SO SWEET AS MAGIC, PART SIXTEEN

"Helen, today is Thanksgiving, isn't it? So why don't I smell turkey cooking?"

"Mrs Cory changed the menu, Mrs Hutchins." said the cook, "I thought she had cleared it with you first."

"No, she didn't." said Rachel, "In future, don't take orders from Lila without checking with me. We do have a turkey, don't we?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good. Get it into the oven ASAP."

****

"I don't know if we should have agreed to let Marly cook Thanksgiving dinner." said Vicky.

"Marly is the only one in this family who knows how to cook." Donna pointed out.

"Yeah, but - what if Marly decides this would be a good opportunity to poison me?"

"Oh, I'm sure she wouldn't do that!" said Donna, "Not in front of the children."

"Thanks." said Vicky, "I feel so much better!"

****

"Lila, we need to get something straight, right now." said Rachel, "This is my house. You are not going to play Lady of the Manor here - not as long as I'm alive."

"What's this about, Mom?" said Matthew.

"The new Mrs Cory took it upon herself to countermand my orders to Helen about Thanksgiving dinner."

"Oh, Lila!"

"Turkey and stuffin' ah jist so - borin'." said Lila.

"Boring or not, that's what we're having." said Rachel. "Eventually."

"Ah didn' mean any hahm." said Lila, giving Rachel an appealing look, "Truely, Ah didn'."

"I'm not a man, Lila. You can't flutter your eyelashes and twist me around your finger."

The doorbell rang. "Ah, that will be the guests."said Rachel.

"Guests?"

"I invited the investors to share Thanksgiving with us."

****

"Thanks for inviting me, Cass." said Felicia.

"I'd better warn you right now," said Cass, "Charlie is doing the cooking. So if the bird is burnt and the potatoes are lumpy -"

"I'll say it's delicious."

"- we can send out for pizza."

"Did I hear you say 'pizza', Daddy?" said Charlie, entering from the kitchen. "Hi, Felicia."

"Pisa!" said Cass, "I said 'Pisa'! I was just telling Felicia about that trip to Italy I took with your mother."

****

"Thank you for inviting me, Rachel." said Mr Akageno, kissing her hand.

"If it wasn't for you - and Mr Halliday - this family would have very little cause to give thanks."said Rachel, adding in a whisper, "Besides, it will give you the chance to observe Halliday at close range."

"Dinner will be a little late this evening, due to - problems in the kitchen." she said, in a louder voice.

"All the more time to socialize, then." said Mr Akageno.

"Have you met my stepdaughter, Paulina Cory, and her fiance, Jake McKinnon?"

"I have not had that pleasure."

"Paulina, Jake - allow me to introduce Sanpaku Akageno, Cory Publishing's new investor."

"How do you do?" Akageno bowed.

"Hello." said Jake.

Paulina was staring at Mr Akageno with a stunned expression, as women tended to do. Jake nudged her.

"Uh - Hi!" she said.

****

"Vicky, you haven't eaten a thing!" said Marly.

"I'm - not hungry." said Vicky, poking the food on her plate with a fork.

"Everything is fine." said Donna, "I mean, it's delicious."

"Yeah! Great meal, Aunt Marly." said Steven.

****

"I have some ideas that I think will improve BRAVA's circulation." said David Halliday.

"We can talk in the library." said Amanda.

No way was Rachel going to allow Halliday to be alone with her daughter. She headed them off before they could leave the living room.

"Business can wait!" she said firmly. "It's Thanksgiving - a day for counting our blessings. Come and meet Jake and Paulina, Mr Halliday."

She took his arm and practically dragged him away from Amanda.

****

"This is delicious, Honey." said Cass.

"The turkey is all dried up- "said Charlie.

"That's what the gravy is for!"

"-The potatoes are all mushy-"

"Now you know not to cook them quite so long, next time."

"-And the brussels sprouts are like bullets!"

"Who cares? Nobody likes those things anyway!"

"Charlie, you're a better cook than I am." said Felicia.

"It's true!" said Cass, "Felicia tried cooking a turkey once. She didn't realize that you're supposed to thaw it first."

"I thought the heat of the oven would do that!" said Felicia.

"Fifteen hours in the oven, and it was still hard as a rock!"

"I wanted everything perfect!" lamented Charlie,.

"Honey, nobody does anything perfectly the first time they try it." said Cass, "You'll do better next year."

****

"Look at Akageno, hovering over Mother!" said Amanda.

"Do you think there's something going on there?" asked Paulina.

"I know there is!" said Amanda, "I practically caught them in the act!"

"Wow!" said Paulina, "Good for Rachel!"

"Is that all you can say?"

"If Rachel can still attract a gorgeous stud, then - more power to her!"

"He's up to something!"

"What do you think - he's after her money? He's the one with the disposable income!"

Amanda crossed the room, "You know, Mr Akageno, we really don't know much about you." she said, "Tell us about yourself."

"There's little to tell. My father was Japanese."

"And your mother?"

"Wasn't." he said, "I inherited some money, which I have bettered by making judicious investments, one of them in Cory Publishing."

"Come to that, " said Rachel, "We don't know very much about you, either, Mr Halliday. Where are you from?"

"Omaha."

****

"This year I am thankful for - having good friends, and - because my new novel is going well." said Felicia.

"I'm thankful because Daddy didn't marry Lila Roberts."

"Charlie!"

"It's true, Daddy! I didn't want some stranger coming into our house - with somebody else's baby."

"Looking back on it, I did spring my engagement to Lila on you kind of suddenly." said Cass, "I wasn't thinking about your feelings at all. I guess I should be thankful that Lila dumped me; marrying her would have been a terrible mistake."

"Is that all?" said Felicia.

"No, I'm also thankful for Charlie - and for you."

"Why don't you and Felicia get married?"

****

"Mom, it's time for you to give the Thanksgiving toast." said Matthew, when, eventually, they sat down at the dinner table.

Rachel stood up. "The things that have happened to this family in the past twelve months have made me realize, more than ever, how important the people we love are. It doesn't matter if they disappoint us, exasperate us, even hurt us deeply - every moment we share is still precious. So, this year's toast is - to the ones we love. May we always be together, come what may!"

****

Vicky smiled and waved as Marly got into her car and drove away. Then she ran into the kitchen.

"I'm starving!" she said, slathering peanut butter and jelly onto bread.

"There's plenty of turkey left, Mom." said Steven.

"I'll pass." said Vicky, stuffing the sandwich into her mouth.

****

"Gary, it's Rachel. I want you to look into the background of David Halliday - that's H-a-l-l-i-d-a-y. He claims to be from Omaha."

"I'll leave for Nebraska first thing in the morning." said Gary.

To be continued.