AN: SM owns Twilight.


Chapter three. Happy Birthday!

It was funny to watch all of the men settling back down and getting on with business.

I'd finally stopped laughing my head off Bear's antics learning to use the drawing game and playing against the Major, to much hilarity all around; because neither of them could draw to save themselves, their strange squiggles were cracking all of us up, even Doc and Sue. The quiet ones in the group had smiles and soft chuckles.

Bear and the Major's games were short and crazy, with a great deal of banter included, because funnily enough, neither could guess what the other had drawn and each said the other was total rubbish at drawing, and they were brilliant at it...needless to say, they weren't getting any scores at all. Not even for words like egg or cat!

I got thinking about going online to see if Alice had left her next drawing for me. We had a long term game going now, and we were really good at it...I'd need to draw her something soon; otherwise she'd know something was up and call my home. My iPhone, in my room at home, would be going crazy with all of her messages and texts by now. We were very close, her mom always joked that we were joined at the hip, like twins.

I worried what my mother would say if she answered any of Alice's calls. Not that my mother had ever bothered to chat or be interested in Alice, or me before now...it made me wonder what my mother would say if anyone asked her where I was...I wonder if she'd make something up?...I mean she wouldn't tell them the truth...that had tried to sell me!

No, she'd probably say I'd run away, or gone to live with a long lost relative...yeah, and she'd be very close to the truth, if she ever said that!

Once we were back sitting down at the dining room table, Pete outlined their plans for me and Gran, to avoid being detected, by Rene and her mafia cronies.

He told me a few things which directly affected me.

I'd be getting new identity papers and a false birth certificate with a new name.

He said that I could think about which ones I might like, and he'd talk to me about it when I came up with something...I started wondering, if I could be anything...what would I be? What would I be called?

..Mabel...Cassandra...Sonia...Octavia... Portia...Cordelia...Juliette?

I came back to reality, when Pete tried to get me to focus. I could think about fancy names for myself later!

I would be doing any shopping online, to avoid being seen, or getting someone else to shop for me, as well as doing distance education, or home schooling on-line, under my assumed identity.

Red mentioned that he would be happy to tutor me with anything; apparently he was a genius and knew heaps of languages, lots of science subjects and other stuff including literature and difficult advanced maths.

I went red as a tomato.

I said I would be sure to ask him if I had any issues, but mostly I was achieving all A's, me being a nerd who loved learning.

He kind of looked a bit sad when I said that...maybe he just wanted to help me; I wasn't used to asking for assistance with schoolwork.

Maybe I could get him to teach me French conversation or Spanish? ...just to keep him thinking that he was being helpful or useful.

I wouldn't mind, but it might mean that I'd need to actually speak to him, one on one...I went all red again at the thought!

I'd have to wait a short time before they set up an i-Pad, Mac-book or laptop for me, so I could get back into my studying. That didn't worry me, if I was learning on-line I could go faster and not be distracted by my class-mates, I could also be very happy about not having to do any P.E. that was one subject I really wouldn't miss! I wasn't co-ordinated at all.

I had to promise to only use the internet if I was being careful and responsible, not giving out any personal info or identifying stuff.

I huffed...of course I'd be careful, who did they think I was?...Oh yeah, a kid who'd just turned fourteen, who'd they rescued!...I should focus on what Pete was saying and be more grateful to them all.

I was warned by Gran, that I needed to keep using the men's nicknames, so that their true identities remain hidden.

I didn't know when I would ever get the chance to tell anyone anything at all, seeing I was in the dark about... where we were... and who I was with... well, everyone except Gran, I knew her name.

Pete wanted me to only contact Alice through DrawSomething, and to only use a device belonging to either the Major, or Bear because apparently, they had special secure phones or something.

I had to show them everything I did on each game, before being allowed to send it...so I guess that was ok, Alice would understand what I wanted to say pretty fast, she was smart and knew me better than myself sometimes.

I can't lie, I was really going to miss Alice and some of the activities I did at school, especially my favourite classes and some of the teachers.

I wasn't going to miss the sneaky crap that the nasty girls got up to; behind the teacher's backs...I was hoping Alice wouldn't be too much of a target for them.

I hoped that Angela could hang out with Alice more, now that I wasn't sure when or if I'd ever be back. Angela always managed to stay calm, and was a real sweetie. She would help Alice if she was sad or in trouble.

I didn't worry about any of the other stuff that the guys and Gran talked about.

I just had to think about myself and being safe.

I trusted that they all knew what they were doing.

It made me anxious and I was starting to get a bit twitchy, sitting here listening to Pete drone on... about stuff I didn't understand.

I sighed and caught Sue's eye, she gestured me to come with her, as she left the room.

I followed Sue down to the kitchen and helped her out with cleaning the dishes and putting stuff away in the fridge. She smiled and we chattered about nice relaxing stuff, like what I liked to eat, and my favourite cakes and deserts.

I was surprised when she got out a whole lot of flour and other baking ingredients and started another dish that looked like a cake...a very big cake. The tins she was using were twice the size of a normal domestic sized cake tins.

She gestured over to me and I stood beside her, while she got me to pass her the various dry ingredients...cocoa, spices, baking powder, and the flour.

She sifted the flour and chatted some more. She got me to check the oven temperature and then started breaking and separating a dozen eggs and beating the yolks with the sugar, forming a creamy coloured mixture, she then added the melted butter that she got me to measure and heat gently in the microwave, as well as the vanilla extract.

Yum, here was the beginning of a luscious chocolate sponge cake...I was mesmerized!

It was time to put the dry ingredients with the wet ones. Sue beat all the combined batch of cake mixture and set it aside, to focus on another bowl which contained all of the egg whites.

She set the beaters to high, and got them all worked into glistening white, semi hard peaks.

It was magic, watching her easily and smoothly assembling this huge cake, without even breaking with her chatter to me. We talked about her life and her two kids, we compared the things we liked and disliked...it was completely relaxing and fun.

Once Sue was satisfied with the egg whites being perfect, she got me to bring over the first large bowl of yummy chocolaty cake mixture, and we slowly and calmly incorporated small amounts of the beaten egg whites into it, using a slow and gentle folding motion with a spatula.

Sue stood behind me and we folded in the egg whites together, me holding the large bowl and she using the spatula. She did a large circular movement around the edge of the bowl, and then brought the spatula through the centre of the mix, slowly and gently, so she didn't break any of the air bubbles captured in the beaten egg whites.

Once I got familiar with the folding action, she gave me her spatula and we folded in the rest of the egg whites, with me doing the long round slow folding method.

She smiled and praised my technique...no one had ever thought I was good at my cooking, I'd never heard praise like Sue's, it was nice but uncomfortable all at the same time.

It was a special moment, being this close to someone, as she stood slightly behind me. The two of us enjoying the simple rhythm of working together on this enormous cake.

Sue was happy with the cake mixture, and she got me to help her pour the cake batter into the three, round, pre-greased and lined cake- tins. I then got to lick the chocolate cake mixture off the bowl and beaters...one of my favourite things!

We gently placed the tins in the centre of the huge commercial-style oven and set the timer.

"That was good work there Bella, I'll make you into a pastry chef yet! Now you go find something in the fridge for yourself to make into a sandwich and I'll clear up this."

"Oh, ok...um I'll make you a snack too Sue, how about a cheese salad?"

"Sounds great kid! I'm happy to eat anything, thanks for thinking of me!"

"It doesn't take any longer to make enough for two, than it does for one...oh wait! Do you think Gran needs to eat too? I could make her some salad."

Sue laughed, "Knock yourself out kid, she'd love it! But you might make the guys jealous..."

"Oh...well should I make enough for everyone?"

"No only kidding with you honey, I have already organized lunch for them; they aren't big on salad... I'm very sad to say Bella. I'm about to put their food in the dumb waiter, any minute now..."

"What's a dumb waiter?"

"It's this contraption here." I watched as she opened up a hatch thing in the wall, it kind of looked like a cupboard.

She placed a big tray full of, foil-covered heated savoury pastries, forks, napkins and plates into the cupboard, and closed the door. She pressed a button at the wall which looked like a lift button with an up arrow, and then it made a similar noise to a lift...wow! She opened the door and the tray had gone.

"See! Its kinda like magic, it stops me having to carry all of the food and dishes up and down the stairs! I think it's one of the best inventions ever!" Sue chuckled.

I was impressed! I liked the idea of using it one day.

I guess that's why I didn't see her bring all of the dirty dishes from upstairs before, she'd put them into the dumb waiter before she'd called me over and I followed her down here to the kitchen.

I set all of the cheese salad on three plates, for Gran, Sue and me and made a quick vinaigrette dressing. I poured some juice for myself.

Sue said she and Gran always made a nice pot of strong black tea to have with their lunch.

I was surprised that she wasn't using any tea bags.

Sue put tree teaspoons of loose black tea into a real china teapot and poured boiling water over the leaves, stirred it and put the lid on. She placed a knitted woollen tea-cosy over the top of the teapot. I'm not sure what that was for, it looked a little strange, covering up a nice china teapot with a bright green woolly thing.

She got two delicate porcelain cups and saucers out of a high cupboard. Each had different pale pink patterns around the edges of each small cup and saucer set.

This strange group of china, spoons and green wool got placed onto another tray, along with an fancy looking lacy doily along with a small silver thing with holes in the bottom, I looked rather quizzically at it and Sue giggled.

"It's a tea strainer Bella."

"Oh..." I said, not understanding.

"Just wait, I'll show you, now let's send these trays up in the dumb waiter and get upstairs, so you see what someone does with a tea strainer!"

"Can I use it Sue?" She nodded.

"So... I'll put both of the trays in here... close the door and push the button?" I asked excitedly, just like a kid at Christmas.

"Sure, whatever gives you a kick honey!"


I started crying as soon as the whole table sang me 'Happy Birthday'.

Gran kissed me and all of the guys smiled at me.

Bear wanted to give me a hug, but I shied away from his touch, and the Major scowled at Bear, shaking his head.

I blew out the candles and then made a wish when I cut the cake.

***I wished I could live with my Gran forever and cook wonderful things everyday.***

The cake did look amazing! Sue showed me how to make a dark chocolate ganache for the layers and frosting. We added a pile of beautiful plump dark cherries on the top of the cake, along with fourteen candles.

Everyone loved it; the Major declared it the finest cake to ever pass his lips, Bear had three slices, Red smiled at me making me feel all hot again. They kept praising me. I shook my head and looked at the floor and said Sue did it, I only helped a little bit.

She chuckled and told everyone that she couldn't have done without my special touch, which was an over the top exaggeration! As she was the one who knew what she was doing and I just pretty much watched.

Gran said that I took after her mother, who ran a famous patisserie in the Left Bank of Paris, during the early 1920's and '30's...she said she would find her mother's recipe books to show me and some photos of her and her famous shops in Paris and then later in Boston.

Gran told me how her mother had escaped the German invasion of France, and how she stayed one step ahead of the army; she managed to somehow get onto one of the last passenger boats to leave for America. She landed in New York in early 1940, with one piece of luggage and a strong will to succeed.

When I asked Gran when her mother got married, she looked a little reticent.

"Oh Bella dear, my mother wasn't really the marrying sort...she found herself in love with a wonderful man, but unfortunately...he was already taken, so she made the best of an awkward situation and became his mistress. It was a good arrangement, as far as I could make out. My father and mother were happy; although he was always busy with his other family, his wife and of course his work."

"So, um...did your mother continue working at her pastry business, when she came to America...didn't you say something about Boston?"

"Oh yes, that was one of the reasons the relationship between my mother and father worked so well. He set her up in the best shop-front and commercial kitchen available at the time, and he let her run everything, the way she liked. She did all the hiring, firing, and sold the most exquisite pastries in Boston. She insisted on the finest ingredients and best trained staff."

Gran laughed and then said, ''I guess it wasn't easy for her being an unwed mother and running her own business, as well as being a mistress or paramour to my father. He was a very wealthy man and well known in the 'Brahmins', or upper class of the region...with the strict attitudes and all of the moralistic clap-trap they spouted back then... But she won them all over, with her fabulous flaky pastry and exquisite cakes. She was very much in demand with all of the society matrons of the day...even if she had to have the occasional awkward conversation with my father's wife. I think after a few decades they accepted each other and at his funeral, they hugged each other and cried...it was very moving!"

Wow, talk about knocking me over with a feather...it was crazy and wonderful ...it felt like something similar to falling down a rabbit hole and finding that I wasn't in the same reality any more!

It had been one incredible day, and everyone had tried to be so caring and sweet to me.

Between them, Bear and the Major let me play a few rounds of 'DrawSomething' with Alice, using quick written messages, and then erasing them, before sending the actual drawing. It worked really well, which I was pleased about.

Alice, being the quicker one of the two of us, completely got the idea that I was in hiding, and for her to pretend to everyone around, that I'd disappeared off the face of the earth.

She promised to be suitably emotionally distraught, and sulk a lot. This made me laugh... Alice was very theatrical, and I'm sure that she would put on a good show for everybody, to make it totally believable.

I warned her, of my mother's potential questioning, and she said for her to bring it on, as she'd show her parents finally what an evil cow my mother really was.

I had to laugh at the way Alice drew my mother as a cow, with fangs.

I yawned it was a big day, and things would hopefully start settling down soon.

I'd settled into my lovely bed, within a few seconds I was out for the count.


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