Once breakfast was over, Amelia, Rob and Amanda promised to clean up while Laura drove Josh and Samantha to the hall and to be ready when she got back to collect them. After making sure that the children who would be staying behind had both their numbers, Josh and Laura put their coats on.

“Did you want to put a night-shirt on or something for the journey?” Laura asked her naked daughter.

“I want to go naked!” Samantha insisted. “But I guess I could put on a coat. I don’t want to be a frozen turkey after all!” she giggled. Laura handed her the big coat she had worn the night they went to visit the neighbours across the road to invite them to the party and show off her meat-stamp, then remembered the ham and went to retrieve it from the fridge, putting the chilled, foil-wrapped meat in a carrier bag. Soon the three of them were in the car, Samantha excitedly clutching the bag with her stuffing ingredients and recipe in, humming a tune that was in her head although she was not sure where she had heard it. Listening casually from the front seat, Josh recognised it as the theme tune from “Rosie the Christmas Turkey”!

When they arrived at the hall, Samantha hopped out of the back seat and pulled the driver’s door open to hug her mum.

“Don’t forget Emily!” Laura teased. The meatballs and pigs in blankets were already in the hall’s fridge but the ham was on the back seat of the car. Giggling, Samantha reached back in and grabbed it as her dad got out the other side of the car. “Now are you sure the two of you can manage the stuffing on your own?” she asked. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait until I get back?”

“I’m sure we can manage!” Josh assured her, noticing the slightly offended look on their daughter’s face. “Mrs Claus left very clear instructions!”

“Okay then!” Laura chuckled. “Have fun, you two! See you in a little while!” After waving her off, Josh fished the keys to the hall out of his pocket and let them into the lobby that Samantha and the other girls had enjoyed decorating the day before, to be greeted by the two of Samantha’s printed effigies which had been displayed there. Samantha unzipped her coat and slipped it off.

“Aah, that’s better!” she stretched. “Now I get to spend the whole rest of my life naked!” She giggled and Josh ruffled her hair playfully.

“Come on!” He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Let’s get started on this stuffing!” The made their way through the hall, not bothering to turn on the light for now since they knew where they were going, and through to the kitchen where Josh took the foil-wrapped ham out of the fridge and added it to the other food in the fridge.

“Right!” he rubbed his hands together as Samantha quickly washed hers then began to unpack the bag of ingredients, “What do we need?”

“A large mixing bowl,” Samantha read, smoothing the curling parchment out with her hands and trying to hold it flat, “a chopping board, a sharp knife, a large wooden spoon and a kettle of boiling water!”

“One mixing bowl!” Josh declared with a flourish, producing an over-sized ceramic bowl from one of the cupboards and putting it on the prep table, the same table where Samantha herself would be gutted and prepped for the oven once the guests arrived. “Three chopping boards so we can both be working on things,” she set these down next to the bowl, “and an assortment of sharp knives of various sizes! Now, wooden spoon… wooden spoon…” he checked the various drawers, eventually finding what he wanted. “Now, there’s no kettle here but we do have a large jug,” he took it down from the cupboard and raised it as if in a toast, “and the water boiler on the wall so when we need boiling water, we can just fill up the jug! All set?”

“Looks like it!” Samantha grinned. “Hmm,” she frowned, “is there anything we can put on this so I don’t have to keep holding it open?” She demonstrated the issue – every time she took her hands off the parchment it rolled itself back up, a habit that would be very frustrating while they tried to follow the instructions!

“Let me see…” Josh checked the cupboard and found four fairly small glass tumblers with heavy bases that would make great paperweights and set them at each corner of the parchment, holding it open so that Samantha’s hands could be free for chopping and mixing!

“Perfect!” She kissed him on the cheek. “You really are the best! Now, let’s get to work!”


To be continued...