Saving Sandy

Chapter 11 - Scaling Up an Ancient Wall with Sandy, Free Climb

The turkey had stuffing in it! It was probably Alfred who told Abigail that was a tradition, to stuff the turkey with herbed dried bread.

And how delicious it was! It rivaled my own mom's stuffing, and that was really saying something. Honestly, every dish on the table was incredibly delicious. I was among some fine cooks.

"This sausage soup is to die for!" Eve gushed next to me as everyone else was in their own conversations. Sandy was talking to Henry about something I couldn't hear. "Who made this?"

"That would be me," said Naydeen. "It is my mother's recipe. I had to go to her place and make it and bring it here."

"Well, it is heavenly, as well as the turkey and gravy. Abigail, what a fine job you did!"

Several people agreed to that, and Abigail blushed and put a hand to her cheek. Geoffrey said, chuckling, "Come on, you all, you are embarrassing her."

There was some laughter at that. Everyone continued talking and eating. After about five minutes, someone called over everyone, "Excuse me!"

We saw a girl raise her hand, a girl I didn't recognize. She didn't have an accent, so she was one of the American girls who was invited. She was pretty a girl with blonde hair done in that Twenties wave style, and she wore an elegant green dress.

"I'm sorry, but I was hoping that we could start going around the table and saying what we're thankful for. It's a tradition in America to do this at every Thanksgiving."

"Then why don't you start, darling?" said the guy who was sitting next to Eve at church, one that didn't hook up with one of the girls. The girl who spoke cleared her throat and blushed. That comment of his was flirting. They probably hadn't met before this event.

"Well, alright, I'll go first. My name is Annie Hutchinson, and I'm from a town in Connecticut called Middletown. I'm so very thankful that I had the opportunity to come here to England to study literature. There isn't a better place to do it, with the history in everything I look at, it seems. Also... I'm thankful for my new friends here at the table."

"Here, here," was said by a few, and we went around the table to each person, and they stated what they were thankful for. The Americans mostly said similar things to what Annie said, about being thankful for being in England and studying at ancient colleges. The Englanders said things like being thankful for being at college and studying to their hearts desire. Most people said that they were thankful for food and their families and things like that as well.

"Well, what am I thankful for?" Geoffrey wondered out loud when his turn came. "Well, other than my amazing mother, I think being here at college, furthering my education. I'm the first in my family to go to college, so it's a rather big deal that I'm here."

"Indeed, that is true," said Abigail. "I think all I am thankful for is that my son is happy and healthy. Really, that is all that matters."

"Aw, mother," Geoffrey gushed, and leaned in to her. I smiled at how cute that was. This was a different side of Geoffrey that I really liked.

A few other people took their turn, and soon, it became my turn. "I don't know where to start, um..." That throat tightening came back. "Well... I think it's obvious. I'm thankful for being here in England, a place I always wanted to go to. I have made so many friends here, and..." My voice caught, and my eyes burned. "Sorry..." I said emotionally, and Eve put a comforting hand on my shoulder. A tear escaped my eye. "I can't even say how thankful I am for the people I know, what I have experienced here, and for what I will experience. I feel so incredibly blessed that God allowed me to be here at this time."

Nobody knew what I meant when I said "this time," other than Eve. I wanted to say how thankful I was to meet Sandy, my idol for most of my life, and someone I never thought I would meet outside of my dreams, but I kept that silent and in my heart.