"Are you sure you're still going to try to do this?" Gray asked her
on the morning of the tenth. It was Ann's habit of trying to bake cakes for
her brother and her father, but today she was making a bigger effort.
Various mixing bowls were already scattered around in the kitchen.
Ingredients were carelessly slopped around, and she had already broken an
egg on the floor. Ann knew he was trying to look like he wanted to save her
some hard work, but the truth was that he had no interest in trying to eat
whatever she concocted. In fact, she'd had half a mind to buy cakes from
Elli's shop, but Hall reminded her that to make gifts instead of presenting
store-bought ones really counted. (Besides, Jack would have tasted the
difference in the bakery's and a homemade cake.)
"Yep," Ann said, concentrating very hard on squeezing the contents of a tube of whipped cream onto the last cake she'd taken out of the oven. It was funny, watching her. Gray leaned back and watched, amused and curious even though he knew what she would make of it this year.
Ann kept three cakes in the refrigerator, having made a fourth one that she could taste-test herself, and wrapped one up to deliver to Jack's farm. She already knew he had gotten Thanksgiving cakes from all the other girls, but maybe he would appreciate her coming over to deliver it, for Ann had never implored him to pay visits on her.
The cake was so warm, wrapped up in her hands, when she left the ranch and left footprints in the hard-packed snow. Angel-white snowflakes fluttered everywhere around her. Spinning like a little child with her tongue hanging out of her mouth, she caught the snowflakes while keeping a harder grip on the edges of the paper plate.
"Hey, Ann! Whatcha doing?" Jack called from over the picket fence with a large hammer over his shoulder. He ran up to his fence with a smile on his playful, gentle face. Ann loved that look and wished he wouldn't torment her with it. In the background, his grandfather's dog romped freely in the snow, wagging its little tail. His farm looked like a fantasy world to her-- she would love to live there, with him, and share the success, away from the stagnant life at Green Ranch.
"Nothing," she answered quickly, blushing. "Oh, here--" and she handed him the cake she made. "I'll tell you though, I-- uh-- I'm not a good cook, so I'm not sure it came out very good. But I made it for you for the Thanksgiving celebration, so... well, they say it's the thought that counts, so...."
"Wow, that looks great!" Jack eyed it hungrily, accepting it. "Thanks so much! I haven't gotten anything from anybody all day because I've been out with the carpenters." He immediately unwrapped it and put a piece of it into his mouth. As he was chewing, he continued on, "The earthquake opened up a huge hot water source up in the mountain so I'm helping them turning into a hot spring for rejuvenation. It'll be great when we're finished."
Maybe Jack was too hungry to notice the taste, because Ann's eyes widened when he broke off another piece and began eating it. It was also quite a surprise that Elli or Popuri hadn't chased him up the mountain trying to find him.
Deciding to be honest, Ann added, "Well, Elli and Popuri probably baked you a cake too. Why don't you go into town and find them?"
"Nope, that's alright. I'm happy with the cake that came from you. I've got work to do on the farm too, so I haven't got much time to go into town.... Oh Ann, this doesn't taste too bad! Did Elli teach you to bake this?" Jack looked at her, not showing any signs of false interest just to flatter her.
"No," she said, "I did it all by myself. That's why it's a little lopsided..... Gray and my dad never like the cakes I bake for them. That's why I don't cook much. Gray normally does all the cooking around the house. I only know how to cook three things."
"Well, the cakes are pretty good, to start. If Gray and your dad don't want the ones you made, I'd be happy to take them off your hands!" He finished the slice and licked the frosting off his fingers. "That was alright for a start. What three things? Could you show me?"
"I do have one recipe here I can give to you. I've already memorized it, so you can have it. It's the easiest dish I ever made, but my father and brother don't want to eat it all the time." Out of the pocket of her overalls she produced him a piece of paper that seemed to be folded and unfolded a thousand times over, but in ink, although faded from the creases, was a recipe she had written for old-fashioned mashed potatoes.
"That sounds good! Thanks, Ann! Listen, how would you like to-"
Ann listened intently as if it were the final five minutes of her life, but Jack was interrupted by Popuri running down the path from the center of town with a wrapped cake in her hands, Ann noticed that it was beautiful. It wasn't just the cake itself with the flowers made from frosting, but the pink plastic wrap spread over it, and Popuri herself-- that oh-so-familiar flash of springtime pink in the wintertime.
"Jack!!" she called one more time. When she approached, she shoveled it all into his arms. "Want some Thanksgiving cake? I mean, I know it's not much, but we had a lot left over. You see, I sent a few to my father, who's down south for the winter. I sent him the best and worse, you know, since he's not here on the best and worst days of fall and winter. I guess it was a mean thing to do, but--- Oh, hi Ann!" Popuri panted in between bubbly chatter.
"Hi Popuri," Ann replied softly, suppressing a deep sigh.
"Thank you, Popuri," Jack said graciously, and to Ann's joy he did not immediately unwrap it and begin eating. "I'll save this in my refrigerator and have it when it's one of my best or worse days," he added jokingly. "Ha ha..." His voice trailed off as his eyes skimmed from Ann to Popuri and back.
"So, what is it you were going to ask me, Jack?" Ann asked, longing for Popuri to hear him ask her to do something with him and back off.
"Hmm?" Popuri looked at both of them dazedly, as if everything in the world were flowery and pleasant.
"Oh, I forget!" Jack snapped his fingers, almost as if he hadn't forgotten but wished to ignore something important that he had to do. "But, thank you both for the cake, although I wish that I could return something for you guys..."
"No, no!" Popuri waved her hand flirtatiously. "This is the girls' job, silly. It's the tradition that we give men in our families and town bachelors cakes. It's actually supposed to be a celebration of love, but over the years it's been modified to where we can give cakes to friends, too. Well, I'll be off. I've got other cakes to deliver as well. Enjoy, Jack! I'll see you soon, Ann!"
"Bye," Ann and Jack chorused, and they still stood there together after Popuri was out of sight. Jack shuffled his feet and Ann simply stared up into the gray sky, scattering its cold white confetti onto the ground; she wondered just what Jack was about to ask her. It would have been great if he would have asked her out, or even if it was just an outing in the mountain. She missed him when he was busy and for him to forget what he was going to say irritated her immensely.
"I was saying," Jack finally spoke up in the cold silence, "that maybe, if you wanted to, we could go to the bakery sometime and Elli could help us out. With baking, I mean. I'm sure that one day, your cakes will be just as good as hers! You two could cook for me," he laughed.
Ann wished she had an obligation to cook for him, taking his joke seriously.
"Sure!" she volunteered. He laughed again and so did she, just to break the awkward silence.
"I'll leave you to get back to work," she said a moment later, almost in a gloomy way.
"That's considerate of you. Thank you." She left him to say only that, when suddenly he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. Ann shivered and turned around sharply. "Oh, and if you want to know the truth," Jack said, his clear brown eyes meeting her blue ones. She hoped that it was going to be on the topic about themselves for a change, but he finished with, "I don't really want Popuri's cake."
Ann laughed out loud, joyously. She felt like she had triumphed. "Why's that?"
"I've tried her cakes before. The frosting is too sugary-sweet!" The both of them laughed as if it was the funniest thing they'd seen in a long time, then Ann told him she'd see him later sometime and they walked in separate directions. She felt as if she had gone there for absolutely nothing, and she also couldn't help wondering if he had any private thoughts on how bad her cake had been.
"Yep," Ann said, concentrating very hard on squeezing the contents of a tube of whipped cream onto the last cake she'd taken out of the oven. It was funny, watching her. Gray leaned back and watched, amused and curious even though he knew what she would make of it this year.
Ann kept three cakes in the refrigerator, having made a fourth one that she could taste-test herself, and wrapped one up to deliver to Jack's farm. She already knew he had gotten Thanksgiving cakes from all the other girls, but maybe he would appreciate her coming over to deliver it, for Ann had never implored him to pay visits on her.
The cake was so warm, wrapped up in her hands, when she left the ranch and left footprints in the hard-packed snow. Angel-white snowflakes fluttered everywhere around her. Spinning like a little child with her tongue hanging out of her mouth, she caught the snowflakes while keeping a harder grip on the edges of the paper plate.
"Hey, Ann! Whatcha doing?" Jack called from over the picket fence with a large hammer over his shoulder. He ran up to his fence with a smile on his playful, gentle face. Ann loved that look and wished he wouldn't torment her with it. In the background, his grandfather's dog romped freely in the snow, wagging its little tail. His farm looked like a fantasy world to her-- she would love to live there, with him, and share the success, away from the stagnant life at Green Ranch.
"Nothing," she answered quickly, blushing. "Oh, here--" and she handed him the cake she made. "I'll tell you though, I-- uh-- I'm not a good cook, so I'm not sure it came out very good. But I made it for you for the Thanksgiving celebration, so... well, they say it's the thought that counts, so...."
"Wow, that looks great!" Jack eyed it hungrily, accepting it. "Thanks so much! I haven't gotten anything from anybody all day because I've been out with the carpenters." He immediately unwrapped it and put a piece of it into his mouth. As he was chewing, he continued on, "The earthquake opened up a huge hot water source up in the mountain so I'm helping them turning into a hot spring for rejuvenation. It'll be great when we're finished."
Maybe Jack was too hungry to notice the taste, because Ann's eyes widened when he broke off another piece and began eating it. It was also quite a surprise that Elli or Popuri hadn't chased him up the mountain trying to find him.
Deciding to be honest, Ann added, "Well, Elli and Popuri probably baked you a cake too. Why don't you go into town and find them?"
"Nope, that's alright. I'm happy with the cake that came from you. I've got work to do on the farm too, so I haven't got much time to go into town.... Oh Ann, this doesn't taste too bad! Did Elli teach you to bake this?" Jack looked at her, not showing any signs of false interest just to flatter her.
"No," she said, "I did it all by myself. That's why it's a little lopsided..... Gray and my dad never like the cakes I bake for them. That's why I don't cook much. Gray normally does all the cooking around the house. I only know how to cook three things."
"Well, the cakes are pretty good, to start. If Gray and your dad don't want the ones you made, I'd be happy to take them off your hands!" He finished the slice and licked the frosting off his fingers. "That was alright for a start. What three things? Could you show me?"
"I do have one recipe here I can give to you. I've already memorized it, so you can have it. It's the easiest dish I ever made, but my father and brother don't want to eat it all the time." Out of the pocket of her overalls she produced him a piece of paper that seemed to be folded and unfolded a thousand times over, but in ink, although faded from the creases, was a recipe she had written for old-fashioned mashed potatoes.
"That sounds good! Thanks, Ann! Listen, how would you like to-"
Ann listened intently as if it were the final five minutes of her life, but Jack was interrupted by Popuri running down the path from the center of town with a wrapped cake in her hands, Ann noticed that it was beautiful. It wasn't just the cake itself with the flowers made from frosting, but the pink plastic wrap spread over it, and Popuri herself-- that oh-so-familiar flash of springtime pink in the wintertime.
"Jack!!" she called one more time. When she approached, she shoveled it all into his arms. "Want some Thanksgiving cake? I mean, I know it's not much, but we had a lot left over. You see, I sent a few to my father, who's down south for the winter. I sent him the best and worse, you know, since he's not here on the best and worst days of fall and winter. I guess it was a mean thing to do, but--- Oh, hi Ann!" Popuri panted in between bubbly chatter.
"Hi Popuri," Ann replied softly, suppressing a deep sigh.
"Thank you, Popuri," Jack said graciously, and to Ann's joy he did not immediately unwrap it and begin eating. "I'll save this in my refrigerator and have it when it's one of my best or worse days," he added jokingly. "Ha ha..." His voice trailed off as his eyes skimmed from Ann to Popuri and back.
"So, what is it you were going to ask me, Jack?" Ann asked, longing for Popuri to hear him ask her to do something with him and back off.
"Hmm?" Popuri looked at both of them dazedly, as if everything in the world were flowery and pleasant.
"Oh, I forget!" Jack snapped his fingers, almost as if he hadn't forgotten but wished to ignore something important that he had to do. "But, thank you both for the cake, although I wish that I could return something for you guys..."
"No, no!" Popuri waved her hand flirtatiously. "This is the girls' job, silly. It's the tradition that we give men in our families and town bachelors cakes. It's actually supposed to be a celebration of love, but over the years it's been modified to where we can give cakes to friends, too. Well, I'll be off. I've got other cakes to deliver as well. Enjoy, Jack! I'll see you soon, Ann!"
"Bye," Ann and Jack chorused, and they still stood there together after Popuri was out of sight. Jack shuffled his feet and Ann simply stared up into the gray sky, scattering its cold white confetti onto the ground; she wondered just what Jack was about to ask her. It would have been great if he would have asked her out, or even if it was just an outing in the mountain. She missed him when he was busy and for him to forget what he was going to say irritated her immensely.
"I was saying," Jack finally spoke up in the cold silence, "that maybe, if you wanted to, we could go to the bakery sometime and Elli could help us out. With baking, I mean. I'm sure that one day, your cakes will be just as good as hers! You two could cook for me," he laughed.
Ann wished she had an obligation to cook for him, taking his joke seriously.
"Sure!" she volunteered. He laughed again and so did she, just to break the awkward silence.
"I'll leave you to get back to work," she said a moment later, almost in a gloomy way.
"That's considerate of you. Thank you." She left him to say only that, when suddenly he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. Ann shivered and turned around sharply. "Oh, and if you want to know the truth," Jack said, his clear brown eyes meeting her blue ones. She hoped that it was going to be on the topic about themselves for a change, but he finished with, "I don't really want Popuri's cake."
Ann laughed out loud, joyously. She felt like she had triumphed. "Why's that?"
"I've tried her cakes before. The frosting is too sugary-sweet!" The both of them laughed as if it was the funniest thing they'd seen in a long time, then Ann told him she'd see him later sometime and they walked in separate directions. She felt as if she had gone there for absolutely nothing, and she also couldn't help wondering if he had any private thoughts on how bad her cake had been.