CHAPTER 12

 

“That was just wrong. I’m glad Grandpa’s up next.” Nick said and stood up, wavering a little.

“Little shaky there, Nicky?” Jack laughed.

“Okay,” Dan said. “We had an agreement. Go help your mother with dinner. That turkey is kind of making me hungry too.”

“What about you, Dad? Jack asked, half-joking.

“What about me?” Dad looked up at him. His eyes were a bit glassy.

Jack shook his head and followed the others to the kitchen.

Judy assigned each of them tasks and turned to Grandpa, who was seated on a barstool at the counter. “Everyone has their duties, Grandpa. Start the next story.”

“Except Dad,” Nick muttered. Jack gave him an elbow.

“Just waiting for you to give me the green light, Judy. Let’s see... this one’s called Esmeralda’s Stocking.”

“Esmeralda... like in The Hunchback of Notre Dame?” Jack asked, grabbing some fresh asparagus to cut.

“As a matter of fact, the story opens with two quotes from it. Interesting,” Grandpa said and started to read.