A Place to call Home

“This was supposed to be easy”,she grumbled lowly hoping no one heard her. As she cleared the ice to create a path, she watched a flyer that looked like it was dumped in a bucket of paint, blow away with the crazy wind.The Baking Contest had been the talk of town since winter had arrived. According to the old lady she met occasionally when she went for grocery, it had been a tradition for the last fifty years or something. At least one person from each house would participate. 

Man-she would assume Christmas had arrived if she didn’t know any better. The decorations when Christmas showed up were just outrageous. She had moved here when December began. And believe it or not, she almost packed her bags right there and then, when she noticed the bonfires and adults singing carols. But she was glad she hadn’t left, because this place was now growing on her. Unfortunately, she still got a bit irritated when such festivities took place.And just like that she remembered the shovel in her hand and the layers of soft snow she still had to clear out.

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She had her hair bundled atop her head, her hands sinking deep into the dough she was kneading, when her eyes fell on the horde of people that were walking up her front stairs.She quickly knelt down,hoping their eyes hadn’t caught her peeking through the kitchen window. While she expected them to knock, she still jumped when the sound resonated through the air. She sighed, all she wanted was a day to herself. Complaining to no one in particular she quickly washed and dried her hands. Breathing deeply, she took off her apron before putting it on again. They will definitely leave if they see me so busy. She then looked at the sticky flour on the edges of the bowl. She almost dumped it on herself but stopped short when she heard another knock.

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The door pulled open and Georgia gave a wide smile. The air was windy and the plan to meet the new girl in town had been spontaneous so she hadn’t bothered to grab her raincoat. She gave the onyx-haired girl a sheepish wave and then quickly introduced herself.

Robert nudged her slightly and she turned to glare at him, but it was hopeless. Even Philip rolled her eyes at his antics knowing the excitement in his eyes would scare the girl away.

“We just wanted to meet our new neighbor. We live just across the street near Aunt Dahlia’s house.” Georgia jerked her thumb towards her right hoping the girl knew who Aunt Dahlia was. Everyone knew who she was.

The girl smiled politely and shook each of their hands as she introduced herself. 

“I’m Emilia. I moved in last year though i haven’t seen you guys around.” 

Georgia’s smile stiffened and Robert tensed. Realizing she might have just poked a bit too much she quickly invited them in. 

They were looking around and Emilia was slightly irritated. Though she had invited them in and they seemed to be nice,she just wasn’t comfortable to look at a bunch of strangers inside her house. Her eyes fell on the bearded-man who had yet to say a word or introduce himself.

The girl named Georgia spoke again,causing Emilia to look away.

“ How about we get straight to the point.”

It was more of a statement than a question because she continued without pause

“We want you to participate in the Baking Contest.”

Silence. Emilia had expected anything but that. She rose an eyebrow but when none of them offered more clarity, she spoke herself.

“And why would you ask for that?”

The grinning man spoke this time almost bouncing on his own two feet.

“Well you had a bakery from where you came from so you must be a professional at this.”

She scoffed at their audacity,

”You guys were snooping around this last year or something?”

Georgia shook her head wildly,

”We just heard it near the skating rink.Look..I know this is a last minute thing with the contest coming next week but we will help you in every way we can. This is very important. All-”

“And why is it so important?”

Emilia interrupted her while pinching the bridge of her nose. They were part of the community but her patience was now running thin.

As if she had sensed it, Philip spoke up keeping her sentences short and precise.

“Mr. Johansen from the town over is also participating.He wants the award for the biggest cookie ever made.He’s a good baker but a crazy competitor.Mr.Simon-his father” she pointed at the bearded-man,’’struck up a deal with him at the pub downtown that if he loses, he gives over the land in this town. But if he does win, then this land is his and the townsfolk will back-off.”

Emilia was annoyed. Did she care about their petty deals and scrimmages? Well no. 

“Look.I don’t care if that old man has land here. It’s his land-he can do whatever he wants with it. I’m not participating in whatever this is.” She gestured her hands around wildly before crossing them over her chest.

She was satisfied with how she had handled the situation but one look at Robert made her feel bad and uneasy.This man, no, kid who had been grinning and almost jumping around since she laid eyes on him seemed deflated. A frown on his face which wobbled.

Emilia shuffled uncomfortably. 

Philip scoffed,”So you’re one of those city girls.”

Emilia let out a disbelieving laugh. This was not how you convinced somebody. Not at all.

“And I’m a bit disappointed in you guys. I respect you and all but you cannot just stand inside my house and insult me.I’d appreciate it if you left.”

She tilted her head slightly towards the door.Philip stood up,cracking her knuckles and muttering something under her breath.Emilia expected them to leave but was shocked when Georgia walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“She did not mean it that way.But if you won’t help us then this place won’t be yours for long.”

Philip was leaning against the couch,almost sitting on its arm when she spoke again. Her voice less harsh.

”This place is part of the property Mr.Johansen owns.Passed over by his wife who died two weeks earlier-don’t know what she saw in him-along with a of couple yards in the woods.”she gestured with her hands towards Emilia’s backdoor but Emilia didn’t dare move or breathe,”I don’t know how long your lease lasts but he’ll probably pay you a compensation and kick you out.”

Kick her out? Her lease ended when the year did.

They were making their way to her door upon her lack of reaction,talking among themselves. 

Emilia choked on her saliva, then cleared her throat,”What do we have to do?”

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The place was filled with chaos. The town hall was swarming with people running around with colorful banners and large containers.The Contest was tomorrow. Emilia and the rest had been busy stocking up supplies and ensuring everything would run smoothly. She had all the ingredients she needed,but most importantly the others had been taking turns in shoveling the ice off her porch.While the Baking Contest had its own charm,seeing one of them huffing through her kitchen window calmed the raging thoughts in Emilia’s mind.

Right now,they all wore aprons. Spares a couple of women had donated for the contest. Emilia had been surprised by the exhilarating amount of support she had received by the people when they heard she would beat “Johansen from the other town.” The glint in their eyes amused her.Guess the rivalry between both towns ran deeper than she thought. 

She was checking the Convection Oven one of the girls had set up,making sure the settings were suitable.She had never used such a large oven for any of her baking items,but in the past few days she had been researching and tuning her baking skills.She just hoped those few lessons would be enough to help her-them win.

She liked the oven though.She had tested it last night,the fan and exhaust system seemed to work just fine. The hot air that blew worked evenly and the sample items she baked yesterday had a good texture to them.It had helped her decide a time for the “biggest cookie” they would be making today. The concentration of hot spots had been none and she knew the cookie would not be a piece of coal on one side and a lumpy mass on the other.

She turned and nodded at the others.They were ready.

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It was a disaster working with them.Emilia had never been much of a team player and had given herself a few pep talks before leaving the house.But the vein near her left temple almost burst open when Robert spoke. Again.The others seemed to be used to his frolics. She had tried to give him errands to run but he always finished them unbelievably fast.

She didn't know much about others but Robert had a sweet tooth. Many sweet tooths,if that even made sense. 

He kept touching the batter and providing unsolicited advice.So with a growl,she took off her apron and moved away from the huge bowl.“I’ll just head back home.Why don’t you continue?”

That had occurred five minutes ago and now he kept following Philip acting like a wounded puppy.

And just like that, Emilia felt bad. 

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So maybe it wasn’t a disaster. Maybe Emilia did have fun. Maybe.The cookie came out perfect according to her. Not that you could call it a “cookie”. The brown thing was massive and they were all pleased,cheering around and jumping onto each other with their aprons layered with glazed sugar. At a point they pulled Emilia into the group hug too.Not that she would admit but she secretly relished that moment.

The cookie now lay on a huge table. People walked around it with wonder in their eyes asking multiple questions and releasing a few oohs’ and ahhs’ . They hadn’t yet revealed the specific measurements of the cookie yet but they were ninety nine percent sure that they would win.

While the admirers clung to the cookie from the sidelines,Emilia analyzed it.Running everything through her mind.While the size mattered,because it was to be the biggest cookie, she knew the taste and consistency mattered too. If the quality was comparatively subordinate,they had no chance of winning this.

The judges arrived and the judging began.She had used the baking pans with lower sides to make sure air would circulate well within the batter.And she had checked at half-time and three-quarters to confirm everything worked serenely.The recipe was simple-Dipped Gingersnaps.She had planned to glaze it with white chocolate but forego that thought when she realized how much of it they would need.

 The Baking Contest consisted of four towns and each year one of the towns took turns in hosting it. Luckily, this year their town had taken charge of organizing it.

For that, Emilia was glad because travelling to an unknown town unnerved her.While the others had been eager to leave their posts when Mr. Johansen arrived with his “cookie”,Emilia stayed put.She was so not ready to know how prepared her competitor was.

So when the judges announced their results and a blue-colored badge with golden edges was brought over where they stood on the stage,she was shocked to say the least.As it turned out,Mr. Johansen’s cookie was humongous but the thing was packed and rigid. To put it simply,the judges were unable to taste it with how unyielding it was.

Right now,her team was outside acting like furry animals who had seen snow for the first time.Even Emilia was mesmerized by how captivating the snowflakes were as they descended lazily.

“Hey! Emilia,get down here.”

It was Georgia,using an ice-frozen tree as a barrier from the snowballs Robert was aiming at her. It was useless though because Robert’s aim was remarkable. And just seeing that tickled Emilia’s competitive nature.

Without thought, she pushed herself off the hood of her car and made her way to Georgia.The girl had been a blessing while Robert had been an aggravating fellow.Decidedly,the onyx-colored hair ran to where Georgia was hoping to grant Robert a taste of his own medicine.Who knew,his tongue may just freeze and the others could have a couple hours of peace.