LONDON CALLING

Abbey was happy to get into the bread dough, and she had a great time making a bread snake and then rolling it up again into a bread roll.

"Like Gram's work!" Abbey looked at Ruby.

"She thinks its like the clay in my studio," Kate told Ruby. "It's very much like that, Abbey.

"I wanna make plates," she said. "for soooooop!"

"Oh. Well, now, maybe we could do that. Ruby, Abbey thinks we should make breadbowls for the chicken pot pie and serve it in breadbowls instead of in pottery bowls."

"Or ice cream!" Abbey said.

"Not in a bread bowl," Kate frowned. Abbey nodded.

"Well, if we were to do that, we'd have to make a cookie bowl, like a chocolate chip cookie bowl for ice cream," Kate said. Abbey fairly bounced up and down. Kate looked at Ruby. "I don't know. I think she might be onto something. What do you think? If we took a popover pan and turned it upside down, we could mold bread dough or cookie dough on it and bake it so that it made bread bowls or cookie bowls. What do you think?"

Ruby smiled seeing her enthusiasum. " yeah but the best thing is you get to eat it once its cooked." she said but hearing Abby again she thiught about it as Kate spoke " yeah that would work, couldn't hurt to try it." she said and looked for the popover pan Kate had mention and taking out a tub of premade cookie dough from the freezer. " its not frozen so should mold just fine" she said and tipped it out on the counter. " okay lets do it." she said smiling to Abby,

Jack wrote a note and sent it threw the floo before he left knowing they would get to it asap since it was important. " shouldn't take too long to change the shelves to locable display cases." he said to Robert. Ruby knew Abby would love the cookie bowl they would make.

" well looks like shes taking after you Kate " she said laying clingfilm over the bowl to make it easier to remove the cookie bowl once it was solid.

"I think that's going to work beautifully," Kate said, finishing the filling for the chicken pot pie. And, I have some little flatbread rounds I just made to use as lids for the chicken pot pies. I think they're going to look amazing. You know, we can let people make sundaes with the ice cream and put them in the cookie bowls. I think they'll like the variety."

She smiled when she heard Ruby say Abbey took after her.

"You know, truth be told, as much as I'd like to think that, I'm not the one who influenced her to love being in the kitchen. That came directly from Angus. Khaat nearly died from delivering Abbey, and she was in the hospital for quite awhile after Abbey's birth. Her first husband had left her, and Brian picked up Abbey when she was released and brought her here. This is the only home this child has ever known. Brian was working, and so while Brian worked during the day and slept at night, Angus took care of her. Her bassinet was in the kitchen with him during the day, and, every other night, he kept her bassinet in his room, right beside his bed, so that Brian could get some sleep. Those two men split their time as best they could to take care of that newborn.

"I volunteered, of course, but Brian wanted Khaat and Abbey to have a permanent home. Brian had promised Khaat that she and Abbey would never have to worry about a thing for the rest of their lives. He wasn't in love with her then, but he's never broken that promise. And, of course, now that he is tail over teakettle for Khaat, he's only doubled down on that. He's not her bio dad, but he is her legal dad now. And I'm convinced that, God forbid anything ever happen to Brian, Angus would instantly step up because where Abbey is concerned, he always has. I think that's why she likes the kitchen and its why she likes the animals. Its because wherever he went, he took her with him.

"Frankly, if you two ever have kids, you're liable to find them with him in a baby sling, in the kitchen, in the barn, in the garden, on the back of a hippogriff...anywhere but in their crib or in their room."

Ruby smiled as Kate told her about Abby as a baby in her basinet, she'd heard it from Angus but loved hearing it. When Kate mentioned their kids and him having them in a sling she smiled. " I would love one day to see that." she said with a smile " but I don't think Angus is ready yet for kids..our kids." she said not looking at Kate as she rolled out the cookie dough to place over the pan as a mold. " but we have Abby we can look after." she said with a smile.

Jess headed up stairs to try and look for the small pest, she looekd around the nursary and playroom and saw nothing out of place. She knew the pest would show sooner or later but was hoping to catch her bere any more trouble was caused by her.

"I think you could be misreading that. I think he would leap at it. In my own humble opinion, I think he has the biggest case of cold feet I've ever seen. I think he's afraid he'll buggar something up and turn out to be the sort of dad his own dad was. I think the other fear he has is that if anything ever happened to him, you'd be raising the kids without him. And he doesn't want that to happen. I think, as he sees it, the very last thing he wants is to be either an absent dad or a lousy dad.

"And, actually, every dad here understands that feeling because they've all had to face that anxiety. Remus certainly went through it when Teddy was born. I think most of them have decided that they are going to put in as many protections to financially protect their wives and their kids as they can, and then be the very best dad they know how to be right now, and the best fighter they can so that they reduce the chances that they might not come home. But the one thing they all have figured out they have to move past is letting their fear incapacitate them. He'll get there too.

"I think he wants to be an amazing partner to you and an even better dad, and he's afraid he'll muck it up. Maybe once you get the duplex built you should discuss it again. In the meantime, I can see if Robert can't give him just a week bit of coaching to increase his confidence any..." As she was speaking, a grounds worker knocked at the door. Kate answered it.

"Grocery delivery trucks arriving, Mum," he told her. "Got two full sized trucks this time. Gonna have to bring the grounds crew in to unload it and get it in the house," he told her.

"Goodness!" Kate said, "he did refill us good and proper, didn't he? Well, bring the trucks in, I guess." She gave a shout for Jack. "Jack, ground crew says we have two grocery trucks. They're bringing in all the outside crew to help unload. Can you supervise that?"

Ruby listened to Kate and sighed knowing once again she was right. It was now the door knocked and she nodded " oh Angus was expecting this." she said and looked as Jack walked over from the barn.

"ah finally arrived, I got it kate don't worry, Ruby where'd you want this?" he asked her she looked at the fridge.

"walking fridge, and storage room." she said " for now I'll get to putting it away once suppers done." Ruby smiled at Abby. " Kate I would apreciate if Robert could reasure him, I know hes going to make a great father and the duplex is almost done, ther edoing the final fit right now, then its just ainting and furnishing."

"I thought most log cabins had log walls inside and out both. Did you decide to drywall some of the rooms?" Kate asked, always interested in interiors and decor. She knew Angus had selected several of her stained glass pieces to use in the windows and in cabinet doors and in other places, and she was just glad to see them used. She wasn't sure but she had thought she had heard Angus talking to Brian about keeping the southwest decor in their cabin since it fit so well with the log cabin in the first place.

She began working on setting Brian's dining room for supper. Brian had a very different idea for a sideboard and had put an oversized hutch cabinet built as a sideboard. This hutch had open shelves for plates, saucers, cups, mugs, glasses and bowls, and some of Kate's brightly colored large pottery crocks to hold cutlery. It kept the dining room always at the ready. In the base of the hutch were serving bowls and enchanted trivets to keep food hot or cold, pitchers, serving spoons and forks, and table linens. The top of the base was large and was a perfect spot for setting out a meal. It was a most unusual idea for a hutch cabinet or a sideboard either one, and Kate loved how very functional and attractive it was. She kept the dining room simple and just added a vase of summer flowers to the table and some placemats.

"Gam, food pweeze?" Abbey followed her into the dining room.

"Hungry?" Kate asked. Abbey nodded.

"Well, I think supper is ready to bring in, so for now, let's put you in your chair, and I'll get you some fruit to snack on while we set out supper on the sideboard." She put Abbey in her chair and then cut an apple into some wedges for her and put the wedges on a napkin for her. "Try that for a little bit until we get the groceries unloaded and the supper laid out." She went back to the kitchen and put the chicken pot pies in bread bowls with the flatbread lids on two large trays, sprinkled the flatbread lids with some flaked salt and a little minced parsley for garnish and then took them to the dining room and put them on the sideboard.

She hastily made a large bowls of macerated mixed berries with a sweet vanilla cream and put that on the side board, along with a huge pitcher of iced tea and one of lemonade. She made a pot of hot tea and hot coffee for those that seemed to enjoy dessert with tea and coffee, and set out several bowls of various ice cream toppings, sprinkles, crushed biscuits, candies, whipped cream and nuts. She scooped out several scoops of various flavors of ice cream and put them in enchanted bowls to stay icy cold, put the lids on them, and set them on enchanted trivets to help them stay frozen.

"I think it's all ready unless you got a chance to throw a salad together, Ruby," Kate said. "Did we miss anything?"

Ruby looekd at Kate and nodded " the main areas are but the kitchen has to be drywalled becuse it keeps things clean." she said  " its the only place that needs it." she listened to Abby and chuckled. Hearing a salad being mentioned she nodded " all right I can throw together a quick simple salad." She started to make Chopped Cobb Salad with Chicken, She Placed lettuce in a medium bowl and tossed 1 Table spoon of dressing to coat the leaves.She then arrange tomato, cucumber, mushrooms, chicken, egg, and beans in rows atop the lettuce and drizzle with the remaining Teaspoon of dressing.

"Hows that?" she asked showing Kate as she showed her the salad she'd prepared. The saw what Kate had prepared. " it all looks good." she said and glanced down at her salad.

"And the salad looks great. I say we call this herd for supper. I'll take the salad in and fix a plate for Abbey if you can call everyone." Kate took Ruby's salad into the dining room and put it on the sideboard. Then she gave Abbey the one half-sized pot pie she had made especially for her. She gave her a small portion of Ruby's salad, and a little bowl of berries and cream, and a pink pottery mug of milk. The mug was new, something new she had made for Abbey so she had something that was just her size now that she was ready to go without a sippy cup, and the little mug had a white kitty on it. Abbey loved it immediately.

Kate fixed her own plate and sat down near Abbey so she could help Abbey with her supper if she needed it. It didn't take Robert and the others long to filter into the kitchen once Ruby called them. And they were quick to fill up their plates. It seemed like people were hungry tonight.

There had been progress made on the plans for the trip to Romania. Edward and Gabe had put together the map and the itinerary. Michael and Edward had started on an equipment and supply list. And, Robert had ordered a heavy duty shoulder brace for Angus. Gabe had promised to work out a new sort of cold pack for Angus to take so he could ice his ribs and his shoulder, and Robert was going to formulate some condensed potions for a travel med kit so they had all the potions they needed but in a much smaller form so it would be easier to climb with. They realized that everything that needed to be taken needed to be able to be carried in 3-4 climbing backpacks. Robert wasn't going to assure then that Angus was going to be capable of carrying a pack and climbing both. He was recommending that Michael and Jessie and Brian carry the gear so they could go easy on Angus's shoulder.

But, the plans for the trip was seriously overshadowed by the supper that Ruby and Kate had prepared. They loved it all, and Brian had seconds of Ruby's salad. Abbey ate all her pot pie and had a second helping of berries.

Ruby called wvry one to dinner and moved to sit next to Angus hoping to spend a little time with him before he had to leave for romania. She was happy things for him were sort of geting abck to normal even if he was still one winged with his shoulder and she was happy they liked her salad. She took a plate and ate quietly.

Jack walked in smiling "That hypogriffs been like a diferent fellow, hes stayed away from us as we fixed the fence." He said moving to grab a plate of food and sat with Jess. Jess fixed a plate and waited for Jack to sit with her as Ruby wondered if he should check the duplex one last time as she knew it would be completly ready by the time Angus got back and she wanted to make sure everything was ready so he ahd nothing to do when he returned but enjoy the house and kitchen.