Chapter 10: Breakfast

Mom shook me awake the next morning. "Kari, get up and make your guest breakfast!"

"Umflurmlug?" I muttered.

"There's a recipe for scones sitting on the counter. Hop to it!"

I stumbled out of bed and towards the door.

"Now now, you still have to get dressed first. You can't let your guest see you in your pajamas."

I almost retorted that he had already seen me in my pajamas, but thought better of it. Instead, I dug around in my closet until Mom left the room to give me some privacy. I pulled out a green sundress and slipped it on before I dragged myself into the kitchen and got to work on the scones. I put on an apron and measured flour, butter, baking powder, and everything else the book told me to use in the proper order, and then mixed everything together by hand. Then, I dusted the countertop with flour and kneaded cranberries into the dough. I divided the dough in half and formed it into two large circles. Then, I cut the circles into wedges and put them on two cookie sheets.

Oh great! I had forgotten to preheat the oven. Thankfully, Jade wasn't up yet and I had plenty of time. I turned on the oven and looked for something else to do. There were some strawberries and melon in the refrigerator, so I grabbed those and threw together a fruit salad. I paused to put the scones in the oven, and then set the table while Mom made coffee and bacon.

We had everything ready by the time Jade came wandering out in his pajamas. Mom turned up her nose at Jade's attire, while Jade turned up his nose at the bacon. The mood mellowed when Dad came out and mentioned that the coffee was shade-grown. My parents were certainly yuppies, but at least they supported rainforest preservation.

Jade loved my scones and fruit salad. Since his dad cooked most of the meals at his house, he did not take my cooking skills for granted just because I was female. Since my mom taught me most of what I know, his compliments went to her as well. This helped to ingratiate him to her, and Mom seemed to forgive him for the fact that he did not eat her bacon.

Then, Mom asked a doozy of a question. "So, Kari tells me that you know Violette?"

Jade swallowed hard and turned white. I knew that the reflex was involuntary, but why oh why did he have to do that? "Um, yeah," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

Mom eyed Jade suspiciously. "Sweet girl, isn't she?"

"Yes."

A devious glint formed in Mom's eye, but the rest of her face remained placid. "Kari mentioned that Violette was going to come for a visit to the beach, and there's a really nice boy who lives down the street I think she should meet."

Oh ©‡◊ᵱ! A bead of sweat formed on Jade's forehead as he said, "OK."

"In fact, she should be coming next week. From what I understand, Violette will be riding with Kari's friend Rosalya. Maybe you could tag along and help introduce Violette to our neighbor?"

"Oh yeah, no problem," Jade said.

₱↑∏ᵠ! Mom assumed that there would be space in the car because I had only told her that Violette and Rosalya were coming. Presumably, there was space for five people in Leigh's car, but it would be awfully cramped in the back seat. I tried to imagine how that would work with Jade squished between Rosalya and Violette. Then, I remembered that Jade could also drive. Maybe they could rotate places a few times. That would not be so bad. I imagined Rosalya happily sandwiched between Lysander and Leigh.

"What are you smiling about, Kari?" Mom asked.

My brain fumbled for an excuse. "I was just thinking about our neighbor Timothy and how he and Violette would make such a cute couple."

Jade forced a smile. "Yeah, I guess we'll find out."

"Oh, and don't tell her I'm trying to hook her up with someone. That would be awkward," Mom said.

"Why?" I asked.

"You know, relationships should just happen naturally."

Dad glanced at me and shrugged. Great. Mom was trying to hook my metamour up with a "boy next door". I think that what was really going on was that she somehow suspected Jade's involvement with Violette and wanted to probe deeper into the matter. I've heard it said that parents always know, but in this case she was speculating on children who were not her own. Well, I guess we would all have to play our cards right on this one to beat her. Thankfully, there were more of us than there were of her and we had text messaging to plan ahead.

We finished eating breakfast, and Jade went off to change and pack while Mom and I cleaned up the table and kitchen. Then, Mom drove us to the train station.

"See you next week," I told him as I gave him a farewell kiss.

"Yeah, about that… we'll talk later," he said into my ear.

I watched him board the train and glance back at me with his gentle smile and worried green eyes. Then, I was stranded all alone with my mother. I had to endure her probing questions all the way to the car. Thankfully, I was driving. I almost hit someone when I was backing out of the parking space, so that convinced her to stop talking and let me concentrate on the road.