My mother-in-law told me to get up at 4 a.m. to cook Thanksgiving dinner for her 30 guests. My husband added, “This time, remember to make everything really perfect!” I smiled and replied, “Of course.” At 3 a.m., I took my suitcase to the airport. – usnews 0/2

“Thirty people?” Carmen’s voice sharpened instantly. “Hudson, are you insane? You expected your wife to cook for thirty people by herself?”

The judgment in her voice stung.

“She’s good at this stuff. She likes hosting.”

“She likes hosting intimate dinners with friends, not feeding an army of your relatives who treat her like hired help.”

Hudson ended the call, disturbed by Carmen’s reaction. Why was everyone acting like this was somehow his fault?

He tried Isabella’s phone again. Voicemail.

By 8:15 a.m., his conference call with Singapore was looming. The call he couldn’t miss. The one that could determine his promotion timeline for the next year. But thirty-two people were expecting dinner in less than six hours.

He opened the refrigerator and stared at the contents. The raw turkeys looked back at him accusingly. He’d never cooked a turkey in his life. He’d never cooked anything more complicated than scrambled eggs.