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“If we don’t burn the thing,” I mumble.
“Knock it off, Pynes. We are going to make the best-looking cake you’ve ever seen.”
“Judith, you should find these boys some aprons,” Grandpa says. “Pretty ones with lots of ruffles. And be sure to get a picture — I bet the Valley Times would love to see what some of the Eagle football players do in their spare time.”
“Don’t tease them, Hank,” Gram says. “It’s not nice.”
“Yeah, just tease Be
Be
We’re both laughing as I grab the bag and head for the kitchen. “Come on, big guy,” I say. “Let’s do this thing.”
The kitchen smells amazing, with the roast cooking away, and my stomach rumbles. I set the bread I bought at Jiffy Mart along with Be
He shrugs. “This way, if we somehow screw up the easiest cake ever, I can blame you.”
I pull a bowl out of the cupboard. “You’re such a good friend, Ben.”
“I know it.”
“You do realize I’m go
He slaps himself upside the head. “Dang. I didn’t think about that. You’re right. But I’m guessing you don’t have anything better to do tonight. Hey, you can even come in and have some cake with us. Ma would like that.”
I have to say, I do love strawberry shortcake.
“Twist my arm.”
15
Lauren
16
Colby
On the way to Be
We drive through town, past the Hasty Freeze with a parking lot full of people. Past Purcell’s New and Used Cars, where most kids get their first cars. And we drive past the Towne Pump, the gas station where we all meet up on Saturday nights, trying to figure out where we can find some fun.
As much as I think about leaving and moving on to bigger and better things, there are moments, like right now, where this small town makes me smile. It is home, after all.
When we reach his house, Be
I hand the cake off to him before we go inside. “Nice job, Rachael Ray,” he says before he opens the door and yells, “Happy birthday to the best mother in the whole wide world!”
She peeks her head around the corner. When she sees him carrying a cake, she claps her hands over her mouth and comes all the way out from the kitchen.
“Be
He walks over and hands it to her. “It’s angel food. We made it ourselves. I got strawberries too.”
“Oh my word, it looks wonderful.” She looks at me. “You boys really made it?”
“Sure did,” I say. “Happy birthday, Mrs. Lewis.”
She sets the cake down on the coffee table, pulls Be
“Can you stay for di
“Ma, you shouldn’t have cooked,” Be
“I don’t mind,” she says. “As long as we’re together, that’s the important thing. So, Colby, you staying?”
“Yeah, my grandparents aren’t expecting me home for a while. They know it’s your birthday and that Be
“I just can’t get over it,” she says. “You boys doing this for me.”
Just then, Mr. Lewis walks in the door. He’s carrying a bunch of red roses wrapped in floral paper.
“Happy birthday, baby,” he says as he hands her the flowers and gives her a kiss.
Be
“They like kissing each other,” he tells me. “But that don’t mean I have to watch.”
It makes me laugh. “Well, it’s good they love each other that much after all this time, right?”
“Right,” he says as he flips through the pile of mail sitting on the counter. He flashes a couple of college brochures at me. “Since I took the SATs, they keep on coming.”
“Hey, that’s a good sign. Your scores must have been pretty decent.”
“Yeah, I guess. Not sure it’s go