By: Vanessa Sgroi

“Gobble, gobble. We all gobble, gobble.”

“Chet, what ARE you doing?” muttered Johnny Gage, side-eyeing his mustachioed coworker.

“Gobbling like that big bird Roy is working on over there.” Chet rolled his eyes. “Projecting a little holiday spirit. Besides it’s a new song they’re playing on the radio.”

Gage scowled. “Well, go away, you’re bothering me.”

“Yeah, well, your FACE bothers me.”

“Gentlemen,” intoned Captain Stanley, “let’s get back to our respective preparations for this holiday meal, shall we?”

“Yeah, Chet, get back to your…” Johnny wrinkled his nose in distaste and pointed, “squash.”

“Gee, Gage, I’d think you’d love squash…being Indian and all.”

Johnny growled. “You know, Chet, you shouldn’t talk like that when I’m holding a knife…a long, sharp knife.”

“Kelly, Gage,” their captain stared hard at each man, “keep it up and neither of you will get to eat any of this fine feast. You’ll be washing the engine and squad instead. Got it?”

“Yeah, Cap.” Both men declared simultaneously.

“Good. Now Kelly get back to your squash. And Gage get back on that stuffing; Roy’s almost ready with the bird.”

“Coming through!” warned Chet, as he headed for the stove. Unfortunately, Johnny chose that exact moment to back up, crashing into him. Squash flew everywhere.

“GAGE!”

“CHET!”

“You did that on purpose!”

“I did not!”

“Just because YOU didn’t want squash, now you ruined it for everybody!”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“Now no one will get to taste my Grandma’s Famous Honey & Brown Sugar Marshmallow Squash Delight.”

“You mean I saved everyone from falling into a diabetic coma! Who puts marshmallows on squash anyway?”

Noticing the scowl on Captain Stanley’s face, Gage held out a placating hand. “Okay, okay. Just calm down, Chet. Listen, there’s still time, you and I can go get more stuff, and you can make it again. I’ll even help.”

Frowning, Gage muttered, “Oh yeah? Before I agree or not, what are the conditions?”

“One, you pay for the new ingredients…”

Johnny rolled his eyes, but nodded. “And?”

“You have to try some of it when we all sit down to eat.”

Gage groaned. “Ahh, c’mon…”

“In the interest of peace going forward,” Roy called out, “take the deal, Johnny.”

“Yeah, take the deal, Gage,” Marco agreed, “This is all he talked about for a month.”

Johnny shrugged. “All right, fine. I’LL pay for the stuff AND I’ll try it, Chet. Happy now?”

“Supremely.”

“Good. Let’s go. Cap, we’ll be back in 30 minutes.”

“I’ll let dispatch know. Hey, bring back some more butter for these potatoes.”

“You know,” Kelly mused as they headed for the squad. “now that we have to start over, I was thinking about tweaking Grandma’s recipe a little. How do you feel about maple syrup?”

“No, Chet. Just…no.”

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