Kitchen Catastrophe

by Junebug

January 1887

            Andi Carter Prescott had never been a good cook. It was a miracle she was able to fix an edible dinner for her and Riley every night. Her lack of skills in the kitchen had been a running joke in her family. But Riley’s birthday was coming up, and she wanted to bake a cake for him.

How hard can it be to follow a simple recipe? she asked herself. I’ll pay close attention to the instructions so I don’t mess up, and I’ll be sure to keep track of the time the cake’s in the oven so it doesn’t burn. He’ll be so surprised!

            The day of Riley’s birthday, Andi flipped through her cookbook to find a recipe for chocolate cake and frosting to go with it. Finally she found the perfect one. She carefully mixed the ingredients, checking the measurements at least three times to make sure she had everything right. Then she poured the mixture into a cake pan and put it in the oven.

While it was baking, Andi started to put the ingredients away. “Wait! I forgot I still have to make the frosting!” She found the page she had marked in the cookbook for chocolate frosting. She went back into the pantry to look for the sugar. “Now, where did I put it? Oh, here it is, next to the salt container. They look so similar. Maybe I should make labels for them.”

Soon Andi had a luscious chocolate frosting ready. She took the cake out of the oven and spread it with the frosting. When she was finished, she stepped back to admire her work. Her mouth watered. The cake looked delicious. Baby Prescott kicked at the inside of her belly as if he or she was working up an appetite, as well. Andi covered the cake and put it in the pantry until supper. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Riley’s face.

During supper, Andi was brimming with her surprise. Riley noticed. “What are you smiling about, Andi?” he asked, grinning himself.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” she told him. When both of them had finished eating, Andi brought out the cake, put it on the table in front of Riley, and sang Happy Birthday to him.

“This is quite a surprise!” Riley exclaimed as Andi cut the first piece and put it on his plate. He took a bite, and suddenly his face turned red and his eyes watered. He drank a big gulp of water. “A very salty surprise,” he sputtered.

“Oh no!” Andi groaned. She put a piece on her plate and tasted it, then coughed and choked. “I put salt in the icing instead of sugar!” She put her head in her hands. I ruined a perfectly good cake, she thought miserably. She tried to hold back her tears, but couldn’t help herself.

Riley got up and gave Andi a big hug. “Don’t cry, Andi. The cake can still be eaten; we’ll just scrape the icing off. It will still taste good. You did a perfect job.”

Andi relaxed in his embrace. “You think so?”

“No doubt about it, my princess! I loved that you were so thoughtful to make me a cake. And I love you, too. Just avoid adding salt to the icing next time.” Riley winked.

“Oh, you!” Andi pretended to punch him on the arm. But she really was relieved. Riley didn’t make fun of her mistake--not much, anyway. And tomorrow she would make those labels for the salt and sugar containers.

The End