“Back away woman, I’m warning you. It’s not crispy.”
“I don’t care. Give me a piece.” Jess whined.
“For God’s sake give her the bacon.” Joey growled.
So much for getting along. Ben thought.
Gabe picked up the slice that appeared to be most cooked. “Do you have any idea what under cooked pork will do to you?” He said as he put the bacon on a plate and handed it to Jess.
“I’m not afraid of a little trichinosis.” Jess said, practically moaning in delight, as she took her first bite.
Jamie got a tablecloth out of the butler’s pantry and was in the process of setting the dining table. Ben didn’t know whether Evie, Joey, and Pauli would be going with them to volunteer and had begun to suspect that if everyone went, the servers might outnumber the diners. Obviously, Ben’s presence in the kitchen was unnecessary. He commented that someone needed to call Pauli about breakfast as he made a cup of coffee and went into the hearth room to join Evie.
He bent and kissed her cheek. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
She patted his hand. “As well as usual. It’s something that happens as we age. We don’t require as much sleep which is a good thing, considering I’m up two or three times a night to use the facilities.”
He sat on the opposite end of the sofa. “Ah, something to look forward to.”
Evie folded the paper and looked at him. “How is Lane, really? She looked tired last night.”
“We had her 12 week appointment Tuesday and the doctor said her energy level should come back to normal now that she’s started her second trimester. I’m letting her sleep as long as possible…” He raised his voice “…although I may have to kill someone in the kitchen if all that noise wakes her.”
Lane walked into the room and bent to kiss Evie’s cheek before sitting in the chair adjacent to her husband.
“Actually, I woke up to use the bathroom, and found myself alone.” She leaned over and kissed Ben. “I saw the time and thought I’d better get up. We have a lot to do today.”
“You don’t have to lift a finger in the kitchen today; I’ve got it under control. You just relax and spend time with Evie.” Ben told her.
Gabe poked his head into the hearth room and looked at Lane. “I’m taking omelet orders. What’s your pleasure?”
Lane smiled, “I’m a purest. I’ll just have two scrambled eggs.”
“One Adam and Eve on a raft; wreck ’em coming up, but that’s only if you want bacon with them.”
Jess looked at him and shook her head. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”
“It’s diner lingo. You really need to get out more. Actually, I learned it for a role a couple of years ago. I was playing a short order cook.”
Jess laughed, “So what you’re telling me is, you hung out in a diner for a week listening to what the waitresses and cooks said.”
Jess knew that some actors used ‘the method’, a family of techniques used by actors to create in themselves the thoughts and emotions of their characters, so they could develop lifelike performances. Gabe’s way of accomplishing this was to immerse himself in the life of the character. He didn’t take it to the extremes that some actors did though. Some actors immersed themselves so much that they became the character on and off the set.
The garage door opened and Pauli walked into the kitchen. Gabe went through his omelet routine.
Gabe had five skillets on the stove as he cooked omelets in three, bacon in the fourth and ham in the fifth.
“I have a bacon, cheese, mushroom, and ham ready to go. Jess I think that’s yours.” He said as he slid it from the pan onto a plate.
“I have two scrambled with bacon and toast and two over easy with ham. Those are Lane and Nana Evie.” He called as he moved the eggs onto plates and handed them into Jamie’s waiting hands.
He cracked eggs and started the omelets for Joey, Pauli and Jamie next as he repeated the orders back to them to be sure he had everything right. The Keurig was working overtime as Jess made coffee for everyone.
Soon everyone was at the dining table with plates of omelets or eggs, with platters of bacon, ham, and pancakes in the middle of the table. Everyone held hands, and Ben quickly offered the standard Catholic blessing so everyone could dig in before their food got cold.
During breakfast, Lane took a head count of people going to serve Thanksgiving luncheon with her. As Ben suspected, Evie, Pauli, and Joey were going to stay home.
Ben had stuffed the turkeys last night and would get them into the oven as soon as breakfast was finished. They would leave the house around 10:45 and should return no later than one o’clock, which would give him an hour to get the rest of the meal completed and ready for a two o’clock dinner. Having grown up in the restaurant business had made all of the Bellini brothers good cooks, so Joey and Pauli could keep an eye on things until he got back from serving luncheon.
Chapter 19
It was 11:00 when the six-member Parker-Bellini contingent arrived at Sunset House. Kimber Kay Kellogg, Kay to her friends, met them at the door and hustled them to the Activity Director’s office where introductions took place. Kay explained that the residents had to register for the family meal so the number of people who would be eating in the activity room would be limited to 50 people. Most residents had only one or two guests who joined them, a child, or grandchild, but some had more. Today there would be 20 residents and their guests. Dinner would be prepared by the kitchen staff and would come out on carts containing trays, which would be removed and served to the diners. Iced tea and coffee would be served separately.
Lane and her family needed to decide who would be taking food from the carts and serving the meals, and who would be responsible for filling drinks. She explained that any resident with special dietary needs would have their name on their tray, and those would come out first.
“I’ll check the names and direct you where they go. Otherwise, some of these folks would try to trick you so they could get a regular meal.”
Kay smiled. It seemed that suddenly every nursing staff member on duty was making an excuse to come into the activity room. Word had spread like wildfire that Gabe Greer was in the house and everyone wanted to get a glimpse of him. Gabe was graciously shaking hands with the ones who were brave enough to approach him and smiling, and waving at the shy ones who only peered into the room.
Kay sent Lane and Ben to the lobby with instructions to direct the families to the activity room. There was a coat rack set up in a corner, and as the family members entered the activity room, Jake, Gabe, and Jess took coats and hung them up. Jamie helped Kay direct the families to tables where their resident was anxiously waiting. Jake almost choked trying to stifle a laugh when he overheard one of the guests whisper to another, “Those two volunteers look just like Gabriel Greer and Jessica Lane.” He thought about saying they were Gabriel Greer and Jessica Lane, but he didn’t know what kind of riot might ensue.
Soon, all of the guests were in the activity room and Lane and Ben had joined the rest of the family. At 11:30, Kay began distributing the special diet meals. Jess, and Jamie were serving drinks, Jess held a carafe of decaf coffee in one hand and regular coffee in the other; Jamie held a pitcher of tea in one hand and a pitcher of water in the other. They made their way from table to table filling glasses and cups while Lane, Ben, Jake, and Gabe delivered the meals Kay handed to them. When the meals had all been served, Kay announced a few minutes of silence to allow the residents and their guests to say grace if they so desired. After the meals were distributed, Ben and Gabe each took a pitcher or carafe and made rounds with Jamie and Jess as Lane and Kay stood to the side ready to assist the diners with whatever they needed. As the residents and their guests finished their meals, the volunteers removed the plates and placed them on the cart. Soon, the kitchen staff delivered another cart filled with plates containing pumpkin or apple pie for dessert. Again, Kay directed the special diets to the right resident.