Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanks…and Glory Be!

Well, it wasn’t quite the happy Thanksgiving DiDi had expected, but she was determined to make the most of it.

Her plans had been to spend Thanksgiving with Calvin, Jr. and his new fiancee at her parents’ home in Wichita. But an unexpected snowstorm had canceled all planes landing and taking off from Monticello Municipal Airport.

Looking out the window and the continuous downfall of snow, DiDi recalled how -- when Cal had introduced her and Calvin to his new girlfriend, Nikki -- her “mother’s intuition” immediately told her that Nikki was “the one.” Two years later, she was proven right when the couple announced their engagement.

The plan was for the parents of the prospective bride and groom to spend Thanksgiving together as an inaugural celebration of the blending of their families. DiDi thought about how much Calvin, Sr. had been looking forward to this Thanksgiving…and how much she was dreading going to Wichita without him.

But God works in mysterious ways. Thanks to the unforeseen circumstances of the weather, she’d been spared having to make that trip. And thanks to Skype, she’d been able to have a wonderful “virtual visit” with all of them earlier that morning.

After that, she watched an episode of All My Children she’d DVR’d the pevious day. Ironically, it was an episode where one of the main characters had to deal with the unexpected death of her husband right before Thanksgiving.

Somehow, watching the actress express the character’s grief, helped DiDi feel better able to cope with what she, herself, was going through.

“That’s probably why soap operas are so popular,” she thought, “because the audience gets to know the characters and can relate what they’re going through with something they’re experiencing - or have experienced - in their own lives.”

Snuggling up on the couch in front of the fireplace, DiDi reflected on her own “soap opera” of the red-headed woman she’d seen twice now -- the last time was the previous week when DiDi’d been out jogging and saw the woman entering the gated community of Wonderland Estates.

DiDi had immediately called Chris Egan and driven over to talk to her about it….

“You really think that was Alicia Van Dine?!” Chris had asked, incredulous at the possibility.

“Well, I thought so after seeing her the first time outside the UNICEF benefit, but after seeing her the second time…I’m certain of it,” said DiDi.

“R-r-r-r-ing!”

The telephone snapped DiDi out of her reverie. “Hello…and happy Thanksgiving!”

“Hi, DiDi, I thought you might still be in town.”

“Sky?”

“Yes! I was watching the weather report and thought it might have derailed your Thanksgiving trip, so I’m calling to invite you to have Thanksgiving dinner with Raven and I and our family.”

“Well, uh…that’s very thoughtful, but I don‘t want to intrude,” stammered DiDi at the unexpected invitation.

“Come on, that’s the least I could do for my newest employee,” said Sky.

DiDi had finally decided to accept Schyler Whitney’s offer to write a weekly column for his newspaper, but she and Calvin had never really socialized much with the Whitneys…and quite honestly, she was fine with leaving it like that.

“Look, DiDi, this is going to be your first holiday without Calvin. I remember what it was like for Raven and me our first family holiday after our son Gerald died, so, if nothing else, please come just for the diversion…besides, it’s Thanksgiving…you have to eat. And the holidays always inspire Raven to make a “guest appearance” in the kitchen. Her pumpkin pie is not to be missed!”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to miss Raven’s pumpkin pie,” laughed DiDi. “So…what time, what do I bring and what’s your address again?

“Three o’clock…and you don’t need to bring a thing,” said Sky. “But, we’re starting a new tradition this year, our daughter Charlotte and her husband are hosting Thanksgiving. Her address is 9787 Wonderland Lane.... "

Cue the music!



***
Mariann Aalda played DiDi Bannister-Stoner on Edge of Night from 1981 to its final episode on December 28, 1984. She also played Grace Battles on Guiding Light and Lena Hart on Sunset Beach on daytime and starred in the primetime series The Royal Family and First & 10 and recurred or guest-starred on such shows as Designing Women, Grace Under Fire and The Parkers, among others. With a penchant for comedy, she's also done stand-up in clubs across the country and is the co-creator of M.O.I.S.T.! -- the "sex-istential" comedy-with-music celebrating the seasoned woman -- which she co-wrote/produced/performs with Iona Morris (ex-Fiona Griffin, As The World Turns).

1 comment:

  1. Hmmmm! Charlotte and her husband live on Wonderland Lane? Methinks Alicia VanDyne may make an appearance...or at least I hope so! ;)

    ReplyDelete