Copyright © 2020 James Russell Stoakes
All rights reserved.
http://JamesStoakes.com
The morning sun was blasting relentlessly through the east window. Sarah scowled and lifted the edge of the blanket higher to block the sun from her eyes.
“Did you know that you snore?” a woman’s voice asked softly.
Sarah’s eyes shot open, and she sat upright quickly to scan the room. She expected someone to be standing there, judging her for her trespass, but seeing no one, she laid back down. “I must be hearing things,” she said out loud.
“I hope so,” someone laughed.
Swiveling her eyes slowly to where she heard the voice coming from, Sarah was shocked to see a face in the pile of blankets on the recliner.
“Good morning,” the smiling face said as soon as Sarah made eye contact with her.
Not knowing how to react, Sarah sat there with her mouth open and stared for a few moments before saying, “Good morning,” back to her.
“That’s better,” the face said as she squirmed to emerge from the blankets.
Sarah noticed her struggling, so she threw her blanket up onto the back of the sofa and jumped up to help her. She offered a hand. “Are you Alice? she asked.
“I am,” Alice said, taking Sarah’s hand and accepting her assistance getting out of the chair. “What do I call you?” Alice asked as she was being pulled upright.
“Sarah,” Sarah answered sheepishly.
“Well, Sarah, now that our first sleepover is official, let’s make some breakfast,” Alice said with a warm, disarming smile and began moving towards the kitchen. “I’ll turn on the oven to warm it up a bit in here,” Alice said.
“That sounds good to me,” Sarah said, following her. “Why is it so cold in here?” she asked.
“I ran out of oil a few days ago,” she said casually while switching on the oven. She cracked the oven door open to its first position to let the heat leak out. “My son was supposed to order more, it should be here any day,” she said as she moved to the cupboards and began pulling out ingredients. “Flour, sugar, hmmm. See if there is an egg or two in the fridge, Sarah. Grab the butter tray too,” Alice directed.
“What are we making?” Sarah asked. She never cooked with her mother.
“Salt, baking powder, and milk,” Alice said and smiled towards Sarah. “What do you think those ingredients make?”
“I have no idea?” Sarah laughed. I haven’t spent much time cooking. “There is one egg in here,” she said as she pulled the egg and butter out.
Alice grinned even more. “I’ll give you a hint,” Alice said. She reached up into the cupboard and pulled out a very small bottle and set it on the counter.
Sarah stared at the bottle, and it took a moment to recognize the label. “Maple syrup? Pancakes?” she guessed.
“Yes!” Alice said happily.
Pulling the milk out of the refrigerator, Sara took off the cap and sniffed. “Ugg,” she said, “ the milk has turned.” She moved to the sink to dump it out, but Alice stopped her.
“Let me see that before you dump it,” she said.
“It’s expired too,” Sarah said as she handed the bottle to Alice.
“If it hasn’t turned too badly, we can use it to cook with,” Alice said. “It’s not dangerous.”
“Really?” Sarah asked with a dubious tone.
“Yes, really,” Alice laughed. “You won’t even taste the difference, so we may as well use some of it before we throw the rest out. Could you grab a bowl and the measuring cups from the cupboard over the stove for me?” Alice thought for a moment, “You can melt the butter while I mix the dry ingredients.”
Opening the cupboard, Sara enjoyed the heat pouring out of the stove in front of her. She found a large bowl and a Ziploc bag with measuring cups and spoons in it, and she brought them down to the counter.
“There is a pot in the drawer under the oven,” Alice said as she opened the bag and found the measuring cup she needed. She looked at Sarah again, “You don’t look like you eat a lot,” she said. “I don’t think I need to double the recipe for the two of us. Do you?”
“Just a couple pancakes is all I will need,” Sarah agreed, nodding her head and putting the pot she found on the stovetop. “How much butter?”
“About a quarter of a stick,” Alice said, opening a drawer full of silverware and handing a butter knife to Sarah before returning to her task.
“One and a half cups of flour,” Alice said as she measured it out like an old pro and put it in the bowl. “Three teaspoons of baking powder, a teaspoon of salt, two tablespoons of sugar.” Alice reached in the drawer and pulled out an old wooden spoon, which she used to mix the dry ingredients together. “I’ll need a little more than a cup of that milk,” she said, handing the measuring cup to Sarah.
Sarah took it, took a deep breath, and opened the bottle of milk. She poured the milk into the cup and brought it to the bowl. She waited until Alice nodded to her before she poured it in.
“Just a little more, maybe a quarter of a cup,” Alice said.
Still holding her breath, Sarah poured more milk into the empty measuring cup. Once she thought it was enough, she poured that into the bowl. She closed the cap on the milk bottle before taking a new breath.
“It’s not that bad!” Alice laughed. “Crack an egg before?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Sarah said. “I’m not great at it, but I can get it done.”
“It just takes practice,” Alice said. Her warm, encouraging smile reminded Sarah of when she was younger and spent more time with her mother.
Sarah knocked the egg on the edge of the bowl, and using two hands, she carefully pried it open. She was very happy that they didn’t have to chase after any shell when she was done. The sizzle of the butter in the pan caught her attention. “It sounds like the butter is more than melted,” Sarah said, quickly setting the eggshell in the sink and turning off the burner. She lifted the pot from the burner to let it cool for a moment.
Alice was busily mixing everything together in the bowl while Sarah took care of the butter. When it reached a consistency she liked, she said, stepping back, “Go ahead and pour the butter in.”
Sarah poured the melted butter in slowly, and they both watched as it pooled in the middle of the batter. As soon as Sarah moved away, Alice stepped in and gave it a few more quick stirs.
“Teamwork!” Alice said with a final flurry of the spoon. “There’s a cast-iron skillet down there,” Alice said, pointing under the stove.
“That was delicious, Alice,” Sarah said as she scrubbed the dishes and placed them on the drying rack.
“Thank you, Sarah,” Alice answered. “We can cook anytime you like, I can teach you to cook all kinds of goodies.”
“I’d like that,” Sarah said. She looked out the window as she dried her hands off. It’s warmed up some, the driveway is just wet now.
Alice peeked out the window at the thermometer that hung there. “It’s up to forty now,” she said.
“Thank you for being so nice to me, Alice,” Sarah said.
“It was easy, Sarah. You’re good company,” Alice said with a laugh.
“Thanks, I do have to get going, though,” Sarah said. “Can I see you soon?” she asked.
“I’d like that,” Alice said sincerely.