She patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry.”
He followed his mother into the kitchen. When Liz looked up, she registered a combination of shock and dread. But then she managed a smile.
“Oh. Mom. Hi.”
“Hi, Liz. I thought maybe you could use some help.”
Liz’s gaze flitted from his mother’s to his. And he read the panic there
“That sounds like a great idea, Mom,” he said. “Though I think Liz is doing a fantastic job.”
“Of course she is, but I’m always grateful for extra hands when I’m trying to do everything.”
Thank God for his mother. “If you all don’t need me, I’m going to get out of your way.”
“That’s a really good idea, son. We’ll call you if we need you.”
Liz didn’t know whether she wanted to grab onto Gavin like a lifeline or kick his ass down the basement stairs. She’d wager anything he called his mother and told her she was losing her mind.
Which she was.
“How’s it going here?”
“Oh . . . fine. I have the turkey cleaned and ready to go into the oven tomorrow morning. The side dishes are plotted out and well in hand. Some I’m prepping today, and others will be done tomorrow. I’m working on hors d’oeuvres right now.”
“Hors d’ouevres?”
“Yes. I’m doing individual shrimp cocktails, stuffed figs, an olive and cheese spread, spinach and artichoke dip.” She paused. “I know there’s something else. Let me go grab my menu.”
Mom nodded. “Uh-huh. You do realize it’s just family, and that you’re not serving Christmas dinner for the President of the United States, right?”
Liz laughed and waved her hand. “Of course. It’s just that there’re so many, and I want to make sure there’s enough. Anyway, here’s my list if you want to take a look and tell me if you think I’m missing anything.”
Liz worried her bottom lip while Gavin’s mom perused the list. When she looked up, Liz noted the look of concern on her face.
“Oh, crap. I’ve forgotten something, haven’t I?”
“Yes. You’ve forgotten we’re just the Rileys. We’re very simple. Have you ever seen me serve anything like what’s on this menu?”
“Well . . . no. But I thought I’d fancy it up a little.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you don’t have a complete meltdown trying to do that. You know, once the family started to expand, I decided that holidays would be more like potluck, with everyone bringing a side dish. And I also enlisted help. Cara came over and started helping out with cooking the main dishes.”
“Right. But I thought—”
“That you could manage doing it all yourself.”
“Yes.”
Kathleen took a seat at the island. “And how’s that working out for you?”
Liz exhaled and leaned against the counter. “I feel like I’m about to drop. I’m so tired, Mom.”
“So why are you doing all this?”
“I don’t know. Because it’s my first time, and I want everyone to be happy.”
Her mother-in-law laughed. “Honey, no matter what you feed everyone, they’ll be happy. It’s Christmas, and we’re all delighted to spend the day together with those we love. You could serve turkey sandwiches and chips and we’d be content.”
“I don’t know about that, but maybe I have been overdoing it . . . a little.”
Kathleen perused the epic disaster that was Liz’s countertops and cocked her head to the side. “A little?”
“Okay . . . a lot. Gavin called you and said I was making him crazy, didn’t he?”
“I refuse to answer that question on the grounds you might be angry with him.”
Liz laughed. “I couldn’t possibly be angry with him, since I’m so happy you’re here.”
“I’ve been offering to help you for weeks now, and you kept saying no.”
“I know. I’m so sorry. I wanted to be the perfect daughter-in-law and do it all by myself.”
Kathleen slid off the bar stool, came around the island, and pulled Liz into her arms. “You’ve always been the perfect daughter-in-law. You love my son and he loves you. It’s all I will ever ask for.”
Liz batted back tears. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too.”
Liz took a look at her menu, then at her mother-in-law. “Okay, so help me out here and tell me how I can scale some of this back so I’m not hiding in a corner by tomorrow.”
***
By early evening, Gavin’s mom had left and he’d helped Liz finish up the last of the prep for tomorrow’s meal. Then he’d done all the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. After that he’d gone out and picked up a pizza, because the last thing his wife needed was to cook dinner tonight or have anything else in the kitchen to have to clean up.
They had curled up in front of the television to watch a holiday movie. Liz was lying on the couch, her head in his lap. After the movie finished, she flipped over to look up at him.
“Have I mentioned today that you’re my hero?”
“Uh, no, you haven’t. What brought this on?”