In the coronavirus era, I started baking cakes, pies, and cookies – a hobby I began when I was pregnant with my daughter. Now she’s seven and she bakes with me. With baking you have to get everything just right. Mix too much and the cake is dense. Overwork the pie dough and it’s chewy, not flaky. I show Penny how to pull the knife across the rim of the measuring cup to get exactly the right amount. I wince when she cracks the egg and a bit of shell falls in. She doesn’t want to pour the vanilla into the measuring spoon. My watchful eye is why she won’t try. With baking, I have control through precision. With her, I take control because my nerves are frayed. I can’t stand the uncertainty of the moment and the uncertainty of whether a piece of shell will end up in someone’s cookie. [150]
Table Tales - 150 word stories 