Patricia & Mom’s wish

Sitting with her phone in her hand Patricia was spending the usual night hours before she falls asleep. A sort of disorder she has been suffering from since the 5^th of October, The Dark Day, as she calls it. It was all normal till the day before the 5^th of October, also the restaurant was making steady progress with the customers starting to visit again, mostly in the evenings. The impact of the Covid-19 virus was great but Patricia still managed to survive her Job. Although many of her colleagues had already been laid off, Patricia, being the main chef managed to stay. But it was not easy as she had to make sacrifices. Her mother who lived in Subtlemouth a town about 200 miles from Northbourne where Patricia lived and worked, has not been keeping well. Being the only child, Patricia always had that deep connection with her mother. They had been like friends always. This feeling had been pricking inside her like internal guilt, that she had not been able to visit her primarily due to untimely lockdowns in the country and due to the work pressures. As such there was no work rather there was an internal self-created pressure to be present in the restaurant for sake of not losing a job at these times of pandemic.

It was the 5^th October morning she woke up when the sun was already on her face. She checked her mobile, it was turned off due to low battery. She got up in haste and hit her knee with the bedside table with a painful cry, “Ouch!”. Shambling she reached the charging point near the dressing table and plugged in the phone charger. The phone instantly came to life showing a 1% charge. She placed her leg on the chair already full of her clothes and jackets and other stuff from yesterday, finding space with great difficulty. She pulled her nightgown up to check the amount of damage the bedside table has given her. It was a small scratch but the pain was much more than what the scratch can barely represent. Patricia carried out her rest of the morning routine and she was ready for work. Before leaving Patricia turned on her mobile, right after starting her car there was the continuous sound of notifications. She couldn’t find time to check the massages. Patricia reached the restaurant front when the cashier pointed towards the manager’s cabin and said in a worried tone “Where were you, Mr. Robbins has been looking for you.” Patricia nodded and without wasting any time reached the Manager’s cabin and was surprised to find all the chefs lined up in the cabin. Savita & Rumi two of her fellow chefs and friends, looked at her with sad faces. The manager looked at Patricia and started, “There you are Pat!”, She asked, “What’s the matter Rob?” Mr. Robinson replied “Well, how do I say? I was just trying to explain to the team, that there has been another lockdown planned by the government, and in this state we cannot continue anymore”, taking a brief pause “so the owners have decided to shut down the restaurant.” Patricia wanted to fight and scream but all she managed was a brief “Oh! Sir, but where will we go?” All came back to the kitchen and started to gather their stuff. Patricia picked up her phone and saw 8 missed calls and about 21 messages from Uncle Sommer. Uncle Sommer was her mom’s neighbor and would call her occasionally to tell about mom’s health. She thought of calling back, but didn’t and started to pack with her other friends. Coming back home when she threw her stuff on the sofa her phone rang again, it was uncle Sommer, who told about her mom’s sudden death last night.

It has been more than two months, still, it’s difficult for Patricia to sleep in the night. Scanning through some old photographs with her mother, she smiled with teary eyes. The memories of a time came to her, when she baked her first cake, she almost burned half of it. When mom tasted that burnt cake, she smiled and hugged her and said “Oh Pat! my kiddo is going to be the master chef one day, I know you will create history someday.” It was that motivation from mom that carried Patricia through all those harsh and long cookery classes. If there is one person who trusts you in this world can make you achieve wonders. Patricia did pass with excellent grades and won the best of prizes in cookery in her college years. But the profession and desire to achieve something took her away from mom. All of a sudden the phone rang and almost slipped off Patricia’s fingers. It was Rima,

“Hey, Pat! How have you been doing?”

Patricia replied, “All ‘s fine here, Rima, why did you call?”

Rima said, “I got an exciting opportunity for all three of us, are you interested?” “Opportunity…what opportunity?”,

“It’s the Mega Maker event, where everyone shows their talent and create something new.”

”What about it then.”

“We three, you, me, and Savi we all will participate and cook something out of the world.”

“You have gone insane dear, we are chefs, not mechanics.”

“Listen to me Pat, this time the event is about making the largest cookie ever, it's not just a creative competition but a chance to showcase our talents and you know what the prize money is? It’s a 10,000 $, with that money we can even start our own café or a small restaurant.”

“Well, the prize money seems attractive.”

“Think about it what can be done and I am filling the forms the three of us.”

The new ray of hope has begun to enter her mind, thinking about her memories of mom and the way mom used to inspire her for cooking, she slept.

The next morning Rima called all three to the nearby Café. Patricia had barely stepped out of the house in the last few months. Her skin had turned pale due to lack of sun. She had put on a number of layers of woolens. But it was pleasant for her to meet old friends. Rima said ”Pat! You seem so pale you need some real dose of caffeine.” Savita interjected “and you need some warm company as well” and she winked at Rima. They all laughed and chatted for a long time. Rima said “The Three Bakers, our team name, what say?” Savita and Patricia moved in affirmation. Later they also decided on the recipe and how to make it into the grand size and maintain the taste as well.

The event day came, it was a giant hall. All the contestants were screened for temperature and were allocated tables maintaining the distance from one another and also ensuring that Large cookies can be made without a problem.

Rumi informed all “Guys!, there are about 65 teams participating, the team next to us named ‘Hey Snacker’ is saught to be the most promising as they are well known, and have already won a number of prizes before.” Savita said, ”what about us where do you think we stand.” Patricia replied “don’t worry about them, focus on our target, today I am going to create the record” remembering her mother’s words. Looking at Patricia’s confidence Rumi and Savita smiled and jumped right into the task. The main challenge while trying to bake a large cookie was keeping the uniform taste throughout. Savita prepared the batter measuring the right composition every time, Rumi poured it in slow motion so as not to disturb the proportion, and after settling the complete solution in the large bowl they started to bake in the oven. Patricia, the most experienced of the lot managed the directions and angles from which baking was carried out. Finally, she added the toppings like choco chips, and nuts before the mixture settled so that they are laid on top of the cookie as garnishing.

The Jury, with Mr.Hankins the founder of Taste Buddy & Ms. Loyola the youtube sensation were the ones leading the team. They checked all the cookies on three parameters, the size, the representation, and finally the taste. After a thorough evaluation, all the contestants were seated in the conference room waiting for the results. Mr. Hankins stood up on the stage and started “It was a unique competition. When we talk about food we don’t talk the size, but here we did. The competition proved to be more fearsome than we thought in the beginning, There were three teams that made cookies of size more than 40 inches. And without disappointing the ‘’Hey Snackers’ made the largest cookie a 48-inch cookie.” Some among the cloud started to clap and a few even started talking in agreement. Mr. Hankins continued, “But my dear friends it’s a cooking completion, and what’s the point of making a 48 inches large disc if it doesn’t taste like a cookie”, the crowd grew silent, “So this year we have decided to award a team that has scored well on all fronts, so the winning prize goes to team ‘The Three Bakers’ may we have the team on stage”. The team went to the stage and sent Patricia as their lead Chef to receive the trophy and prize money.

Later that night Patricia looked at the certificate that stated, 'Record for the Largest cookie in the World' and she felt a star twinkle in the sky like mom is feeling proud and smiling at her girl’s achievement today. It was after a long time she felt fulfilled and happy.