Guardians and Angels

Chapter 22: Rapunzel

My steps consisted of joyful dancing, my words were songs of praise, and a smile permanently imprinted itself across my face. I can't recall being so excited over a measly Thursday. But this wasn't just a measly Thursday. This was a day I've never had the the pleasure of experiencing; a day where I realize just how lucky and truly blessed I am.

Today was Thanksgiving!

I've been waiting for this day ever since Jack brought it up in class. I've pretty much been counting down the minutes, each one feeling like an eternity. I felt like this was all a dream and I'd end up locked in my room, denied of any participation in the celebration. But it wasn't a dream; this was really happening.

Elinor and I have been up since 4:30 this morning trying to get everything ready. She said she could do it by herself, but I really wanted to be a part of making this day so great so she let me help. Both the Frosts and the Haddocks were coming over tonight and I couldn't be more excited. I had been really looking forward to spending this holiday with my bestest friends in the world and their families.

Elinor sported a tan apron decorated with flour and crusted sauce she dripped on herself earlier. Her long hair was pulled into a braid and nearly reached her hip. She, like me, had really long hair but hers was a dark brown with streaks of white that came from aging and stress. She wore a fancy silk blouse in an emerald shade with slight goldish designs on it. She looked sophisticated and proud; like a queen.

We were having so much fun making food together. Yes, we were tired from waking up so early, but we were having a blast. It was nearly 5:30 in the afternoon and were almost done making everything.

The turkey was the first to be prepared. It's been sitting in a smoker pretty much all day, absorbing the hickory flavor of the smoke and cooking at an even pace with added seasoning here and there to give it more zest.

Stuffing was next. Soft bread crumbs intermixed with cheese, sliced celery, and a few pieces of ground beef in it so Merida's brothers would actually eat it. We scattered a buttload of cheese and seasoning on there to spice it up more. It's either go big or go home, right?

After making the stuffing, we made my favorite dish... potatoes. It was a creamy, fluffy mound of deliciousness and took on the consistency of clouds. We even combined the potatoes with cheese and bacon. I couldn't help but take a few bites and moan from the heavenly taste it put in my mouth. This was probably the dish I was most excited for.

From potatoes came dessert. We had pies galore; pumpkin pie, banana cream pie, chocolate pie, and apple pie. We even got ice cream to go along with them. Elinor also made these small cakes with fruit filling in the middle and sprinkled with powdered sugar. She let me try one and it was outstanding!

The sweetest of smells swirled throughout the house. It was the best mixture of aromas I've ever had the pleasure of knowing... you know, besides Jack's wintry smell. But he doesn't need to know that.

"Thank you for your help, Rapunzel. I don't think I could've done it without you," Elinor acknowledged.

"No, thank you for letting me help. It was a lot of fun."

She smiled. "I had fun too." She looked around the kitchen and slightly cringed at the mess we made and the dishes piling up in the sink. "I think I'll start on dishes. You can go wash up for dinner if you'd like."

"No, no, no, I'll help with dishes. I'm the one who made the mess."

"Well, aren't you just a little dear."

I blushed and began doing dishes.

It took about seven minutes to complete it all but that's because Elinor helped put them away once they'd been washed. Most of the dishes fit in the dishwasher, but the bigger ones had to be hand-washed.