Chapter 54: Long Thanksgiving
"Wow, Marissa, I didn't know you could cook," I exclaimed, seeing her in the kitchen.
After Manny's conversation, I went straight to the group home. Marissa and Summer were helping make the Thanksgiving lunch for the kids.
Coop kept stirring the pot. "Mac and cheese are one of the few things I know how to make," she laughed.
"You, on the other hand," I turned to Summer, "are exactly what I expected," noticing her struggling to cut some of the ingredients.
She let out a cute "humph," which made me kiss the top of her head.
"You two look like newlyweds," Tommy approached us and remarked innocently.
Summer flushed and froze, while I grabbed a Nerf gun and opened fire on him.
"Ahh, Uncle Jake, you told us we were on a break!" he shouted, running away.
I had handed out plenty of Nerf guns to all the children, and we'd played earlier before I stopped to help with lunch.
Elly had been hiding and watching us, then suddenly appeared. I fired at her too.
She pressed her hand onto the spot where I'd hit her. "What was that for, brother?" she cutely pouted.
"I know Tommy doesn't have the knowledge to talk about newlyweds. He wouldn't blurt that out unless someone told him to," I pointed out.
"He asked me how to make Summer like him more," she revealed with an innocent look.
"Ohhh," Summer murmured softly.
"Ouch!" Elly squeaked again, since I'd shot her once more.
"Jake!"
"Her puppy eyes and angel act don't work on me anymore. I can spot a mischievous one from miles away," I warned, pointing toward Elly. "Go help Sister Agnes, or I'll tell her to cut your TV time."
She left - but not before sticking her tongue out at me.
"You really are good with the kids," Marissa commented, placing the pasta in the tray.
"Well, I have to deal with three big ones during my day," I joked, making Marissa and Summer playfully slap me.
"Hey, I was talking about Luke, Manny and Jake, my cousins!" I tried to defend myself.
Summer repeated my words teasingly, "I can spot a mischievous one from miles away."
In that playful exchange, Marissa ended up throwing flour at my face.
"Ohh, you're on!" I retaliated against both of them, sending flour flying everywhere.
"Let's get him, Coop!"
Then Tommy appeared with five more kids - his reinforcements.
"War time!" someone screamed.
Suddenly, screams, laughter, and, most of all, flour filled the entire kitchen.
"Come on, kids, let's attack them!" I commanded.
"Jake, that's not fair!" Summer protested.
We were screaming and laughing until Sister Agnes appeared, her expression not exactly that of a nun (or maybe she was trying to recreate the horror movie scene).
"If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. - Matthew 6:14," I quoted.
"You better be praying to the Lord and make this kitchen spotless before lunchtime," she warned me with a stone-faced expression, then grabbed a handful of flour and tossed it straight at Elly's face.
"Ahh, Sister Agnes!" Elly squealed, flapping her hands.
"I'll call the rest of them - let's make sure all the kids have fun equally," she said with a wide smile before walking away, restarting the war.
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After lunch, I was driving my second car, a Porsche Cayenne Turbo - the first SUV ever made by Porsche. I bought it because sometimes I need a car with more space.
"Are you sure you two are okay spending Thanksgiving with my family? It's going to be a kids' party and a not-so-conventional dinner," I asked them.
"My dad is with my stepmother," Summer said with a grimace. She never liked the woman.
Marissa spoke something similar. "My sister is at a boarding school and didn't come back for the holiday. Things are kind of tense with my parents right now," she admitted quietly.
I'd heard from Grandma that there were rumors going around about Jimmy, but no scandal had come out yet.
"Oh well, you're all welcome to the Pritchett and later Harper family," I stated
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I parked in front of the Dunphys' house. The place was already fully decorated, with a few inflatable toys and even some bounce houses in the front yard.
"Phil, you really went all out!" I greeted him, laughing.
"J-Money!" He patted my shoulder. "What's all this?" He noticed the boxes I was carrying - Summer and Marissa were helping too.
"Bought a bunch of Nerf guns as presents," I replied.
Summer joined in, "More like so he can play too," she teased, smirking at me.
"Sweeeet!" Phil exclaimed, excited
"Phil, is that a rock wall?" Claire asked, spotting a climbing wall being set up. "Is that even safe?"
Phil had his typical attitude. "Relax, it's all good."
Claire made a face that screamed she didn't trust it one bit. But then she noticed us. "Hi, Jake, why are you covered in white powder?" she asked, brushing some off my shirt.
"Summer, Marissa, and I helped with the Thanksgiving lunch at the group home. We ended up having a flour war," I laughed.
"Ohhh," Claire, Phil and Alex - who had just arrived - both let out a soft, affectionate sound.
"Can you two not look at me like I'm a puppy?" I joked, completely ignoring that Phil did too
Then I asked, "I'm gonna take a shower here, okay?"
If I tried that at the group home, the younger kids would want to join in, and it would turn into chaos.
"Of course, sweetheart," Claire said softly.
Phil agreed. "Yeah, you can have one with Summer if you want," he blurted out, still probably caught up in the moment.
"What??" the women burst out.
"Phil, sweetie," Claire spoke in a drier tone.
"I mean, one at a time!" Phil tried to correct himself, making me laugh. But I was the only one.
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