I was very nervous because my tiny townhouse was full of hungry people, people with
very different personalities, backgrounds and families who were now brought together as one
family, my family. They were all counting on me to present them with a feast that was just as
appealing to the eye as it was to the pallet. I did not think that I would make it through this!
My mother and her husband, they had only been living with me since they moved down to
be closer to me, seemed to be everywhere I turned. My Mother and I fought the whole day over
how to cook things. Of course being a Mom, she thought she knew best, but this was my dinner
My mother in law who had cooked for me on several occasions including holidays, was
observing, almost like she was waiting for me to make a mistake. I like this gray haired,
somewhat slouched but spry elderly lady. She tried very hard to cook great meals and I have had
much worse, but I began to understand why my husband like my cooking better. He rediscovered
dishes like chicken 'n' dumplings, stuffed peppers, and country fried steak, only to make sure he
stated, "Please don't tell my Mom that I ate that!" Now I wondered if she would secretly talk
My sister-in-law, who was also named Debbie, was cute, nice, slim and smart, she arrived
with her Mom. Although very different from her brother, they shared a close but yet distant
relationship. I always wondered if she even liked me.
My husbands best friend/ex-partner, showed up eventually. He usually showed up late
and was always in a hurry. He was in he early fifties bachelor, and thought of himself as
somewhat of a ladies man. He was a smooth talking retired police officer who loved his toys so
much he had to work full time as an off duty police officer , plus his pension to pay for them. I
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