"Baking"

Author's Note: At the end of this story, I will be putting "The end." a lot of times because I don't have enough words. Just so that everyone knows. Thanks and enjoy!

Victoria handed her customer a box full of donuts with a smile and “Have a great day.” The lady walked away with her lavendar box labeled “Victoria’s Heart of Baking” in calligraphy.

“Mom! I won! I won! I won! I won the contest! I won it all! First place!” A young woman came running into the store, a smile wider than any other person had seen. She was waving a packet of paper back and forth in the air. People turned from their sweet treats to stare.

“Hey, Ada! What did you win?” Victoria asked. The now-named woman dashed across the room and stopped across the counter from Victoria.

“I won the Montreal International Poetry Prize! Mom, I won twenty thousand dollars!” Ada cried. Everyone in the bakery erupted in clapter and shouts of congratulations.

“That’s amazing, Ada! I am so proud of you! I just can’t believe it!” Victoria walked around the counter and wrapped her daughter in a Mama Bear hug. Joyous tears rolled down both mother and daughter’s faces. When Ada finally released Victoria, people started rushing up to her, asking her how she did it.

“I just… wrote what I felt, I guess. About the wrong in the world. I didn’t think they’d pick it since it’s so… I voiced my opinion on everything. Normally the judges wouldn’t go for that. At least that’s what I thought,” Ada explained. After many more “congrats” and “thank you”s, the crowd paid for their snacks and left. Victoria and Ada were the only ones left in the shop.

“So, what are you going to do with the money?” Rag and spray in hand, Victoria began walking around the space and wiping down tables. Ada pushed herself up on the counter, so her feet were hanging off the edge.

“Well, Josh and I are going to re-do our bathroom, then the rest will be put in a college fund through the bank.” Ada grinned again as her mother turned to her.

“Well, who in the world would that college fund be for?”

Ada patted her stomach and Victoria began crying once more as Ada hopped down from the counter.

“Mom, you’re going to be a grandma.”

5 years later…

“Mommy! Mo-ommy! Can we bake cookies yet?” A young girl, at the age of five, stood at the bottom of a staircase. She put her hands on her hips as she waited for her mother to answer.

“Yes, Kate. Mommy just has to put her hair up, then we can,” Ada announced. Kate smiled and bounced away, into the living room. Ada sighed (something she found she often did when around Kate) while brushing through her hair one last time. Once Ada’s hair was on top of her head in an acceptable messy bun, she journeyed down the stairs, into the kitchen. 

“Kate! Come on! It’s time for coo-” Ada was cut short as Kate came running in through the archway that led to the living room. The small child bounced up and down on the balls of her feet next to her mother.

“What do we do first, Mommy?”

“Well, my mom always told me to get everything out and laid out on the counter first. Here’s the list of what we need.” Ada handed Kate a piece of paper with ingredients and the amount that they would need.

27 minutes later…

Grinning and playfulness in her eyes, Ada reached into the bucket of flour and threw another handful. Kate laughed hysterically, her face lit up. Mother and daughter threw handful after handful of flour at each other. Both were covered head-to-toe in white flour dust, and the kitchen around them had the same effect. It looked like there had just been a blizzard made of flour!

When the flour-throwing had stopped, Ada and Kate were caked with flour and out of breath. Kate was still quietly giggling to herself from the craziness. Ada gripped the counter to stop herself from falling on the now-slippery hardwood.

“We better get this cleaned up,” Ada stated. Kate sighed, but grabbed a rag from under the sink.

“Baking” was fun!

The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end. The end.