The following week Blaise asked Simon what his plans were for Thanksgiving, and if he needed to go home to Boston. He didn’t hesitate before he answered. He had already decided to stay in New York. He knew she needed him there, and his taking time off would have been a hardship for her.
“Who’s going to cook your turkey, if I go to Boston? I don’t trust you in the kitchen. In fact, I ordered the bird from our butcher last week. I actually had Salima do it. She was very pleased with herself. Do you invite anyone over for Thanksgiving?” Blaise shook her head. She either went to Caldwell to see Salima, or was on a trip. She hadn’t been home for Thanksgiving in eleven years. And this year she had a trip to Israel planned after the holiday. But she was going to be home all this weekend. It was a great weekend for watching football and hanging around the house. And she had tickets to a Rangers game for all three of them. She loved hockey, and so did he.
“By the way,” Simon said, looking nervous, “my parents are coming to town that weekend, to see friends. Do you think there’s any chance we could have them to tea? My mother is a huge fan, and my father would enjoy meeting you as well. If it’s not a good idea, don’t worry about it, I’ll meet them out somewhere.”
“It sounds like fun,” Blaise said easily. She was intrigued to meet them both. They sounded like characters to her, from everything Simon had described.
Blaise was fiercely busy for the next two weeks, and the night before Thanksgiving, she and Salima went to church and lit a candle for Abby, who had always spent Thanksgiving with them in the cottage. It was strange to have a holiday without her. They were so used to having her with them. And when they got home, feeling melancholy, Simon was busy in the kitchen baking pies for the next day, all according to the recipes that worked for Salima’s diet. Blaise tried to steal a little piece of crust, and he pushed her hand away.
“I don’t care how famous you are, do NOT screw up my pies. Or I’ll send you to your room for a time-out.” But when he was finished, he took an apple pie out of the oven and cut them each a slice as a surprise, with his delicious homemade dietetic ice cream that tasted like the real thing. He had made a serious project of collecting recipes for diabetics, for Salima. The apple pie was fantastic, and he had baked a pumpkin pie too for the next day.
“When are your parents coming, by the way?” Blaise suddenly remembered the conversation they’d had weeks before. He’d never mentioned it again, and she wondered if their plans had changed.
“Friday,” he said, finishing the last of his ice cream. “If that’s still okay with you. I promise I’ll only let them stay an hour, and then I’ll throw them out.”
“That’s a nice way to treat your parents. I can’t wait to meet them.”
“I want them to meet Salima too, if she won’t be too bored.”
“They don’t sound boring to me,” she said with a smile.
“I guess boring isn’t the right word. Exasperating maybe. Annoying. Eccentric. Crazy. My mother gets a little hyper at times. And my father just tunes her out and thinks of something else. It seems to work for them.”
“What time are they coming?”
“I told them four o’clock, if that’s good for you. I didn’t want to bother you with their plans.”
“That’s perfect. We’ll have them for tea.” He didn’t want to tell her that his mother preferred wine or champagne. But he had already told his mother to behave. She swore she would, which he knew meant nothing. He was hoping for the best, and prayed it was one of their better days, when his father tuned in to planet Earth, and his mother didn’t lecture them all on some obscure subject no one cared about, like the importance of hydrangeas in a garden, or the beauty of white lilac, or offer to read them her latest poem, which would put them all to sleep. He had had some exotic social experiences with them over the years, but he was willing to risk it again. They were dying to meet Blaise. Even his father knew who she was, and thought Simon was very fortunate to be working for her, even for a short time. He had told Simon that he hoped she would offer him a job, since she could probably afford to pay him more than the school. Simon was sure she could, but the subject had never come up, since she wanted to send Salima back to Caldwell.