Frankie

Frankie

By Jean Feingold

Frankie stepped on the gas, let out the clutch, and stalled the car. Again. She’d driven stick shift cars all her life and almost never had problems like this.

But today she was in a hurry, a prescription for car annoyance. She needed to get to Ace’s Bakery to taste cake samples for her brother Tad’s retirement party. The bakery closed at 5 and it was already 4:30. Why she had gotten stuck with this task instead of his secretary Madison or Jennifer, his wife, made no sense to her. The two of them were handling the guest list, designing and sending the invitations, booking a room, ordering flowers and beverages, and collecting the RSVPs. Frankie felt since they were doing everything else, they could just as easily have picked cakes too. 

“Why did I offer to help?” Frankie asked herself. “What has he ever done for me?”

Of course, Tad had always done all kinds of things for Frankie which she was conveniently forgetting. He had tutored her in math all the way through college or she wouldn’t have graduated. He had introduced her to interesting people. He had negotiated better deals for every large thing she had ever bought, every car, every house, every cellphone, every appliance, every computer. He fixed her plumbing and her lamps, mowed her lawn, balanced her checkbook, and painted her walls.

Frankie had come to resent Tad for all these courtesies. His too regular assistance made her feel incompetent, unable to handle ordinary life problems by herself. OK, she was single and dateless. She had no husband or male companion to cover these everyday tasks. When no male partner appeared, instead of teaching her how to do practical things, Tad just kept on doing them for her as though she were a child instead of a woman of 57.

Mind you, Frankie was the eldest sibling. Her wildly loving parents, fascinated with their perfect first baby, had indulged her in everything, honored her every wish, and made life so easy she never felt the need to become independent. They led her to believe she was the center of the universe and what she wanted was all that mattered. When Tad was born three years later, they had higher expectations for him and forced him to find his own way in life. He accepted the challenge willingly, becoming a star student and athlete while in school and a prosperous business owner once graduated.

After college, Frankie’s doting parents indulged her fantasy of becoming a famous actress, financing her move to New York City. It only took three auditions with cruel rejections for her to return home shamefaced, her self-esteem permanently crushed. Nothing her parents said restored her confidence. When they died in an auto accident a few months later, she was devastated. Although he, too, was grieving, Tad knew he had to find something to help her go on, so he persuaded one of his friends, a high school principal, to hire her as the drama teacher.

Amazingly she turned this unexpected handout job into a successful career. Every performance of the plays Frankie produced sold out. Her students won consistently at state and regional competitions. A few graduates had even gained the acting fame she never achieved. The costumes she designed were so well received people always offered to buy them after each show closed. Despite these triumphs, she still felt like a failure because she was not a star.

The kindnesses Tad performed for Frankie put him so totally one up in the favors department she would never come close to making the score even. On the rare occasion there was something she could do for Tad, it was, like the cake tasting, of such an insignificant nature it felt to her as if she were making no contribution. Everyone assured her she was the perfect person to select the cakes and that was true. In her spare time Frankie had taken several non-credit baking courses and was known for making wonderful baked goods. The only reason she wasn’t making the cakes for the party herself was because 300 guests were expected, far too many for her home kitchen to accommodate.

She didn’t know it, but Tad thoroughly enjoyed helping Frankie. He liked spending time with her because of her quirky sense of humor and offbeat perspectives on life. Whenever they went shopping or while he visited her to fix things, they goofed around and had wonderful conversations. Since she was his only sibling and their parents were gone, their family connection was important to him. That he had failed to communicate his pleasure in her company never occurred to him. He never saw his contributions to Frankie’s life as a burden since he always had so much fun when they were together.

Finally the car started moving and Frankie hurried to the bakery. Arriving at 4:53 pm, she found 10 colorful slices of cake neatly laid out on the counter.

“Cutting it pretty close, kid,” Andy Ace, the baker, said. “Here’s a fork.”

“Where are the labels?” Frankie inquired.

“I didn’t want you to pre-judge. Just taste. You’ll like what you like.”

In the modern day, providing appropriate refreshments to accommodate people’s many allergies and predilections had become a challenge for every event where food was served. Frankie had asked Andy to come up with delicious cakes that were vegan, non-dairy, sugar-free, fat-free, peanut-free, or gluten-free as well as baking conventional wheat flour, fat, egg, and sugar filled delights.

She took a bite of a bright pink cake. “Mmm, strawberry,” she said. “A light, subtle flavor with a flashy appearance. I like it. Please tell me this is sugar-free.”

“No details until after you’ve tried them all,” Andy replied.

Frankie took two bites of each cake, setting the plates containing the ones she liked to the left and the others to the right. A few were close to inedible with dry textures and bland flavors.

“Wow, Andy,” she said after a particularly awful bite. “I didn’t know you could make cake this bad. It’s like something I made in my first baking class.”

Andy laughed pleasantly. “Just testing to make sure your taste buds work,” he said.

Six cakes passed her scrutiny. “Good news,” Andy said. “Your choices meet all the special diets. Some fit more than one category, like the strawberry which is vegan, non-dairy, fat-free, peanut-free and sugar-free, and the flourless fudge cake, which is non-dairy, peanut-free, and gluten-free. Everyone will get to eat cake at Tad’s party guilt-free.”

They sat down with the preference totals from the RSVPs to see how many servings of each cake would be needed. “Remember, some people will have more than one slice,” she said. “Especially the people who eat everything.”

“Which ones do you think will complement the dinner?” Andy asked.

“The party starts at 8 pm and there is no dinner, just champagne and cake. The invitations say, ‘Join us for champagne and cake to celebrate Tad’s retirement.’ Anyone who expects a meal didn’t pay attention.”

Andy calculated how many sheet cakes of each type to bake with some extra added to be sure they wouldn’t run out. “Jennifer emailed me the instructions from Tad of what to write on the cakes,” he said. “When they’re delivered each box will be numbered so they can be lined up in the right order to display the message once the lids are lifted off. My people will take care of all that.”

“Message? No one told me about that. What is it?”

“Ah, that’s a secret,” Andy said. “I’m like a priest. I can’t reveal the message, not even to you. Jennifer is paying so I need to keep her happy. You can ask her but I don’t think she’ll say. Wait until the party and you’ll know.”

Frankie looked perturbed. Would the message on the cakes say something bad about her?

“Come on, Andy, give me a hint. They put me in charge of the cakes. You can tell me.” She batted her eyes in her most cajoling way.

“Can’t do it. Thanks for tasting, Frankie. You picked the best ones.”

During the ten days leading up to the party Frankie tortured herself with thoughts of how negative and insulting the message on the cakes would be. She was afraid to ask Jennifer, instead letting her sick imagination wander. But by the night of the party she had calmed down. Frankie put on a tasteful medium blue cocktail dress that flattered her slightly plump figure. Because she had occasionally helped out at Tad’s business, she knew many of the employees and customers. She was also acquainted with a number of Tad’s friends and neighbors. She was looking forward to chatting with everyone at the party.

As he did for everything, Tad had carefully planned his retirement and was well prepared financially. Since his children had other careers, he had set up a business succession plan letting key employees buy him out using their profit sharing payments. He was retaining a small interest in the company for continued income even though he didn’t expect to need it. As a board member, he would continue to guide the company and would also be available to give advice to the new owners.

Frankie, on the other hand, was lucky to have ended up in a career that would provide her with a modest pension. She needed to work until 65 to get full benefits, but she liked the job and the students well enough to stay that long.

When Frankie arrived at 7:30 pm at the hotel where the party was being held, one end of a large room was set up with a podium on a low stage with many rows of chairs facing it. Anyone who thought there would be dinner would get over that idea as soon as they walked in. There were lovely big flower arrangements surrounding the podium and small flower filled vases on round stand up cocktail tables at the back of the room.

Along one wall there were long tables covered with boxes containing the sheet cakes, with plates, napkins, and forks at one end. Frankie headed straight for these tables, stopping to greet a few early arrivals she knew along the way. In front of each box was a label with the cake’s flavor and its dietary attributes. Several neatly uniformed Ace’s Bakery employees were standing behind the cake boxes as if guarding them.

“Hi, I’m Frankie, Tad’s sister,” she said. “I ordered the cakes and just wanted to see how they turned out.” She reached over to the first box and started to lift the lid.

“Sorry, ma’am,” the tallest Ace’s employee said. “Andy gave us strict instructions not to remove the lids until after Tad gives his speech.”

Frankie made a face but knew there was no point arguing. She would learn the truth of the message on the cakes soon enough. She headed back to the front of the room, speaking with a few more people before taking a seat in the front row which had been reserved for family and the company’s new owners.

The room was full by 7:55. Tad was known for punctuality and for giving inspiring, entertaining speeches and no one wanted to miss any part of what he had to say. Promptly at 8:00 pm, he walked onto the stage to a warm round of applause.

“Thanks to all of you for being here to celebrate this important transition in my life,” Tad said. He proceeded to talk about starting the business as a one-man operation and the history of how it had grown into the large, successful company it had become. He gave thanks to Jennifer for her support through the tough early days and to everyone who had ever worked for him or done business with the company. There was laughter when he discussed some stupid mistakes he had made when starting out and applause when he talked about how much he valued the help of different employees, singling each one out by name.

“And now I have an important announcement,” he said. Frankie felt sick. She knew he was going to say something about her, something awful. She wanted to crawl under her chair or make a dash for the ladies’ room to avoid hearing whatever it was.

“Jennifer and I have decided to spend the next year traveling around the world seeing all the places we didn’t have time to visit before,” Tad explained. “We depart next week. I know I am leaving the company in the capable hands of its new owners. All of our customers can be assured of the same great service we have always offered.

“In addition, I am making one special new staff appointment today,” he continued. “My sister Frankie, who has filled in during school vacations and sometimes afternoons after her teaching job, will be our part-time creative consultant. She has always shared her wisdom with me and many of her suggestions have been implemented to the benefit of the company. In her new role she will have no set duties but will help the board of directors by offering her ideas on request or as they occur to her. In exchange for this, she will own three percent of the company. The new owners and I felt it important to have the spirit of our family continue in the operations of the business. Please stand and be recognized, Frankie.”

Frankie stood up shakily and tried to smile through her tears as everyone applauded. For the first time she realized her brother saw something valuable in her she had not been able to see in herself.

Several other people gave brief speeches about how much they thought of Tad, how deserving he was of a happy retirement, and how they would miss working with him. Then waiters filed in and passed out glasses of champagne. The new CEO raised her glass and said, “Here’s to Tad – the best boss ever. Have much happiness and fun in your retirement. We will miss you.” Glasses were clinked before the room exploded with cheers.

Tad returned to the microphone and invited the guests to move to the cake tables. When everyone had gathered there, he said, “Before I leave, I wanted to remind you of my philosophy of business and life. It is written on the cakes. Please read along with me.”

That was the cue for the waiters to uncover the cakes. After they were all displayed, everyone said in unison, “Always remember to focus on what matters most – people.”

Frankie heard Tad’s message and knew it was for her. She finally understood how much he cared about her – he just hadn’t been able to tell her until today.