Rating: T


              A Special Birthday Dinner

 March 23, 1973

With the day's mail, Martha received a package with her name on it. Entering the living room to take a look at what was in that package, she looked closer and found an envelope fastened on the underside. She opened the envelope and took out the letter before unwrapping the package, beginning to read,

                        Dear Ms Grant,

  You don't know me, but I know you. I'm sure you're beginning to wonder why, but it's quite simple. You see, your brother-in-law and my husband are in the Navy together and I speak with your sister whenever it is possible. So I feel as if I know you. I wasn't quite sure if I should send you this, but after speaking with your sister last week when she told me that you were a very good cook, I decided I would.
 This is a small cookbook but not a simple, normal cookbook. This book is something special. You will know why when you open your package. Please don't be alarmed by the title. It really is a cookbook, believe me.
 Please, accept this as a present from me to you.

 Sincerely yours

 Caroline Bradford

PS Let me know how you like it. Your sister has my number.

 Martha was completely baffled and very curious now. Taking the package and unwrapping it, she realized that the woman was right -- the title was something special. Martha had to smile at the words 'EROTIC FOOD'.

 'Wait a minute,' she thought, 'You can't read it right now. You must wait until everyone has retired. Especially if the kids are around, this could cause many problems and a lot of trouble.' Taking the book, she vanished into her room where she hid it under her underwear. This was accomplished just in time, as right then Mrs.Muir was coming in the front door.
* * * * * * * * *
 Later that evening, it seemed that everything was quiet in the house. However, in the master bedroom, the Captain waited for Mrs. Muir. When she came in, she was greeted with, "Good evening, my dear. If you aren't too tired, there is something I wanted to discuss with you before you go to bed."
 "Good evening, Captain." she answered. "No, I'm not too tired. If you are around, I'm never too tired." She could tell by the look on his face that something was bothering him. "What the matter?" Carolyn wanted to know
. "It's about the housekeeper of yours."
 "Martha?" Carolyn was astonished. "What has she done?"
 "Yes, Martha! She has done nothing and then she has done something. She has secrets she is keeping from us, my dear." Daniel sounded a little mysterious.
 "Secrets!" Carolyn repeated. "Why would Martha keep secrets from us? Tell me, what happened today when I wasn't here?" Now she was very curious.
 "I'll tell you," Daniel began. "First, she received a package."
 "A package, you say?"
 "Yes, a package, and she was very excited about it."
 "Excited! Martha was excited?" Carolyn couldn't believe that Martha was suddenly keeping secrets from her. "Could you see what was in the package, Captain?"
 "To my regret, NO! I tried but it was impossible to see what was in the package. You see, she opened it so skillfully that a look was impossible. And then she did something I had never expected of her. She hurried with the package in her hand to her room and vanished in there just before you came in the front door."
 "She did what?" Carolyn couldn't believe what she was hearing.
 "You heard right. She is hiding something from us that she doesn't want us to see. And I don't like that. Martha is up to something and I want to know what it is. I can't allow any mysterious goings on here." Daniel wasn't pleased by that whole episode at all.
 "So, Martha is suddenly keeping great secrets from me. Well, I don't think I like that either. I must find out what she received with the day's mail. Alright, Daniel, maybe together we can find out what she is hiding from us." Carolyn wasn't pleased either.
 "With a bit of luck and together, we'll find out what big secrets Martha has now, my dear Carolyn." He couldn't help but call her that. ***************
 At the same time, in Martha's bedroom, she had pulled out the book from under her underwear. Now she was sitting on her bed and studying the book. It was very interesting. She loved the recipes but most of her attention was on the sides between the recipes. There she read something about flops, bad luck and breakdowns and survival tips for grease boxes of the first night, then the morning after, kitchen love (or late-night snack for all) and something more. But one side of that book was even more particularly interesting for her. It was something about sexy undergarments and what to do with them. Martha had to grin about that special aspect.
 Suddenly the Captain and Mrs. Muir came to her mind. And then and there she was hit by a very terrific plan. Why not make up some of the recipes for both of them? Especially since the Captain's birthday was coming up. Since she had found out about the Captain and had become aware that he and Mrs. Muir were in love with each other, she had wanted to play Cupid a little bit.
 Ghost or not, after all, the Captain was a man who could do anything if he wanted. What intrigued Martha was the fact that she knew about his habit of touching everyone in the family if he wanted. It couldn't be bad to play matchmaker. Maybe with a bit of luck and a great miracle there would be the possibility that....
 "Stop that thought of yours, Martha! You know perfectly well that such a thing never can happen. But you shouldn't blame yourself for that thought. It's always the Captain's fault. Why does he always looks so incredible good? Any woman would get lost in his ocean blue eyes." now she was thinking aloud. "Okay, let's see. If I make that dinner as a surprise for the Captain's birthday, I first have to talk with Mrs. Muir about my plan because I need her help with it. But I must do this carefully, because Captain Gregg shouldn't hear anything of it. Well, I'll just get some sleep and in the morning I'll know what to do." Before going to bed, she hid the book under her underwear again.
 She couldn't know that the Captain had told Carolyn about her strange behavior today.
 ***********************
 The following day, Martha caught Mrs. Muir as she was searching for something in the housekeeper's bedroom. "Mrs. Muir!" she called very loudly, quite shocked. "May I ask what you are doing in my room?"
 Carolyn really twitched when she heard Martha's voice calling her. Full of guilt she began stuttering. "I,I...." then her voice was back. "Alright, Martha you have caught me. What now?"
 "Mrs. Muir, I'm very shocked. I've never expected that you would do something like this." Yet she knew exactly what Carolyn was searching for, and she thought, 'So, the Captain has been snooping after me once again. And since he didn't found out what had been in yesterday's mail for me , he informed Mrs. Muir and has aroused her curiosity, too. This underhanded ghost, putting Mrs. Muir in such a terrible mess. Well, fine, then I will let her just fidget a bit to see how far she'll go with this.'
 "Sorry, Martha, I don't know what has come over me. Will you accept my apology? I promise that I'll never do that again." but she was crossing her fingers behind her back.
 "Well, I'll accept your apology, this time." Although she was certain that Carolyn wouldn't keep to her promise. "And I know perfectly well who was coming over you." the housekeeper said with a softer but smug voice.
 "Martha, don't blame the Captain. He has really nothing to do with it." Carolyn said in his defense.
 "Oh, come on, don't defend him. It was he who brought you into this situation. Don't deny it.Alright, Mrs. Muir, if you can hold your curiosity for a while, I'll maybe let you know what I have received but not now."
 "Martha!" With that, the subject was closed for now but Carolyn wouldn't give up her curiosity so quickly. Not now, not after Martha had told her she would maybe let her know what she had received.
 In the following days, Carolyn made yet another try to find the package Martha had received, but this time with Daniel's help. He was watching Martha so that Carolyn could be undisturbed on the search for that thing but she had no luck.
 There was no package in Martha's room. 'BLAST!' she thought. 'Martha didn't believed me when I made my promise. She must hid that thing somewhere in the house now but where?'
 "I can tell by the look on your face that you had no luck finding it, my dear."
 "No, Captain! Martha has hidden it certainly somewhere else in the house now. We both know there many possibilities where it could be now." "Oh, come on, you wouldn't give up so quickly?"
 "No, Daniel, I won't."
 "Good, Carolyn, then let's search through the whole house now." With that, the Captain vanished and began his search at first in the attic while Carolyn examined the cellar. Neither could know that Martha had found a very safe place for the book where only she could find it. *******************
 It was five days before the Captain's birthday when Martha decided to let Mrs Muir into her plan. She suggested to her employer that they both should make a little shopping trip to Keystone. Carolyn agreed and soon both were on their way.
 While driving, Martha informed Carolyn of what she intended to do and thus satisfied Carolyn's curiosity at the same time. She told Mrs. Muir that it had been a cookbook which she had received but did not tell her the title of that book. Martha knew that if she did, Carolyn would never get use to her plan.
 "But why have you made such a big secret about it, Martha?" Carolyn wanted to know.
 "Sorry about that, Mrs. Muir. But if had told you earlier, the Captain would have suspected what I wanted to do and I couldn't take that risk. Please, now you know what I received and we can talk about the Captain's upcoming birthday and my special dinner for him." and continuing in her thoughts. 'And for you, Mrs. Muir.'
 "Yes, Martha, we can. And I think it's a great idea." Carolyn was enthusiastic but one thought tormented her. 'Did Martha mean she wanted to serve it to him?' and a little jealousy germinated in her.
 Martha noticed it and calmed her down. "Come on, Mrs.Muir, I never thought about serving it to him. Don't getting jealous."
 "Martha, stop reading my thoughts." Carolyn was a little bit angry.
 "Don't be ridiculous, Mrs. Muir." Martha was a little bit saucy back. "You know perfectly well I can't read your thoughts but your face gave away what you're thinking right now."
 "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, Martha. It's only...."
 "That's okay, Mrs. Muir. We both know what we mean to each other. And I'm sorry, too. I'll cook the dinner and you'll serve it to the Captain. Only the two of you. Okay?"
 "Okay, Martha. But what about the children? It could cause many problems and a lot of trouble if they are around, you know."
 "No problem. You remember last week? The kids asked you if they could spend that weekend with their friends and you said, yes."
 "Oh Martha, how could I have forgotten about that? Now I remember that they wanted me to give their present to the Captain because they wouldn't be here on that day."
 "Perhaps, you were too busy to satisfy your curiosity." Martha said with smug voice.
 "Martha! Can we forget about my curiosity right now? Please?"
 "Okay! And now to the dinner. I'll make you a list of what I need for that dinner and you can go and buy the things in Boston while you're fetching the Captain's present -- whatever that may be."
 "Now that you have told me what you have in mind, I'll tell what I had made for Captain Gregg when I was in Boston all the time. It's a miniature painting of me."
 "Oh, Mrs. Muir, how wonderful. I'm very sure the Captain will like it." Both were very happy now that they had talked about the whole thing. **************
April 8, 1973

 Martha was very busy in the kitchen with the special dinner and in the meantime, Carolyn was dressing in the new dress she had brought from her trip to Boston. Martha had prepared a little menu and had left a very insistent note for Daniel in the attic. When Daniel got back from his trip to the spectral fraternity, he found the note and began reading. He had completely forgotten about his birthday. He noticed that it was Martha's handwriting on that note.

           My Dear Captain,

 First, a very Happy Birthday to you. Second, come down to the kitchen because there is something special waiting for you and someone else who really loves you. And please come dressed up.

        Martha

 'What the hell has Martha done? I knew she had to be up to something but what? She couldn't mean herself by saying the last words. No, that was impossible.' And then it hit him. She was meaning his beloved Carolyn, of course. Now he dressed very quickly, wearing the sweater he had worn in the dream he had given the whole family on their second Christmas together here in Gull Cottage
. In the meantime, Martha had shown Mrs. Muir what she should serve first and then had left both lovers, beyond time, to themselves. Carolyn had just arranged the last thing on the table when Daniel appeared in the kitchen. "Happy birthday, Daniel." Carolyn greeted him. "Are you surprised?"
 "I am." Daniel was taken aback by the wonderful arrangement on the kitchen table.
 "Martha made a special dinner for your birthday. Please sit down and read the menu to see what Martha has cooked. I'll be serving it to you and then we'll enjoy it together."
 Daniel made himself comfortable on the table, taking the menu and began reading. "'Herb cream soup, Legs of rabbit with volume pasta and as dessert 'Chocolate ice cream with cinnamon cream'. Sounds delicious. Well then, let's taste it."
 While enjoying the dinner together, Daniel now knew what Martha had in mind when she had thought about that dinner. Now he was thinking. 'Oh Martha, you little devil.'
 Carolyn had the same thought because she knew now, too, what Martha was trying to tell them and what kind of crazy ulterior motive she must have had in mind. After the dessert, Carolyn gave the Captain first the kids' present and then hers. "This is from me to you, Daniel." handing him the small package.
 He took it, unwrapping the package and this time he was taken aback when he saw that the present was a miniature painting of her. "Thank you, my dear Carolyn for this very lovely present. I'll always treasure it." To show her how pleased he was, he took Carolyn in his arms and thanked her with a very fiery kiss for the beautiful present and the evening. And he wanted to thank Martha for the special dinner tomorrow.
 Both were so deep in their kissing that they didn't notice Martha who was coming home a little bit earlier than she had planned. She opened the kitchen door very quietly and peeked in to see how far her intrigue was. What she got to see pleased her very much. Closing the door quietly behind herself again, she vanished very happily to her room, leaving the lovers beyond time to themselves.
 Tomorrow she intended to thank the woman for sending her that special cookbook, because now she was very sure that there could be the possibility that maybe....
 The End????
Second Story