"Mum, what are you doing?" Kylie Scott asked as she entered the kitchen. Her mother, Peyton, was standing at the counter, a blue apron tied around her waist, and up to her elbows in flour.
Peyton smiled at her daughter. "I'm baking cookies. Do you want to help me?"
Kylie groaned. I can think of two hundred and fifty seven things I'd prefer to be doing right now,' she thought. And one of them is watching grass grow. Her mother looked so hopeful, however, that she sighed and gave in.
The way she figured it, spending some time female bonding with her mother would release her from her 'girly' obligations for at least, a week. After that, she could go back to playing basketball with her father and her uncle.
Peyton passed Briar a blue apron. The girl took the piece of cloth and looked at it like it would grow teeth and bite her at any moment. She hated blue. Still, it was better than the alternative. The only other apron around was a white one that had big red hearts all over it. Kylie shuddered at the thought of wearing that one.
She tied the apron on and then gave her mum a grim smile. "So, what are we making?" she asked with forced enthusiasm.
"Chocolate chip cookies," Peyton replied.
"Why not sugar cookies or something?" Kylie wanted to know.
Peyton sighed. "The last time I made Chocolate chip cookies… well it was just amazing!"
Kylie covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.
"Are you laughing at me?" Peyton demanded.
"No," Kylie chuckled.
"You're lying," Peyton said, sounding hurt. "Don't make me hit you with a saucepan."
"Mum!" Kylie exclaimed. "That's not a very nice thing to say to your only daughter."
Peyton ignored her. Pointing to an open book on the counter she said, "Read me the recipe from page 106."
Kylie picked up the cookbook, sparing a glance at the cover. When she saw the title, she did a double take. "How to Put the Magic Back on Your Table…kinky." She grinned at her mother. "Mum, are you trying to seduce Daddy?"
Peyton started tossing the flour in the bowl. Kylie thought that maybe her mother hadn't heard her, but then she noticed that Peyton's cheeks did look a little flushed.
"You are!" she cried, laughter bubbling up inside her. "You know Mum; you don't have to cook to make Daddy want you."
"I know that," Peyton said. Then realizing what her daughter had said, she cried, "and you're too young to be thinking about things like that!"
Kylie huffed. "In case you've forgotten, I'm fifteen now. I'm not a baby anymore."
Peyton patted Kylie, leaving flour in her daughter's dark blonde hair. "You'll always be my baby. Now read the recipe."
Kylie did as her mother requested. She read the recipe out loud, getting the ingredients as they were needed. Soon they had the cookies ready to go into the oven.
But before they could bake the cookies, they had to take out the scones Peyton had made earlier. Kylie placed the tray on the table next to the batch that had already cooled. Taking one, she bit into the scone.
And nearly broke a tooth in the process.
"You know, Mum, we could use these as weapons," she said gesturing to the scones. "They're hard as rocks." Her mother's cooking hadn't improved one bit since she'd last made scones.
Kylie couldn't help but wondering if Peyton knew what had happened to the last batch she had made. Kylie had never told her that her and her cousin Jamie had tried to feed them to the dog, but since that didn't work they threw them away.
"Weapons, huh?" Peyton said with a smile. "And what would you use them for? To conquer the world?"
"Exactly!" Kylie laughed. She help up a scone like a champion holds a trophy. "I will conquer the world with scones! Watch out world!"
The two laughed, and then set about making more cookies. As she washed her hands at the sink, Kylie glanced out the window. Her next door neighbor was outside lying on a blanket, topless.
"Mum, our next door neighbor isn't wearing a shirt! My virgin eyes!"
Peyton stood behind her daughter, covering Kylie's eyes with one hand, and closing the curtains with the other. She then helped Kylie to the table.
Sitting, Kylie groaned. "I never want to see that again."
Peyton smiled softly. "It's only a man's chest, honey. Besides, you did say you weren't a baby anymore. You could do with some enlightenment when it comes to the male gender."
Hoping to distract her mother from having the dreaded 'talk', Kylie quickly said, "I guess I'm too short for enlightenment."
At that, Peyton burst out laughing. "That made no sense at all," she said. "I think you meant 'young'." She stood and made her way back to the counter. "And honey, you're not short, you're vertically challenged!"
Kylie wrinkled her nose at her mother's lame excuse at a joke. Planning to ignore her, Kylie absently picked up a scone and took a bite. She spit it out just as quickly. I should be bonding with Dad, she thought. He can cook, unlike Mum.
Half an hour later, the first batch of cookies were done. Surprisingly, they smelled wonderful. When they had cooled enough to eat, Kylie ate one. Then another. They were delicious!
"Mum, did you do something to the batter when I wasn't looking?" she demanded. In all her fifteen years she had never been able to keep down anything her mother cooked.
Peyton gave her daughter a hurt look. "Of course not! I just followed the recipe word for word."
"Well, they're good. Follow the recipe word for word from now on!" she ordered. "They'll definitely bring the magic to the table."
"Kylie Anne Scott!" Peyton exclaimed using her daughter's full name. "Don't make such insinuations!"
"I didn't say anything!" Kylie protested.
"I know what you were thinking!" Peyton shot back. "And no more cookies, you're going to get fat."
"I will not," Kylie said. "The good thing is I'm skinny. And with all my vitamins and minerals, I'll stay that way."
"Cheeky little bugger," Peyton swatted Kylie with the dish towel. "I'm going to go clean up. Your father will be home soon."
"Ok," Kylie said.
"Keep an eye on the last of the cookies," Peyton called as she left the kitchen.
Kylie sat alone in the kitchen for several minutes. Then she started to clean up. As she worked, she hid some of the scones in her pocket to try to feed to the dog once more. She was almost finished cleaning the kitchen when she heard a loud gasp behind her. Whirling around, she saw her mother in the doorway, looking quite shocked.
Hand pressed to her heart, Peyton said, "I think my apron strings are too tight. It's probably why I'm suffocating."
"Mum, you're not wearing your apron anymore," Kylie pointed out dryly.
Peyton grinned. "I know, but seeing you cleaning almost gave me a heart attack."
Kylie rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, very funny."
Peyton kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you, honey."
"You're welcome," Kylie replied. "And you look really nice, Mum."
And she did. Peyton had changed into a pale red dress that complimented her hair quite nicely. She was even wearing perfume and make-up.
Suddenly Kylie was disappointed that their mother-daughter bonding time was almost over. Even though she was a self proclaimed tomboy, Kylie had actually had fun with her mother. She vowed to do it again sometime soon.
The front door opened and Peyton giggled. "Oh, your father's home!" she exclaimed. "Tell me, do my ears look good in this light?"
"What?" Kylie was completely confused. Her ears? She thought to herself. Out loud she said, "Mum, are you drunk?"
"I'm never drunk," Peyton assured her. "Just very, very tipsy."
Just then Lucas walked into the kitchen. "And what have my two favorite females been up to today?" he asked.
Kylie said, "Baking. Do you want some cookies? It's guaranteed to bring magic back to your table."
As the two women burst out in hysterical laughter, Lucas shook his head, bewildered.
"Women!"