The+Anniversary+Dinner

Becky Nelson 3/4B November 19th 2009 “The Anniversary Dinner” “Beatcha!” Jeff yelled from behind the screen door. “Yeah, you did,” Jane said as she came up in second, huffing and puffing. “Hurry up, Tammy!” Jeff yelled while opening the door for Jane. “Coming, coming,” Tammy grumbled jogging up to the little house at last. When she got to the steps, she stumbled but caught herself just before hitting her head. “Oops,” she said as her brother and sister snickered. “Okay. So tonight we need to hurry,” Jane said, leading her siblings into the kitchen. “Mom and dad will be home at 6 o’ clock, so we have about three hours to cook, set up the table and clean.” “I will never make my children do this for me when I’m an old man,” Jeff promised his sisters and himself. “Shush. And mom and dad are not old. They’re just...” Tammy started but couldn’t find the right adjective. “Exactly,” Jeff said under his breath, shooting a grin at Tammy. She stuck out her tongue in return. “Guys! Focus,” Jane said, glaring at them. “This is important. Mom and Dad will only have one 20th anniversary. It needs to be perfect,” she said with a dreamy look on her face. Jeff mimicked her look and she smacked him on the arm. “So first, Tammy, grab me the pasta from the fridge, will you? And Jeff, grab me a pan.” “Yes, ma’am!” Jeff said saluting her. She rolled her eyes and went to start the oven. The dinner was going to have three courses; a salad with a bread basket, pasta, and cake. “Now Jeff, put the bread in when the oven is ready. In the mean time, go fix up the salad. Please,” she added when it looked like he was going to argue. “What should I do?” Tammy asked. “You can make the pasta. Please try not to knock anything over tonight.” “I don’t try to! It just happens...” Tammy said. “Okay. Just try not to let it happen. This is an important night,” Jane said. The three of them worked on the different courses, Jane making the cake. While the cake was baking, the three cleared out all their stuff from the dining room. Next, they set the table with their fancy dishes. For a final touch, Jane lit a candle and placed it in the center. Five minutes later, the timer dinged. “Oh good! The cake is ready!” Jane cried, and leapt into the kitchen. She let Jeff do the honors of taking the cake out of the oven. “Can I puh-leeeeez cut it?” Tammy begged. Jane gave her a wary glance but said, “If you want to.” “I do!” she squealed, and she ran to grab the cutting knife. As she aligned the knife, Jeff said: “Careful now. Don’t mess up our //whole// plan by screwing up this cake.” Tammy looked up in exasperation and threw her arms up in a shrug. Before anyone could stop it, the knife soared out of her grip. Jeff watched in horror as the tip glinted menacingly and plummeted towards Jane’s foot. Realizing he had only a second left before the blade sliced Jane’s foot, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled. Jane screamed and he knew his reaction had been too late. The resounding //thunk// of the knife crashing into the hardwood floor was unexpected to all of them. For the first time, Jane was at a loss of what to say. “But it was going right for your foot! I thought for sure that I’d killed you,” Tammy said, tears streaming down her cheeks. All of Jane’s breath whooshed out of her lungs in relief. “So did I, but you wouldn’t have killed me, silly.” “I’m sorry I teased you, Tammy. It was my fault the knife fell since I upset you,” Jeff apologized. “I’m sorry too, Jane. That could’ve been soooo bad,” Tammy said. “It’s okay, guys. We need to worry about this floor though. What do we do?” Jane asked. They all looked down at the knife sticking upright in the floor. It was still quivering slightly. Jeff leaned over and yanked it out. “Well, the cut isn’t too deep. Don’t we have some old rugs in the garage? We can cover it up tonight, and then tell them tomorrow so it won’t ruin their special night,” Tammy proposed, eager to make up for what she had done. “Sounds like a plan!” Jeff agreed. “I suppose...” Jane said, not too enthusiastic about keeping this from her parents. Jeff ran to get the rug and then they all changed into their waiter costumes. Their parents came home 10 minutes later, surprised to see a the dinner set with the salad and bread. “Our kids are the best,” their mom boasted proudly to their neighbors few nights later at a neighborhood dinner party hosted at their house. An old rug that was found in the kitchen was removed to make the area look cleaner. “Yes, their so sweet,” Mrs. Foare agreed. She glanced down and saw a small chunk of wood missing from the floor. “What’s this from?” she asked. “Hmm...” said the children’s mother. “I have absolutely no idea.” Jeff, who was walking into the kitchen, turned right back around and fled up the steps two at a time. Where was he going so fast? And why would there be a chunk of wood missing from the floor?