Heart of Gold (Anthony Rizzo)

Sixteen

Anthony

Thanksgiving is kind of a difficult holiday for a lot of Americans. I mean Nicky comes home talking about Christopher Columbus and pilgrims and unity and you can't just be like "the only thing the pilgrims gave the natives was disease and famine" so you're kinda stuck there. For every hand turkey there's another kid under the influences of false information and it sucks but hey, what are you gonna do?

Thanksgiving is also a time to be thankful. That's what I'm going to focus on the holiday season. I have a lot to be thankful for this year and I was going to be sure I let it be known.

Thanksgiving morning I wake up and roll over in bed. I open my eyes and see a pair of bright blue ones staring back at me.

"I love your eyes" I mumble sleepily and Isabella giggles.

"So I've heard" she smiles.

"What time is it" I ask.

"About 8 am" she says.

"Hmmm, something here isn't right" I admit.

Right on cue the door squeaks open and there's the sound of the paddle of little feet on the hardwood floor. Little blonde curls appear over the bed and I smile. Nick reaches his little arms on top of the bed and pulls himself up with a little grunt. He crawls over the king sized bed and lays between Isabella and I. She runs her fingers through his hair as he smiles bright.

"Good morning Nicky" she says softly.

"Good morning, did you miss me" he asks.

"More than anything" she laughs.

"Do I get to help you make thanksgiving dinner this year" he asks.

"Of course" she nods.

"What about me" I ask.

"You want to cook" she questions.

"I want to learn" I reiterate.

"Well I would be happy to teach you" she smiles.

After messing around in bed for a little we get up and get dressed. Nicky takes a shower and I stay here while Isabella went to the store to grab a few ingredients. She comes back with a arm full of things and I help her get in the door.

"I thought you just had to get a few things" I laugh taking a few bags.

"Well a few things turned into a few more things and now we're here" she laughs.

We get everything inside and set out to cook. I bring in a stool so Nick can see over the counter. He steps up and we all wash our hands before getting started.

"Okay, we need to prepare the turkey first because that will take the longest. And I think this special job is for Nick" she starts.

"What do I need to do captain" he asks with a salute.

"You have to gut it" she says dramatically.

"Oh! What does that mean" he asks.

"You have to take his insides and bring them to the outside" she explains using gross hand motions and his eyes go big.

"Cool" he whispers. He goes to work getting the innards out and throwing them into a bag.

I help Isabella make the marinade and heat up the oven. Once Nicky was done he helps up make the stuffing and puts it inside the turkey and we cover the it in marinade before putting it in the oven.

The next thing we do is make mashed potatoes. Isabella and I peel the potatoes and put them on the stove to cook. When they were soft enough we take them out and put them in a bowl for Nicky to smash which he enjoyed so much. Like so much.