Begun July 24, 2022
Finished October 20, 2023
BPlusWriter
As the writer of this story, To Cook Or Not To Cook, I do not give permission to any artificial intelligence gatherer, AI organization or human intending to use any part of my writing for AI resourcing.
To Cook Or Not To Cook
Author's Note: I have wanted to write for Rita and Norman for a long time as you can tell by the start date above. Shane and Oliver and Ramon (he is delightful to write!) are here too but the main characters in this story are the Dormans/ NoRita. Thank you for reading it. Thanks to Martha Williamson for creating these wonderful characters from Signed Sealed Delivered and letting us POstables write about them. As always, reviews welcome.
Norman whispered loudly, "Oliver! I've got to talk to you! It's important!"
Norman pushed Oliver toward the DLO refrigerator, while glancing quickly back and forth to the Rita and Shane who are standing near Shane's desk, looking at a lost letter trying to read it.
"Norman, calm down! What in the world is the matter?" Oliver opened the refrigerator to get a YooHoo and handed it to Norman, then he took another one for himself.
Norman took a deep breath, glanced at Rita again, but calmed down a bit.
Both Oliver and Norman opened their Yoo Hoos simultaneously and took a long drink.
Norman took another deep breath, and quietly said, "Rita has decided to enter a baking contest." He breathed deeply again and said, "And Ramon has already entered the contest." Norman shook his head back and forth in disbelief.
"Oliver, what am I going to do? You know Rita can't bake! I love her dearly but she cannot cook!"
Oliver said, "Norman, you've been married over a year. Why haven't you told her yet? Are you doing the cooking?"
Norman said glumly, "Well, so far I've convinced her I only really like raw fruit and raw vegetables with nuts and a hamburger once in awhile, and of course, Apple Pan Pie once in awhile."
"Ah! I had wondered why you ordered a whole fresh eggplant the last time we went to the Mailbox Grille!" Oliver grinned.
"Well, I have to make her believe it! She would think it very odd for me to order differently eating out than I eat at home." Norman said. "Thank goodness I remembered I used to order that when we were first dating."
"I really do miss a steak once in awhile," Norman admitted. "She tried to cook steak once and we almost had to call the fire department."
Oliver was still amused by his friend's predicament. "I am surprised you have not lost weight with that kind of diet. On the contrary, you look like you have been dining well."
Norman looked morose. "That's because she knows I like ice cream. She serves it almost after every meal. I've learned to like flavors I never knew existed."
Oliver laughed. "That would explain it! Well, you can't keep this charade up indefinitely. You have to find a way to tell her. Why don't you suggest she take cooking lessons? With her photographic memory she should do quite well."
"I suggested that, but she said we really couldn't afford lessons and, besides, she keeps saying she wants to cook for me the way her mother cooked for her dad." The look of horror mixed with glumness on Norman's face almost made Oliver laugh out loud. "So far I've ruled out some of the stranger concoctions. After the Christmas cookie fiasco Rita does ask how I like anything she makes."
Norman sighed. "It's been hard, Oliver."
Oliver looked across the room at Shane and caught her eye. They both smiled at each other. Oliver wished Shane could be privy to this conversation. Instead, he said, "Do you want me to ask Shane to talk to Rita about how the domestic activities of the kitchen are going? Since we are still newlyweds, it would not be out of the ordinary to know how other couples are handling kitchen duties."
Norman looked thoughtful. "Well, that might work but I hate for Rita to think we're all talking about her behind her back."
Oliver said, "why don't you and Rita come to dinner tomorrow and I'll see if I can bring the subject up. Once I get the ball rolling, Shane will probably pick it up. Maybe that will give you some ideas about how to approach Rita. Talking together with friends can sometimes be a good way to broach a subject."
Norman's face broke into a smile. Gratefully, he said, "Thank you, Oliver. Tell Shane not to serve raw fruits and vegetables, will you."
Oliver grinned again and nearly laughed out loud. "I can promise you there will not be a raw food of any sort on our table."
Again, Oliver looked at Shane whom he suddenly realized had been watching him with a quizzical look on her face while Rita was still talking animatedly.
He looked reassuringly at Norman, clapped him on the shoulder, nodded, and said, "Shall we start work on the ripped and mangled mail?"
The rest of the afternoon went by in a flurry of dead letters. Shane and Oliver ate supper at the Mailbox Grille then headed home. Shane made coffee while Oliver busied himself with getting some tea.
"What were you and Norman talking about this afternoon?" Shane asked. "Norman looked rather perturbed."
Oliver grinned and said, "He was."
Shane got a mug out of the cupboard as Oliver put up the tea.
They turned toward each other.
Oliver tilted his head as he looked at Shane.
"Well, what's going on, Oliver?"
Oliver said, "Did you notice Norman ate a lot of the rice and broccoli salad at lunch today?"
"Come on, Oliver! Norman was looked quite serious. What's wrong? I doubt he was telling you how good lunch was!"
Oliver laughed. "Well, food was the topic of the conversation!"
Suddenly, Shane got it. "Oh, Oliver! Don't tell me he was complaining about Rita's cooking?"
Ignoring their drinks, Oliver shook his head, took Shane's hand and pulled her toward to couch. "I wouldn't call it complaining! But things are not going well in the Dorman kitchen."
Shane said, "I know Rita got some good cookbooks as wedding gifts. I've asked her if she had used them yet and she laughed and said she was reading them. I don't know if she is reading them to memorize for future cooking meals or not."
Oliver shook his head regretfully. "If she is, she is not using them. Norman is so kind-hearted he can't bring himself to tell her that she needs to take cooking lessons. So, I told him they can come for dinner tomorrow and we will find a way to bring up the subject and encourage Rita to use some of those cookbooks for real."
Shane looked thoughtful. Slowly, she said, "Rita's birthday is coming up at the end of the month and Norman's is the month after that. Why don't we give them both lessons? I can ask Ramon where he would suggest we buy them. He knows Rita and Norman well, so his opinion would be useful."
Oliver looked at Shane with respect. "That is a wonderful idea, Shane! Maybe we could join them a few times! You are a marvelous cook, my love," Oliver said, "but it's always good to learn. I would like to learn more too."
Oliver had pulled Shane closer as he spoke.
Shane replied, "Oh, you think I could use a little help in the kitchen too?"
"Only from me, darling!" said Oliver as he leaned in to kiss her.
He broke off the kiss as a sudden thought occurred to him and smiled. "Just don't serve raw vegetables or any raw fruit tomorrow."
Between the three of them, Shane, Oliver and Norman were able to convince Rita that at least one or two cooking lessons would help her chances in the cooking competition. So over the next month Rita and Norman took a cooking class lesson from a friend of Ramon's.
Rita liked the lesson and the chef very much. She had a lot of fun. Norman despaired. He didn't think either one of them learned very much. This chef was almost as entertaining as Ramon, Rita told Norman. "Yes," said Norman without much enthusiasm. "He certainly was having a good time, wasn't he?"
Rita beamed. "Well, cooking should be fun!"
Norman suddenly said, "Rita, I think I'm really, really in the mood for a hamburger."
Surprisingly, after that experience, Rita resolutely refused any more lessons. She said she would rather spend time working on perfecting her recipe, which she kept changing. She did chat with Ramon a few times and claimed for the time being that was all the assistance she needed.
By now, Norman was fatalistically waiting for the big event and hoping for the best. Oliver did his best to reassure his friend that everything would work out. He and Shane talked about the situation several times but decided as long as Rita was enjoying herself and Norman was standing by to support her that is what they would do too.
Everyone was anticipating the Big Event with mixed feelings: Rita more excited; Norman more trepidatious; Shane cautiously optimistic and curious, Oliver standing by ready to be of service in whatever way might be needed, although he couldn't imagine how.
By the time the big day finally arrived, all the POstables were more than ready.
The kitchen was bustling with contestants intent on creating their masterpieces. The sounds of blenders, clinks of measuring cups and spoons, drowned out the spatulas mixing the ingredients of flours, sugar, milk, eggs, salt, and other ingredients being prepared into what each baker hoped would be the winning entry. There was the occasional "behind you!" "excuse me!" and a few strong words uttered by contestants that could be heard above the noises of the creation process.
Rita was her usual bubbly self, laughing now and then at herself as she accidentally came close to mixing up the salt and sugar. Referring to her recipe cards frequently, her efforts were beginning to show. She had flour on her apron, her fingers were getting sticky with butter and salt and dishes were starting to pile up here and there from milk and eggs, etc. Her hands had wandered over the oven controls, eventually settled on a button which she pushed to set the oven temperature while she worked on her entree.
Shane and Norman had called out encouraging words at the beginning and Rita would look up, smile at them and speak back. "Oh! Thank you," she said.
Finally, Shane said, "Norman, I think we better not talk to Rita while she's concentrating on her cooking! Oliver should be back with my coffee soon."
Norman nodded nervously and absentmindedly as he continued to watch his wife. He twisted his hands and Shane was glad she had not told Oliver to bring anything for Norman to drink. She turned a bit toward the direction Oliver had walked. Momentarily, the crowds parted and she saw him headed her way with her coffee in one hand and a YooHoo in the other.
When he reached her Shane said thank you and pointed toward Rita's station which consisted of a small cutting board area overlaying the oven she was going to use.
Just then Ramon joined them. "Ah, my friends! I see you are here to support the fair Ms. Rita!"
Norman visibly stiffened and stood a little taller, looking at but not saying anything to Ramon immediately. When he did there was a slight edge to his voice. "I thought you were entered in the contest too, Ramon. Shouldn't you be busy with your baking entry?"
Ramon looked a little forlorn. "Ah, given that I must be available to assist anyone here in my new test kitchen, I decided it was best to deny myself the opportunity to participate as a participant this time. And I am glad I did." Ramon shook his head. "There have been many contestants who needed my assistance."
Shane was curious what benefit Ramon could offer in a baking competition. "Really? What has come to your attention so far?"
Ramon said, "Well, I can't go into specifics at this time, but I will say do not be surprised if you taste prune juice in Ms. Rita's cupcakes."
Three heads that had been watching Rita swiveled to look at Ramon. "Prune juice?" three voices said simultaneously.
Ramon nodded his head. "Prune juice. But that was a more desirable choice than Ms. Rita's original idea which was ground Jerusalem artichoke in the batter with finely diced artichoke topping."
Norman swallowed hard. When put that way, prune juice did indeed sound better than the alternative. "Thank you, Ramon. I will remember if I eat a cupcake."
Ramon slapped Norman on the shoulder, inclined his head in thanks and said kindly. "Prune juice should not be extremely noticeable if she sticks to the measurements we worked out. It will add a depth most chocolates do not have."
Norman shook his head in agreement while Shane and Oliver tried not to smile.
Finally, after much measuring, mixing and recipe checking Rita appeared to be ready to put her cupcakes into the oven. After doing that, Rita shut the oven door with a decidedly proud flourish, pushed another button and turned to face her friends. They had been watching silently but now burst into applause, which Rita graciously received with a smile. Rita walked over to the dividing line between contestants and audience members to speak to them. "I was so nervous! I'm glad I finished in time!"
Norman proudly said, "I am so proud of you, Rita!" Rita blushed and giggled.
"Thank you, Norman! But maybe your congratulations should wait until my cupcakes are completely ready. It shouldn't be too long."
Ramon congratulated Rita on completing her contest entry.
"Thank you, Ramon. It is nice of you to let the competition be held in your new kitchen," Rita said.
Ramon bowed his head slightly in appreciation of the compliment. "When I decided to build a brand-new restaurant, I wanted to have a space large enough to hold many cooks, many chefs," Ramon said as he looked around proudly. "I anticipated being able to use the space for just such an occasion. I have kept up with my former coworkers at the KGL tv station and discussed the idea with them first." Ramon extended his hand to include all the kitchen. "I built this to suggestions they gave me for possible tv coverage use." he said. "I think it turned out quite well!"
Ramon again pointed toward the gleaming chrome and white kitchen tables, ovens and kitchen tool shelving. "I am sorry this event is not being televised today but there are still a few camera components that have not been installed."
Rita nodded and giggled. "I think I would be very nervous to be on television. This is my first experience in competitive cooking, you know."
"Ms. Rita, you will be wonderful on camera!" Ramon said.
Suddenly someone screamed and everyone turned to face the noise. It centered on a stove. Apparently, a hopeful contestant's food inside an oven was on fire. As the POstables' and Ramon's attention focused on the source it appeared to be coming from close to Rita's oven. She and Ramon moved quickly to the line of ovens against the wall. Yes, unfortunately, it was Rita's oven. Competition rules required that only the contestant could touch the tools and food they were preparing so Rita immediately reached to open the oven, with Ramon close behind her. Norman, Shane and Oliver watched anxiously from behind the viewing audience tape.
Rita grabbed the oven door handle and pulled. Nothing happened. The door remained shut. Rita tried again, this time with more urgent force. Still nothing. Scared now, Rita said, "Ramon! What is the matter with the oven?"
Ramon was looking at the oven intently assessing the problem. "Ms. Rita, how did you set the oven? Show me!"
Rita obeyed Ramon and showed him the sequence of her actions. "I turned the oven on to this setting," she said, pointing toward a dial button, "then opened the oven to put my cupcakes in and shut the door. I set the timer and walked away to wait."
"Miss Rita!" Ramon exclaimed as he followed her movements. "It appears you turned on the clean oven setting instead of the actual oven temperature! The oven will reach 700 degrees! We must turn it off before the fire gets worse!"
By now, other contestants were frantically checking their own ovens. Some of them were in the process of taking their dishes out of their ovens. Competition officials were in various stages of panic. Some had immediately come to Rita and Ramon's side, others were directing other contestants to take their completed dishes to another more secure adjacent room, others were gathering around those contestants whose dishes were still cooking, doing their best to calm the contestants while discussing what could be done to make sure they remained safe, while safety personnel were discussing what could be done with the least amount of damage to food and the kitchen. In a word, it was chaos.
Oven doors automatically lock when the cleaning setting is set because the oven temperature at that point becomes very dangerous. So Rita's oven could literally not be opened.
Rita's cupcakes were definitely on fire. At this point it was unclear if the oven itself would catch fire, or the food itself would dissolve into ash. After hasty conference with safety officials, the decision was made to turn the oven off to avoid more damage. Unfortunately, this might mean some of the other ovens would lose power. Kitchen and safety personnel moved to the area where the back of the ovens could be accessed. It seemed relatively easy but as with all things technical, that was a little harder to do than it seemed. One oven had to be moved a few feet to reach the cable plug. Once that was done, Ramon told Rita to try opening the oven again but slowly. It appeared the fire which had almost completely consumed her cupcakes, was almost out but it was best to be very careful because too much oxygen too quickly might cause the fire to jump to equipment, such as the inside of the oven itself.
At this point it did not matter who touched the dish itself since it was ruined, so Ramon quickly donned two large oven mitts and pulled what was left of the cupcakes out of the oven to set it in the sink next to Rita's cabinet worktop. Rita stood close by. By this time, Norman had made his way to his wife's side and was holding her hand. Rita was apologizing. "I am so, so, so sorry, Ramon! I had no idea I set the wrong dial!"
Ramon was obviously relived that the crisis was over and contained and spoke kindly, "It's ok, Ms. Rita! These things happen! Everything will be alright! I am sorry your cupcakes are ruined but you are ok! We are all ok!"
"I will discuss what we should do now with the competition committee. I will leave you in the capable hands of your husband!" he said, turning toward Norman with a small bow. "Take all the time you need, my friends! My kitchen is yours!"
Rita and Norman stood, shocked, watching as everyone else followed Ramon toward the adjacent room where the other contestants had gone. A few contestants at the other end of the kitchen were still removing their dishes from the ovens that were now off while discussing with competition judges what to do next.
Shane and Oliver approached and offered their help but there was literally nothing they could do. "Rita, may I get you a glass of water?" Oliver asked.
"Yes, Oliver, I would like that!" Rita said gratefully while Shane hugged her.
The quiet of the room now settled as Norman and Rita still stood quietly. The audience had now quietened, some of them drifting toward the adjacent competition room, others watching Rita and Norman.
Norman was more nervous than he had been when proposing to Rita, both times. He twisted his hands. He dared raise his eyes to Rita's face, to see a sad expression on her face. Flour dusted her face and a smudge of something, probably chocolate, but he wasn't sure, rested on her cheek. She was so beautiful his heart turned over. Before he could change his mind, Norman leaned in quickly toward Rita and kissed her.
Then he stepped back and took a deep breath.
Rita smiled. She had noticed Norman wringing his hands. Something was bothering him. "Oh, Norman! Norman, are you ok? Did Ramon say something that upset you?" Rita knew Norman was sometimes bothered by Ramon's grand gestures and theatricality.
Norman shook his head. "No, Rita, it's not Ramon," he said regretfully.
"I wish it was."
"Then what is bothering you? Tell me!"
Norman said, "Rita, let's sit down." Norman took Rita's flour covered hand and they walked to a small table. They sat down and Rita waited. Norman still didn't speak.
Rita was beginning to get a little worried. "Norman!"
Norman suddenly found his voice. For a moment he felt himself swept back to that finale of their first letter mystery delivery when Shane had joined the DLO. With womanly intuition, Rita had suggested they go look at the ducks in Washington Park so Oliver and Shane could have a few private last words with Charlie. He had resisted; Rita had insisted: "Norman!" in just the same way as she just did. Now, married, their relationship had blossomed and bloomed. He could tell her anything. She even said so!
Firmly and kindly, Norman said, "Rita, we have to talk. I love you very much and I am very proud of you but you cannot cook; at least not well!"
Pausing again, Norman waited to see how this news was being received.
Rita's expression changed from concern to surprise.
Norman hastily said, "Well, you can make a few things; you usually don't burn the toast anymore, and you can make salad, sort of."
He paused again as he took her hands, leaned in close and said, "I know you love to cook but no matter what you cook it almost never turns out well."
Rita said, "Not even-?
"No," said Norman before she could say anything else.
Rita began again, "Or…"
Norman shook his head. "Not even. I haven't wanted to tell you because you enjoy it so much—"
Norman courageously took a moment to look at Rita again.
This time Rita was smiling tenderly.
"Oh, Norman!" she asked as she put her hand on his chest. "I know I don't cook well!"
Norman looked confused and stuttered, "You know?"
"Yes," Rita said, nodding her head. "Of course I know! I've always known! I thought you knew that I knew I couldn't cook well!"
Norman's head was swimming. "Then, why?"
Rita sweet laugh bubbled up. "My mother wasn't a good cook either! She would do her best but something always went wrong! But Daddy would eat it all and tell her it was wonderful!"
Norman laughed too but said, "Sweetheart, that doesn't make sense!"
Rita nodded and said, "When I was about 11 Mother burned the soup and I told Daddy my mother's cooking was not as good as my friends' mothers' cooking. I never had burned cooking at their houses."
"You know what Daddy said?"
Norman said, "What?"
"He said that mother's food was wonderful because she cooked with love for us, and he was so glad she was there to share it with us. My mother was very sick shortly after my parents were first married, and he almost lost her, so he really appreciated having her in his life all the time. After that, I noticed that when Daddy complimented my mother on a meal they would both laugh and usually end up kissing. That's when I realized she knew too! She didn't like to admit it but I asked her about it one time and she said she really tried but she was frequently busy doing other things too and just forgot the time, hence, there were a lot of burned or overdone dishes on our table. She told me she was very grateful Daddy was so sweet about it and he even learned to cook fairly well so she didn't have to work so hard at it all the time."
Rita beamed. Her face glowed. "And so, I learned to cook as best I could so I could do the same thing for my husband one day!"
Norman's heart overflowed with love at that moment. He really was married to the most wonderful woman in the world. He smiled his sweetest smile as they both looked at each other.
Rita said, "I like to cook. I'm just not good at it. Maybe I will be one day! That's why I wanted to enter the competition; to be around other cooks and learn from them. It's much easier to get the feel of something in person than watch a video on YouTube which is what Shane told me to do. I never expected to win!"
They both laughed. Norman took this moment to ask a burning question. "Why, why DO you use such… unusual… combinations of foods in each dish?"
"Oh you mean like pasta and peanut butter-"
"-Or blue cheese and mustard icing for cookies?" interrupted Norman.
Rita laughed. "Well," she explained, "you know my parents were organic farmers and they sold what they grew to make a living along with weaving and woodworking."
"So, we ate what we grew and sometimes what we grew did not fit the usual recipe dishes, so if we had a good crop of asparagus we ate asparagus every day like having creamed asparagus on toast, asparagus and beets and eggs for lunch, asparagus and butternut squash soup for supper."
Norman blanched a bit. He could take asparagus but not three times a day and certainly not with beets and eggs but he said nothing. He said, "umm," in a noncommittal tone of voice.
"And we used whatever else we found, like wild blueberries and nuts. Daddy liked squirrel but Mama and I didn't so we never had that. And Mama was willing to try snake but my father said he drew the line at eating snake."
Norman laughed nervously, "I'm glad to hear that!"
"I learned something today," Rita said proudly. "Ramon said there are flavor profiles that include some foods but not others because the tastes clash. That might be why you don't like my blue cheese and mustard frosted cookies."
Norman smiled as his hand nervously crossed his face. "Yes, that might be true," he agreed.
"I will follow the list Ramon is going to give me and maybe I can make food you like better," Rita said. "I may always like peanut butter and beets and beans but I can compromise. I want you to be happy, Norman!"
At this moment, Rita looked so earnest, Norman came close to promising her she could make anything she wanted anytime she wanted, but his stomach rolled uneasily with the ERKS, and he decided silence was the best course of action.
"Thank you, Rita. That is very sweet of you." Norman heaved a sigh of relief and hugged Rita. She hugged him back.
At this point Norman looked around and became aware that Oliver and Shane were standing far enough away that they had not heard his conversation with Rita but they were still looking concerned. Oliver was still holding the glass of water he had brought for Rita. He nodded to Oliver and Oliver and Shane took this as a signal that it was ok to join them.
Silently, Oliver handed the glass of water to Rita who said thank you. Shane said, "What are you going to do now, Rita?"
Rita smiled a beaming smile to include all three of the others and said, "I think we should join the others and congratulate the winners! That is, if they don't mind seeing me!"
Norman said, "You're wonderful, Rita! That is a good idea! I want to talk to Ramon!"
Rita looked at him in surprise but agreed and the four slowly started their walk towards the other room. Before they could get very far, they heard other attending viewers still standing behind the audience tape call her.
"Rita, Rita, can I have your autograph?!"
"Yay, Rita!"
"Rita, can you tell us what you made even if it burned?"
Rita and Norman turned and walked towards the audience and Rita graciously began shaking hands and signing autographs. Norman walked behind her a little shaken and surprised. Several people wanted to talk to him too. "Does Rita burn things at home too?" someone asked.
Oliver could see Norman was becoming overwhelmed and walked up to stand beside his friend for moral support. Shane moved to stand beside Rita on the other side of Norman to help her field questions. After a few moments, Shane said to Rita, "I think we should go find Ramon if we don't want to miss the rest of the competition. Maybe these people will still be here after that is over."
Rita nodded and said, "Yes, let's go." Rita told the people still pressing forward that she had to leave but thanked them for coming.
Then she took Norman's hand and pulled him away from someone who was wanting Norman's autograph too.
The foursome moved resolutely toward to other room.
When they entered the room with the other contestants, the atmosphere was energetically relaxed. Music was playing somewhere and it was easy to spot Ramon making the rounds of the room, shaking hands, talking to contestants and charming them with compliments. There was a table at one end of the room with many completed dishes on it obviously waiting to be sampled, while others obviously had already been sampled.
Norman moved the group towards Ramon. "Ramon!" Norman said. "We are so sorry for the mess but we thank you, I thank you especially for helping Rita!"
Norman reached out to shake Ramon's hand. Ramon graciously took Norman's hand and said, "Think nothing of it, my friend! No harm done! My assistants already have the situation in hand! The oven will be cleaned and checked out for future use!
"The judges have decided to extend the competition through tomorrow to allow those who did not finish to complete or restart their dishes and final judging will be tomorrow. You are welcome to come back, Ms. Rita!"
"Oh thank you Ramon," Rita said, "But I think I should withdraw from the competition this time and give someone else the opportunity to win. I will come back to watch. I really wanted to get to know some of the other cooks, you know."
Ramon inclined his head. "That is very sweet of you, Ms. Rita, but then you always are! I will leave a ticket for you so you can come into the kitchen as a contestant to have a closer look.
And I will have the list I promised ready for you in a few days! Keep cooking!"
Rita nodded her thanks and then noticed one of her competitors standing nearby looking a bit crestfallen. "Excuse me," Rita said, "I want to mingle a bit before we go."
Ramon, Norman, Shane and Oliver watched her walk over to the woe begotten looking lady, nodding their heads, slight smiles on their faces. They knew their Rita. Regardless of her circumstances, Rita was always looking out for the other people.
Again, Norman felt the need to thank Ramon for helping Rita. Ramon thanked him gravely with a smile. "I am sorry I will not get to sample Ms. Rita's cupcakes with prune juice. Perhaps you can persuade her to try again soon!"
The END
