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The day before the wedding, when the ranchhouse was redolent with the scent of vanilla and a hint of mace, the parlor behind the stairs was confiscated by the cake-builders. Daniel hung a “No Trespassing” sign and posted Jake at the door as guard. Irene was kept out, for they couldn’t trust her to keep the secret from Patricia. She was bursting with curiosity and begged Jake for information, but he was silent. Finally, she screamed at him and inside, Daniel was concerned—Irene’s temper could be an awesome sight. But he heard Jake’s voice, low and calm, “Over my dead body.”
“It can be arranged, you know. But tell me one thing—is it something good?”
“You bet! You’re gonna love it! Why, it’s... it’s phe-nom-enal!”
“And you’re not going to tell me?”
“Nope. You’ll see it tomorrow. You’ll love it.”
“Does Frank know?” she wheedled. Daniel heard no answer, but then she continued, “All right, but I’ll remember this. I’ll remember it for a long time.”
“Don’t I know it,” Jake moaned, as Irene laughed and scampered away.
Turning to Annie, Daniel announced, “She’s gone! I had a feeling Jake could handle her.” He slid supports into the braces he’d attached to the base of his structure. He’d painted all the pieces white, squared off the ends of the dowels and was using his penknife to mold a hollow that would hold each one top and bottom. A thin coating of Annie’s icing served as glue for the stanchions. They were building the cake on a small sturdy table already covered with a rose-colored cloth and a length of white lace, and he was sure the cake would be secure enough to transport.
Annie, however, was fluttering around the room, flapping her apron, then smoothing it down, only to worry at it again. She wondered aloud if there’d be time for her to complete all the decorations she’d planned—she’d already made a hundred pink sugar-icing roses as ornaments. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes too bright, as Daniel tried to soothe her.
“Annie, there’s plenty of time. It’s only ten o’clock, and we already know it’s going to fit together. The hard part’s done.” She moved closer and he caught her around the waist, pulled her close to kiss her cheek. “Relax, aroon. I’ll have this put together in ten minutes. Why don’t you start to make the icing?”
As soon as she began to work, Annie’s demeanor calmed. Daniel watched her for a moment—her slender right arm whirled like a dervish. Whip, whip, whip! until the whites of eggs stood in stiff peaks, then beat, beat, beat as she added to the sugar and powdered almonds she’d already prepared.
By the time the icing became a spreadable paste, he’d slipped the first layer of cake over the posts. Annie bit her lip as she smoothed the frosting on, then with her pastry bag began to decorate. The plain, cream-colored landscape became a miracle of confection—garlands of white with tiny pink nosegays set off with green leaves. Layer by layer they worked until, finally, she circled each of the dowels with another white garland, then propped a pink rose at its base. Daniel stepped back to admire it.
“It’s beautiful. Just like the picture.”
“It still needs something. It doesn’t look finished.” She picked up the picture again and held it up to the cake. “Look at this. I didn’t make anything to put on top.”
“Annie, your cake’s much more beautiful than that one. No one’s going to complain anything’s missing. No one’s even going to notice.” Still she frowned. “Let’s go eat and think it over. Don’t worry, aroon, we’ll come up with something.”
Locking the door behind them, they helped themselves to the pot of stew Molly always kept simmering, then went along to the front parlor where Molly was arranging autumn-colored ribbons on the picture hat Patricia had borrowed from Evelyn. Jake sat cross-legged at her feet.
“Well,” Molly asked, “have you finished?”
“No... yes...”
“My dear, it cannot be both yea and nay.”
“Well, it’s yes because I’ve done everything I planned to do. But it’s no because I didn’t plan for everything.”
“I see,” Molly said. “And what is it that you did not plan for?”
“In the picture, there’s a kind of ornament on top. I didn’t even notice it until the cake was finished. I guess I was too worried about whether or not we could put it together.”
“I understand. I saw a cake once with two small birds on it. They hung from a bower of evergreens. Is it that you have in mind?”
“Yes, anything like that. But I don’t have time...”
Molly patted her hand. “Daniel, in the attic there are three hat boxes of oval shape— striped, I believe black and gold. At any rate, they are the sole oval boxes you’ll find. Please bring me the largest of the three.”
In moments, he returned with the box.
“Ah, this is just the one we need.” Tissue paper crinkled as Molly dug through the contents and removed a large and ornate hat, decorated with myriad fruits and vegetables, huge green leaves and trailing golden tulle. Daniel covered his reaction with a cough, but Jake sputtered with laughter.
“Mother, that’s awful! You didn’t wear that, did you?”
“Nay. In my day, hats were not so simple.” She heard her son’s snort of disbelief as she searched the surface of the hat and closed her hand over her prize. “Have you your knife, Daniel?”
“Do we want an apple or a cabbage?”
“It’s help that you’re wanting, or so I heard. Stop your foolishness and bring your knife.”
“Sorry, Mother,” he said with no real contrition in his voice. He cut where she indicated, then took the hat and put it back in its box on the floor. When he looked up, Annie was radiant.
“Look!” She held out two tiny birds, fashioned of feathers and nearly life-like.
“Love birds,” Molly told them. “Now all that remains is to build for them a bower. You can manage that, can you not, Daniel?”
He bent to kiss her cheek. “Thanks, Mother.”
“Yes,” Annie joined in. “These are beautiful, and just what I need. Thank you.”
So Daniel formed a bower out of wire and covered it with greens and, with the two miniature birds nestled within, he placed it on the top of the cake.
“It’s perfect,” Annie told him with eyes that shone.