Chapter 21

"My Mom makes the best potato salad I've ever eaten," Eva said as she watched Buffy cut up potatoes and add them to a bowl.

"I'm sure she does, Eva. The cool thing about potato salad is everyone has their own recipe, but in the end it is all the same," Buffy said, wondering where this conversation was going.

"And she makes homemade baked beans."

'That's it,' Buffy thought. 'Stick the knife in and twist it a little more.' "I'm glad you like them."

She wondered one more time if dating Antonio was a good idea. She knew that Eva and Diego would have a hard time accepting her. Every kid wanted their parents back together. Buffy was trying to make sure they knew that she and Antonio were only dating , but Eva was determined to hate her straight out of the gate. She bit her lip, and wondered if there was anything she could do to tone down Eva's hostility.

She cut up another potato and was adding it to the bowl when Antonio walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Sweetheart," he greeted Eva as he bent down and kissed her cheek. "How's it going?"

"Going okay, Dad," she said as she flipped a page of the paper.

He walked over to Buffy. He gave her a hug and stared down at the bowl. "Potato salad," he observed.

"I can see why you made Detective, Detective," Buffy said as she hugged him back.

"Things going okay?" he asked.

"I'm obviously not a good a cook as her mother is," she indicated with her head. "I don't make homemade baked beans or the best potato salad."

"Don't take it personally, Buff."

"I'm not. I know she's having a hard time accepting things. I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt."

"I knew that you were a good catch," he said as he kissed her cheek. "Thanks for not giving up on her."

"I'll never give up on a child. Ever."

"Good to hear. So how long till we eat?"

"Another hour or so. Go mingle. And the keg is outside."

"On it."

Buffy turned back to the potatoes. "Eva, do you like to bake?" she asked.

"Mom's the better baker."

"Has she taught you?"

"Not really. She is busy with the bakery," Eva admitted.

"Would you like to learn? I can teach you something simple."

Eva slid off of the chair. "Something simple?" she asked.

"Cupcakes or brownies?" Buffy offered. "Not from scratch today because the picnic is going to start soon, but you can make some from a mix."

Eva's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked.

"Really. There's a cake mix and a brownie mix in the cupboard next to the stove. Help yourself."

"You're really going to let me bake, Mrs. Rodriguez?"

"Of course. You can't learn how to bake if you don't try. And it's Buffy."

"Buffy," she said. "But Dad said to call you Mrs. Rodriguez."

"It's okay. You can call me Buffy."

"Ok," Eva agreed. "So which cupboard now?"

"On the right of the stove."

Eva opened the cupboard. "Can I do both?"

"If you want to," Buffy encouraged.

An hour later, the brownies were cooling, and Eva was getting her first lesson in icing a cake. "You're doing great," Buffy said.

"I've watched Mom do it lots of times, but she has special equipment."

"That's because she's a professional baker. At home, a knife works just as well." She watched as Eva finished the icing. "You want to take it outside and put it on the table?"

"You think it's good enough?"

"It's more than good enough. I'm sure everyone is going to love it."

"Ok, I'll go put it on the table." She picked up the cake and started for the patio.

Buffy picked up the brownies and started outside with them. She said a small prayer that people would eat Eva's treats.