“I’m so glad you could come by.” Amelia took Lila’s jacket as she stepped inside the house. “I’m sorry it had to be on the rainiest day of the season.”
“When there is a cupcake crisis, you can bet that I’ll come running.” Lila handed Amelia her wet coat and propped her umbrella in the corner. “What’s happening?”
“These green tea cupcakes.” Amelia sighed. “They are missing something, and I don’t want to throw in the towel just yet. I think if I have a second set of taste buds, maybe together we can figure out what’s missing.”
“How would you describe what they taste like?” Lila followed Amelia into the kitchen.
“I’d say sort of cardboard-y.”
They laughed.
“It just has no flavor. It isn’t that it tastes bad. It doesn’t taste like anything. I’ve added vanilla extract and almond extract, but there is something in the matcha that is swallowing up all the competing flavors. It’s like a culinary black hole.”
“Sounds like we need something with a little more kick.”
Amelia handed her a green cupcake and waited for the verdict. “Gross, right?”
“Not totally. But bland to be sure.” The ladies discussed all the ingredients, and finally, Lila made a bold suggestion.
“What if we add a little honey to the mix?”
Amelia stared into her pantry. She reached in and pulled out a little plastic bear filled with honey. Then she gasped.
“What about a little of this, too?” It was coconut extract.
Lila’s eyes popped.
“That’s worth a try.” She took a seat at the table while Amelia began whipping together the ingredients. She had made several attempts before calling Lila, so the first half of the recipe was almost totally committed to memory. She carefully measured off a dab of honey and the drops of extract before tasting the batter.
“Better?” Lila asked before sticking her own finger in the batter.
“I think this might work.” Amelia clapped giddily. “If it does, we are going to have to charge a little more because this coconut extract is a lot more expensive than vanilla.”
“If we market it as a fancy-pants healthy alternative, people will pay a little more. That would be the last thing I’d worry about.” Lila grabbed the newspaper that was on the counter. “Speaking of worry. Where is your brood?”
“Meg is at Katherine’s house. Adam is at Amy’s house.”
“A nice quiet afternoon for Mama, and there’s no wine?”
“How about a Baileys and coffee?” Amelia suggested.
“Now you’re talking.” Lila unfolded the paper and started perusing the headlines. “I don’t know what I’m looking at this for. There isn’t any good news or interesting factoids. Even the weather is negative.”
“Yeah, but I get the sale papers in there, and sometimes I read the obituaries.”
“Whoa!” Lila barked. “Now this is news!”
“What is it?”
“Colleen Marie Jameson is engaged to Gregory Timber Scottson…”
“Timber?”
Lila shrugged as she continued reading.
“The nuptials are scheduled for one month from today.”
Both ladies looked at each other.
“Dare I say it?” Lila smirked.
“Let me save you the trouble. Shotgun?”
“That’s all I can think of. Well, it certainly isn’t the worst thing to happen to a person. But I’d have given just about anything to have been a fly on the wall during that conversation with the new mother-in-law.”
Amelia shook her head as she set the timer for fifteen minutes.
“You know, it’s easy to pass judgment, but we don’t know the story. Perhaps the kids really are in love. Sure, she is as green as a valley in springtime, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t real.”
“I find it interesting you say that.” Lila folded her arms over her chest and studied Amelia.
“Don’t you have hope for true love?” Amelia asked. “A fairytale ending?”
Lila smiled and finally nodded. “I remember my wedding.”
“I’ll bet it was beautiful.” Amelia poured them each a steaming cup of coffee and added a shot of Baileys into each one.
“It was nice. I had a beautiful dress. My bridesmaids were decent enough gals that there wasn’t any infighting or cattiness. But I remember people always saying to me, ‘Don’t worry when something goes wrong.’ Who tells a bride-to-be that?”
Amelia leaned in.
“I’d mention I was getting married, and some old biddy would tell me how her cake was dropped on the floor or the hall didn’t have enough seats or her dress didn’t fit right. If something can go wrong, it will. So many women said that.”
“That happened to me, too.” Amelia shrugged. “Little did I know that it wasn’t the wedding day. It was the two decades later that caused all the problems.”
“I was convinced that if the groom showed up, the wedding day would be a success. It proved to be right. There might have been a couple of hitches here or there, but I don’t remember them. I just remember walking down that aisle and seeing Jacob. He looked so handsome. It didn’t matter to me what else happened that day. As long as the priest got through the words ‘I now pronounce you man and wife,’ I was a happy bride.”
“Yeah, I have to admit that John looked quite handsome, too. Back then, he smiled when he saw me. Not like now. His face is so sour it’s like he’s got a lemon wedge stuck in his cheek.”
“I doubt that is all his doing.” Lila nodded knowingly. “He must have said a few things about you to Jennifer that make her feel a little insecure. Think about it. You’re going to be the mother of his children forever. You’re always going to be there, whether she takes his last name or not.”
“Well, she did, and it’s over and done with. Now Colleen and Greg are headed down that path, and who knows. Maybe it will really be forever.”
“Maybe,” Lila grumbled, not even trying to hide her doubt. “I’ll happily admit I was wrong, but I doubt I will be.”
Once the ladies finished their cups of Baileys and coffee, the cupcakes were finished. They each took one and took a bite.
“It tastes like a non-alcoholic piña colada,” Lila boasted.
“It does. This is a very smooth flavor. Light. It tastes healthier.” Amelia smiled. “Should we try a couple out tomorrow?”
“What are you thinking will frost these?” Lila said, taking another bite.
“Powdered sugar.”
“Perfect.”
As it turned out, there wasn’t a huge demand for a healthier cupcake. By five o’clock, quitting time, Amelia had only made one dozen green tea cupcakes, and there was still one left that didn’t have a home.
“I’m thinking maybe this would be something to promote during special times of the year. Like right after New Year’s when people are feeling guilty because they chowed down all holiday season?” Amelia suggested.
“That is a great idea. I’ll bet you’ll clean up with that gimmick.”