Page 24 of Boyfriend Material
Livie let the remark roll off her back. It wouldn’t do any good to talk back. She supposed it was good practice for the crap she’d take as an intern.
“Okay, the girls are calm for now. What can I do?” Betsy asked as she came in, followed by Jean and the boys.
“Livie’s going to get the boys set up with the green beans and bowls. Betsy, you can get the turkey ready. Don’t forget to add the rosemary butter under the skin after you get it into the roasting pan.”
“No problem.”
“Jean, you can start on the pies. Melissa made up the dough before she left yesterday. It’s in the fridge.”
Jean had the boys wash their hands at the island, then got them set up at the table.
“I love making beans,” Jeffie exclaimed. “I’m the bestest bean maker of everyone.”
“I bet you are,” Livie replied with a smile.
“You’re too slow,” Georgie added.
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
“Enough boys or you’ll have to go watch Beauty and the Beast with the girls,” Jean said.
Livie hid her grin at the horror on the boy’s faces. She’d take that choice in a heartbeat. Anything was better than the tension-filled kitchen and waiting for her mother’s inevitable explosion.
After getting the beans washed, she added them to a large plastic bowl and grabbed two smaller ones for each of the boys. Then she grabbed the garbage and moved it between their chairs. “You ready to make some beans?”
“Yes!” they exclaimed in unison.
Livie laughed. “Good. Here are your bowls. Put the ends in the garbage can, and the good ones in your bowl. Okay?”
“We know how to do this, Aunt Livie.”
“Okay, Georgie. Sorry.”
“Don’t eat too many or there won’t be enough for the casserole,” Jean reminded them.
“Yes, Mommy.”
After watching the boys for a moment, Livie pulled two loves of sour dough bread out of the bread box. “Just the two loaves, right?” Livie asked. With her mother, it was always better to double-check.
“Yes.” her mom huffed. Her patience seemed to dwindle by the moment.
Livie and Jean exchanged glances, and Jean shrugged. They were working on opposite sides of the island as Jean rolled out the pie crusts and Livie cut up the bread for the stuffing.
“How’s school going?” Jean asked. She was the only one who ever did.
“It’s been crazy busy. Between school and work, the semester has flown. I have finals when I go back.”
“And Theo too, right?” Her mother called from the sink, where she supervised Betsy’s turkey prep.
“Yes, and Theo.”
“He seems very nice,” Jean said.
“He’s dreamy, and patient with me and my schedule. It helps that he’s got a very intense job that keeps him tied up.”
Jean nodded. “What happens after you’re done with school? Do you have an internship or something?”
