies which were put with the sandwiches into George's lunch box I poured most of the coffee into his flask, adding some cream and sugar.  I put his lunch box and flask on the side table next to the front door.  Opening the front door I took the morning newspaper out of the mailbox and brought it inside so George could read it while he ate breakfast.

The bacon was done and I lifted the pieces out, then drained some of the fat out, collecting it in a jar that I kept just for that as bacon grease was good for cooking.  I broke the two eggs into the pan and noticed the bread was toasted so I buttered the slices.  As I splashed the bacon grease onto the eggs to cook the top George came down, dressed for work at the shipyards.  He gave me a kiss on the side of the head and poured himself some of the coffee from the coffee pot, even though it was the stuff at the bottom and likely very strong.  He always said he liked it that way as it was the best way to start the day.  With the spatula I put the eggs on a plate, along with the bacon and toast, placing it in front of him, along with the bottle of ketchup, salt and pepper. 

While he began eating I began making oatmeal for Rebecca's breakfast, bringing water to a boil, adding the oats, stirring them then lowering the temperature so they cooked slowly.  They took longer, sometimes as long as 30 minutes plus I had to keep my eye on them to keep them from burning. 

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