OKAY! Last one with baking involved!
It was 107 on the hottest day of the year and my ancient house didn't have central air. I only had 2 industrial fans and a bunch of tiny ones. By mid- afternoon the power had gone out in my antique neighborhood, and then I didn't even have the fans. When I couldn't stand it any longer I took my myself, a cassette player, my headphones, and a Biggie Smalls tape to a produce store in another area of the city. The bus wasn't air conditioned either and I had gotten a sunburn from hell that day.
I listened to the cassette moodily on the highest volume The tap water had heated up to lukewarm, there was no ice to be found anywhere in the city and everyone's nerves were fried. At least 2 fights broke out on the buses before I reached my destination.
I rolled myself up and down the aisles of the brick building on the cart, putting jars of syrup saturated fruit and bunches of fresh berries into it. I mumbled Biggie's lyrics under my breath and enjoyed the cool air provided by their generator.
I was very good at speaking English, but I never really became literate in it. Plenty of people in Israel spoke English as a second or first language. I learned the basics from my parents, who used to speak it because they thought I didn't understand. Ultimately my English was perfected through American rap tapes.
That day it was quite fortunate that I was brushing up on my English however because I stumbled upon an operative who I assumed to be British MI-5. He occasionally hung around Mossad, for classified reasons, of course.
He was standing at the checkout counter thumbing through a magazine a little too quickly and glancing around every so often. I rolled up to him and put my things on the counter.
"Hello Mr. Kort." I greeted him cordially. He tensed immediately as I had expected he would.
"And who…?"
"I'm Tali, Eli David's daughter. We've met a few times."
"Right..." He snarled, looking down at the text again. "Has Eli gotten so insecure that he sent you to spy on me? At the market, no less?"
I smirked. "Hardly." I replied. "I'm not spying, but if I hadn't come over, you would have been suspicious anyway."
"How do I know you're not using reverse psychology to convince me otherwise?" It was obvious he didn't think I was much of a threat by his teasing manner and light tone. I leaned in closer to him.
"Believe me, Mr. Kort, if I was watching you would never know it." I said quietly. "Besides! I have too many pies to make! And I'm thinking of making some rugelach cookies as well… I can just cook them on the sidewalk at this point!" I laughed. I paid in exact change with crumpled up bills and stray coins. "But… should there be someone following you Mr. Kort?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Enjoy your pie miss Tali." He replied with an ever so faint grin on his lips.
I took my bags and left, but before I even exited the doors, I had decided to make him something. I made a raspberry tort with a lattice top because I thought it suited him. I thought it was possible to get him to fully smile again. I left it at the front desk at Mossad and the agent there gave it to him. He laughed.
Oh Tali, she just charms the dickens out of everyone! So the past and the future cross paths again! What was Trent Kort doing at Mossad HQ anyway? If you know make sure to tell me :D