Thank you again to everyone who has read and/or reviewed the story. Here's the next installment.
"Are they done, mummy?" asked a very impatient Moira.
Sybil chuckled. "The cookies are almost done, love. You just need to wait."
The little girl rolled her eyes at her mother, as Moira had heard that for the last half hour. The last tray was in the oven and would be done in ten minutes. Sybil watched as her daughter stared at the cookies cooling on the rack, desperately wanting to eat one. The young mother knew she had to do something to keep her daughter occupied.
"Moira, do you want to help me make the icing?"
The toddler turned to her mother and nodded her head. Sybil grinned at her daughter and brought the nearest chair over to the counter. Then she crooked her finger at her daughter, signaling for her to come to the counter. Moira scurried over and climbed onto the chair.
"Okay," said Sybil, "we have the powdered sugar, meringue powder, the bowl, and the whisk. We just need the warm water."
She moved to the sink and filled the measuring cup up to the 80 ml mark, knowing she wouldn't need to use it all. Sybil then returned to Moira's side. She opened the box of powdered sugar and emptied it into the bowl. She let Moira add in the meringue powder, helping her daughter with the measuring. Once that was in, Sybil picked up the whisk with her right hand and the measuring cup with her left, and slowly began to add the water to the bowl while whisking the ingredients together. After about five minutes, the icing was ready.
"Can we ice the cookies now?" asked Moira.
"No, but soon. Why don't you go play with daddy for a little while? I promise to call both of you in when it's time to ice the cookies."
Moira thought about her mother's idea for a minute or two before answering. "Okay, mummy."
With that, the little girl scampered out of the kitchen and to her father's office. Sybil sighed, slightly relieved to have Moira occupied with something else. She was about to sit down when the timer went off and it was time to take out the last tray of gingerbread cookies.
Forty-five minutes later, all of the cookies were cooled enough to decorate. While she had been waiting, Sybil had prepped for decorating, putting individual toppings in their own separate bowls. Before she called her husband and daughter in, she was going over the decorations to make sure she had everything. Chocolate sprinkles, colored sprinkles, gumdrops, mini M&Ms, licorice strings…I think that's everything.
Content that she had everything ready, Sybil walked to the kitchen doorway and called for Moira and Tom. In no time, her family was entering the kitchen, a very excited Moira dragging her father behind her.
Once the icing was in a piping bag, the Bransons began to decorate their cookies. Sybil was in charge of the icing while Moira and Tom were responsible for the decorations. While it wasn't the easiest of tasks with a rambunctious toddler to manage, it was still so much fun.
After a half hour of decorating, Tom pulled off a gumdrop button from a gingerbread man, altering his voice as he spoke. "No not the buttons. Not the gumdrop buttons!"
Moira laughed at her daddy's antics. After that, all three Bransons made the cookies talk as they decorated them, each commenting on the choice of buttons, hair, etc. Before they knew it, they were down to their last four cookies: three regular sized gingerbread people and one baby (as Moira called it) gingerbread person. They decorated these quite simply, opting only for icing and candy buttons.
"Can I eat one now?" asked Moira.
Tom and Sybil chuckled. "Yes you can, little one," answered Sybil. "Which one do you want?"
She picked a cookie with the M&M buttons and dress outline and bit off it's head.
"Very good choice, love," declared Tom. He then chose a gumdrop button and colored sprinkle cookie, biting the head off as well.
Sybil chose one with M&M buttons and icing hair, taking a bite out of its arm. The three ate their cookies quickly, mmmm-ing as they ate. Soon, their three cookies were gone and it was time to clean up. However, Moira stopped them.
"Wait! The baby hasn't had a cookie."
She picked up a baby gingerbread cookie and handed it to her mother. "For the baby," the little girl uttered.
Sybil took the cookie from her daughter, fighting back tears at Moira's words.
"Go on eat it, mummy!"
Her mother listened, popping the cookie into her mouth. Bending down as best as she could, Sybil looked lovingly at her daughter and whispered, "The baby loved the cookie. I think he or she wants more."
The little girl shook her head. "No baby. They're for Christmas."
She then hopped off her chair and ran out of the room. Her parents sighed. Tom then smiled at his wife and wrapped her in his arms.
"I'll go after her in a minute so you can clean up. Then we'll order dinner. Whatever you like."
Sybil rose as best as she could and kissed Tom on the cheek.
"Thank you, darling."
Tom kissed her in return, then left to find their daughter. As she cleaned up, Sybil gave the gingerbread cookies a soft smile, thinking about how her daughter made the day sweeter.