And so, one by one, they all stepped up to Catherine, to give her their individualized Thanksgiving cards they had made during Elizabeth's weekly art class, which they had each folded, colored, and scripted.
Natalie, who was the first in line, took in a huge gulp of air, before she said, "Catherine, this is for you, it is a letter, err a card about Thanksgiving."
Catherine happily accepted the card, saying, "Thank you so much Natalie, let me see what you drew for me, Oh my, a purple Turkey! Purple happens to be one of my favorite colors. And inside you wrote, "Happy Thanksgiving Catherine...is this written in your very own hand?"
Look Right to see Natalie's Card
To which Natalie nodded in an exaggerated fashion, and proudly said, "Yep!"
From the sidelines, Jacob cleared his throat, and as Natalie looked his way, she quickly recanted, and corrected her grammar, by saying, "I mean, YES Catherine. But sorry I spelt your name wrong at first, but I fixed it!"
Catherine smiled as she took Natalie's small hand in hers, and lovingly said, "Thank you so much Natalie, you did a wonderful job."
And ever so proudly, Natalie replied, "You are welcome CATHERINE!"
Next in line was Seth, who handed Catherine his card. And as Catherine got a load of his art work, she expressed, "Oh Seth, I love the Headdress you drew on your Turkey! And let's see the card reads:
Look Right to see Seth's Card
Catherine laughed and said, "Oh Seth, I love it! A Happy Thanksgiving in two languages! Thank you!"
Seth shyly shifted his feet, as he toothlessly said, "You are welcome Catfherine!"
Then it was Kipper's turn, and he explained, "I wanted to let you know, we are glad you are here with Vincent today, and well, I guess you can just read my card..."
And so after Catherine read Kipper's card, with heartfelt fondness, she thanked him, and then Kipper explained, "And also, just so you know, that turkey is made from an outline of my hand! I just traced around it."
With a nod, Catherine inspected the cute art work, and shared, "I see...well I like it very much."
Look to the right to see Kipper's Card
Then a very eager Zach came forward, and said, "Hope you like my card Catherine, I kind of went for the humor."
Accepting the card, Catherine smiled at him as she unfolded the card, and started laughing at the site of it!
And as she showed the card to Vincent, he too humorously nodded, and then Catherine said, "Thank you for this interesting point of view Zach!"
Look to the right to see Zach's Card
Then Samantha, who had been patiently waiting for her turn, stepped up, and offered, "I know Owls aren't exactly Thanksgivingish, but I just like owls...so I hope you like my picture too.
Loving the little owl with a turkey tale, Catherine told Samantha, "I happen to love owls too, and think you did a cute job with this premise. Thank you very much Samantha."
Look to the right to see Samantha's Card
And so, just as the other children finished their presentation, William sounded a message throughout the tunnels, via the master pipes, that dinner was ready.
Upon hearing the message, Jacob slapped his hands together, and said, "Shall we all walk together to the Dining Hall? It would appear as if William is ready for us."
And so, as was customary, Vincent slipped his supporting arm through his Father's as they started down the tunnel main, and today, as he also reached for Catherine's hand, he felt thankful, that he had her in his life, to guide, protect and support now too.
The chatter as they walked along, was gay and festive, and as they traveled onward, they picked up more and more of the community, who joined them on their way.
Meanwhile, The Dining Hall was abuzz, as much of the community was already there, waiting for the arrival of Jacob, Vincent and Catherine.
As so as the children ran up ahead, Vincent stepped back so his Father could proceed him, and out of respect for Jacob, everyone in the hall stood, and waited for him to be seated.
Vincent then escorted Catherine into the Dining Hall, and a hush fell about the room. Though it was true, that Catherine had met many from the community already, seeing them together was truly beyond all of their hopes and dreams for Vincent.
And so as they sat down too, Jacob who was at the front of the long main table, graciously nodded, and asked everyone to please be seated.
Jacob himself remained standing as he spoke words of thanks on behalf of the whole community. Bowing his head, he then solemnly petitioned:
"We have chosen to live a different kind of life here. A life in where we depend on each other, and on our helpers above for what we need to survive and live a happy, healthy life. Much like our founding fathers did when they developed our country. We are thankful for all of our Blessings. Amen."
Happy Thanksgiving in the Tunnels
Jacob then motioned to the feast set out for them, and said, "It looks as if William has out-done himself this Thanksgiving, Thank you William for the feast you had prepared, and to everyone who has contributed in any fashion to our special Day of Thanks."
Yes, the buffet table was all decked out, with all the traditional holiday dishes and William stately stood at the end of the table ready to carve the turkey.
As the community lined up for the buffet, following behind Jacob then Mary, the talk was light and the gaiety was at a high pitch.
The Children were intermingled between the adults so they could receive any help they may need to prepare their plates. And of course, little Natalie was at Vincent's side , and Joseph was at Catherine's.
As Vincent put a small scoop of peas and carrots on Natalie's dish, he noticed she wrinkled up her nose at the site of them. With concern, Vincent asked, "Is there a problem Natalie?"
Nodding in reply, Natalie kindly asked, "Get those off of my plate please!"
To which Vincent asked, "I thought you loved carrots."
Clarifying, Natalie nodded and explained, "I do like the carrots Vincent, but I don't want those little green balls of mushy poison on my plate!"
With a touch of humor in his eyes, Vincent looked at Catherine who was also smiling, and Vincent could only shrug his shoulders, totally at a loss where Natalie would get such an idea.
And so Vincent asked her, "Please explain Natalie."
Taking a deep breath, Natalie answered, "Well, Michael read us that book about Patrick who did NOT like peas, and he said they were little green balls of mushy poison."
Knowing the book Natalie was referring to, Vincent then asked her, "And how did the book end Natalie?"
To which little Natalie shook her head trying to remember but she couldn't!
And so Joseph chimed in, saying, "We don't know Vincent, Brooke asked him to help her with something, so Michael never finished reading it."
With a knowing nod, Vincent replied, "Ahh I see. Well luckily, I happen to know how it concluded. You see Patrick found out the peas were not poison at all, but were quite flavorful, and charged with vitamins and fiber."
With a look of suspicion, Joseph said, "I knew you were gonna say something like that Vincent!"
As Vincent looked over at the little lad, he challenged, "Then you are far more clever than I, and for that very reason, I expect to see an even larger scoop of peas and carrots on your plate!"
In response to his being duped, Joseph scrunched his nose, and said, "Ahh Vincent."
And so with the pea crisis behind them, they approached William. To which Vincent politely introduced him to his Catherine, saying, "William, I would like you to meet Catherine. Catherine this is William."
Because Catherine was quite beautiful, and because he wanted to make a good impression, William wiped his hand on his apron, before he reached for Catherine's, and welcomed her by saying, "Nice to meet ya Catherine! I hope you will enjoy the Thanksgiving feast."
After saying it was nice to meet him too, Catherine smiled and said, "I am sure I will William. Thank you."
As they sat down beside Mary, and near Rebecca, the two ladies smiled at each other. Clearly they were beside themselves, feeling so pleased that Catherine was here with Vincent, and that their relationship was definitely progressing along.
Meantime, as Catherine sat next to Vincent, she looked around, impressed by the ambiance.
The Hall, illuminated only by candles, and wall mounted torches, gave this place a mystical atmosphere. And because it was so magical, Catherine just had to express to Vincent, and those around her, "This place, this Hall, everything is so lovely...I imagine there must be dozens of candles aglow for lighting."
Informatively, Vincent mentioned, "Yes, and it's thanks to Rebecca this is so. She makes sure our halls and chambers are always well adorned with light."
Upon hearing the compliment, Rebecca was quick to say, "Awe, well as for todays festivities, Mouse helped me with these...he was a huge help to me today."
Humbly Mouse stayed quiet, but happily accepted all the accolades which came his way.
And then Catherine finished up telling Vincent, and the others near by her, "Sharing in this day with you, is more enchanting than I could have ever imagined..."
Meanwhile as Catherine finished talking, Mary reached over to squeeze Rebecca's hand, because of how sweet Catherine was to say such nice things, and because Rebecca managed to create the loveliness and warmth she was hoping to achieve through the glowing radiance from her candles.
And so, as the dinner was completed everyone oohed, and ahhed at how delicious everything was.
Then as everyone lined up for desserts, Jacob expounded, "Ah Apple and Peach, how can I resist? Luckily I saved a little spot right over here to accommodate a sampling of each!"
And so Jacob prepared his dessert dish, with a piece of each kind of pie, and both donning a dollop of whipped cream!
Upon sampling both pieces, Jacob exclaimed, "Very good my Dear, very good indeed, however, if I dare say, the Peach may be tastier than the Apple!"
Thinking Jacob's comment was a bit insensitive to Catherine's baking efforts, with a scolding tone, Mary said, "Jacob!"
To which Jacob scowled, as he then apologetically noted, "Well Mary, I didn't mean any insolence, just stating an opinion! I mean both of the pies Catherine baked, are really quite delicious, however, if I were asked, well, if truth be told...I am partial to the peach!"
Happily, Catherine smiled as she assured Mary, "No offense was taken Mary, I am just so glad Jacob liked the Peach so much."
To be continued...
Chapter Twenty
Natalie, who was the first in line, took in a huge gulp of air, before she said, "Catherine, this is for you, it is a letter, err a card about Thanksgiving."
Catherine happily accepted the card, saying, "Thank you so much Natalie, let me see what you drew for me, Oh my, a purple Turkey! Purple happens to be one of my favorite colors. And inside you wrote, "Happy Thanksgiving Catherine...is this written in your very own hand?"
Look Right to see Natalie's Card
To which Natalie nodded in an exaggerated fashion, and proudly said, "Yep!"
From the sidelines, Jacob cleared his throat, and as Natalie looked his way, she quickly recanted, and corrected her grammar, by saying, "I mean, YES Catherine. But sorry I spelt your name wrong at first, but I fixed it!"
Catherine smiled as she took Natalie's small hand in hers, and lovingly said, "Thank you so much Natalie, you did a wonderful job."
And ever so proudly, Natalie replied, "You are welcome CATHERINE!"
Next in line was Seth, who handed Catherine his card. And as Catherine got a load of his art work, she expressed, "Oh Seth, I love the Headdress you drew on your Turkey! And let's see the card reads:
Look Right to see Seth's Card
Catherine laughed and said, "Oh Seth, I love it! A Happy Thanksgiving in two languages! Thank you!"
Seth shyly shifted his feet, as he toothlessly said, "You are welcome Catfherine!"
Then it was Kipper's turn, and he explained, "I wanted to let you know, we are glad you are here with Vincent today, and well, I guess you can just read my card..."
And so after Catherine read Kipper's card, with heartfelt fondness, she thanked him, and then Kipper explained, "And also, just so you know, that turkey is made from an outline of my hand! I just traced around it."
With a nod, Catherine inspected the cute art work, and shared, "I see...well I like it very much."
Look to the right to see Kipper's Card
Then a very eager Zach came forward, and said, "Hope you like my card Catherine, I kind of went for the humor."
Accepting the card, Catherine smiled at him as she unfolded the card, and started laughing at the site of it!
And as she showed the card to Vincent, he too humorously nodded, and then Catherine said, "Thank you for this interesting point of view Zach!"
Look to the right to see Zach's Card
Then Samantha, who had been patiently waiting for her turn, stepped up, and offered, "I know Owls aren't exactly Thanksgivingish, but I just like owls...so I hope you like my picture too.
Loving the little owl with a turkey tale, Catherine told Samantha, "I happen to love owls too, and think you did a cute job with this premise. Thank you very much Samantha."
Look to the right to see Samantha's Card
And so, just as the other children finished their presentation, William sounded a message throughout the tunnels, via the master pipes, that dinner was ready.
Upon hearing the message, Jacob slapped his hands together, and said, "Shall we all walk together to the Dining Hall? It would appear as if William is ready for us."
And so, as was customary, Vincent slipped his supporting arm through his Father's as they started down the tunnel main, and today, as he also reached for Catherine's hand, he felt thankful, that he had her in his life, to guide, protect and support now too.
The chatter as they walked along, was gay and festive, and as they traveled onward, they picked up more and more of the community, who joined them on their way.
Meanwhile, The Dining Hall was abuzz, as much of the community was already there, waiting for the arrival of Jacob, Vincent and Catherine.
As so as the children ran up ahead, Vincent stepped back so his Father could proceed him, and out of respect for Jacob, everyone in the hall stood, and waited for him to be seated.
Vincent then escorted Catherine into the Dining Hall, and a hush fell about the room. Though it was true, that Catherine had met many from the community already, seeing them together was truly beyond all of their hopes and dreams for Vincent.
And so as they sat down too, Jacob who was at the front of the long main table, graciously nodded, and asked everyone to please be seated.
Jacob himself remained standing as he spoke words of thanks on behalf of the whole community. Bowing his head, he then solemnly petitioned:
"We have chosen to live a different kind of life here. A life in where we depend on each other, and on our helpers above for what we need to survive and live a happy, healthy life. Much like our founding fathers did when they developed our country. We are thankful for all of our Blessings. Amen."
Happy Thanksgiving in the Tunnels
Jacob then motioned to the feast set out for them, and said, "It looks as if William has out-done himself this Thanksgiving, Thank you William for the feast you had prepared, and to everyone who has contributed in any fashion to our special Day of Thanks."
Yes, the buffet table was all decked out, with all the traditional holiday dishes and William stately stood at the end of the table ready to carve the turkey.
As the community lined up for the buffet, following behind Jacob then Mary, the talk was light and the gaiety was at a high pitch.
The Children were intermingled between the adults so they could receive any help they may need to prepare their plates. And of course, little Natalie was at Vincent's side , and Joseph was at Catherine's.
As Vincent put a small scoop of peas and carrots on Natalie's dish, he noticed she wrinkled up her nose at the site of them. With concern, Vincent asked, "Is there a problem Natalie?"
Nodding in reply, Natalie kindly asked, "Get those off of my plate please!"
To which Vincent asked, "I thought you loved carrots."
Clarifying, Natalie nodded and explained, "I do like the carrots Vincent, but I don't want those little green balls of mushy poison on my plate!"
With a touch of humor in his eyes, Vincent looked at Catherine who was also smiling, and Vincent could only shrug his shoulders, totally at a loss where Natalie would get such an idea.
And so Vincent asked her, "Please explain Natalie."
Taking a deep breath, Natalie answered, "Well, Michael read us that book about Patrick who did NOT like peas, and he said they were little green balls of mushy poison."
Knowing the book Natalie was referring to, Vincent then asked her, "And how did the book end Natalie?"
To which little Natalie shook her head trying to remember but she couldn't!
And so Joseph chimed in, saying, "We don't know Vincent, Brooke asked him to help her with something, so Michael never finished reading it."
With a knowing nod, Vincent replied, "Ahh I see. Well luckily, I happen to know how it concluded. You see Patrick found out the peas were not poison at all, but were quite flavorful, and charged with vitamins and fiber."
With a look of suspicion, Joseph said, "I knew you were gonna say something like that Vincent!"
As Vincent looked over at the little lad, he challenged, "Then you are far more clever than I, and for that very reason, I expect to see an even larger scoop of peas and carrots on your plate!"
In response to his being duped, Joseph scrunched his nose, and said, "Ahh Vincent."
And so with the pea crisis behind them, they approached William. To which Vincent politely introduced him to his Catherine, saying, "William, I would like you to meet Catherine. Catherine this is William."
Because Catherine was quite beautiful, and because he wanted to make a good impression, William wiped his hand on his apron, before he reached for Catherine's, and welcomed her by saying, "Nice to meet ya Catherine! I hope you will enjoy the Thanksgiving feast."
After saying it was nice to meet him too, Catherine smiled and said, "I am sure I will William. Thank you."
As they sat down beside Mary, and near Rebecca, the two ladies smiled at each other. Clearly they were beside themselves, feeling so pleased that Catherine was here with Vincent, and that their relationship was definitely progressing along.
Meantime, as Catherine sat next to Vincent, she looked around, impressed by the ambiance.
The Hall, illuminated only by candles, and wall mounted torches, gave this place a mystical atmosphere. And because it was so magical, Catherine just had to express to Vincent, and those around her, "This place, this Hall, everything is so lovely...I imagine there must be dozens of candles aglow for lighting."
Informatively, Vincent mentioned, "Yes, and it's thanks to Rebecca this is so. She makes sure our halls and chambers are always well adorned with light."
Upon hearing the compliment, Rebecca was quick to say, "Awe, well as for todays festivities, Mouse helped me with these...he was a huge help to me today."
Humbly Mouse stayed quiet, but happily accepted all the accolades which came his way.
And then Catherine finished up telling Vincent, and the others near by her, "Sharing in this day with you, is more enchanting than I could have ever imagined..."
Meanwhile as Catherine finished talking, Mary reached over to squeeze Rebecca's hand, because of how sweet Catherine was to say such nice things, and because Rebecca managed to create the loveliness and warmth she was hoping to achieve through the glowing radiance from her candles.
And so, as the dinner was completed everyone oohed, and ahhed at how delicious everything was.
Then as everyone lined up for desserts, Jacob expounded, "Ah Apple and Peach, how can I resist? Luckily I saved a little spot right over here to accommodate a sampling of each!"
And so Jacob prepared his dessert dish, with a piece of each kind of pie, and both donning a dollop of whipped cream!
Upon sampling both pieces, Jacob exclaimed, "Very good my Dear, very good indeed, however, if I dare say, the Peach may be tastier than the Apple!"
Thinking Jacob's comment was a bit insensitive to Catherine's baking efforts, with a scolding tone, Mary said, "Jacob!"
To which Jacob scowled, as he then apologetically noted, "Well Mary, I didn't mean any insolence, just stating an opinion! I mean both of the pies Catherine baked, are really quite delicious, however, if I were asked, well, if truth be told...I am partial to the peach!"
Happily, Catherine smiled as she assured Mary, "No offense was taken Mary, I am just so glad Jacob liked the Peach so much."
To be continued...
Chapter Twenty
| Keeper of my Heart! Chapter Nineteen By Sharon Holtz Happy Thanksgiving in the Tunnels ______________________________________________________ |
| Happy Thanksgiving From you know whooooooooooooooo Samantha |
| Happy Thanksgiving Catherine To the lady who makes Vincent happy Sincerely Kipper |
Giblets the Turkey, and I Want to say, "Gobble Gobble, Catherine!" Which means: "Happy Thanksgiving, Catherine!" in turkey talk! Most Sincerely Seth! |
| Happy ThAnksgiviNg KAthErine! nAtaLiE |
Happy Thanksgiving Catherine! From Zach |
| X |
| C |