Filed to story: The One That Got Away
“Back in seventh grade. Remember how we’d hang out in your neighbour’s tree house? I had to pee once and you let me use your bathroom.”
“Oh, yeah,” I say.
It’s funny to see a boy other than Josh in our kitchen. I feel nervous for some reason. “How long’s it going to take?” he asks me, his hands in his pockets.
“Hours, probably.” I pick up the measuring cup again. I can’t remember what cup I was on.
Louis groans. “Why can’t we just go to the store and buy some?”
I start measuring the flour that’s in the bowl, separating it into piles. “Because, do you think any of the other moms are buying cupcakes from Food Lion? How would that make Kitty look?”
“Well, if it’s for Kitty, then Kitty should be helping.” Louis hops off the stool and comes up to me and slides his hands around my waist and tries to untie my apron strings. “Where is the kid?”
I stare at him. “What … are you doing?”
Louis looks at me like I’m a dummy. “I need an apron too if I’m going to help. I’m not trying to get my clothes all messed up.”
“We’re not going to be done in time for the game,” I tell him.
“Then we’ll just go to the party after.” Louis shoots me an incredulous look. “That was in the note I wrote you today! God, why do I even bother?”
“I was really busy today,” I say meekly. I feel bad. He’s following through on his end of the deal and faithfully writing me a note a day and I can’t even be bothered to read them. “I don’t know if I can go to a party. I don’t know if I’m allowed to go out that late.”
“Is your dad home? I’ll ask him.”
“No, he’s at the hospital. Besides I can’t just leave Kitty here by herself.” I pick up the measuring cup again.
“Well, what time does he get home?”
“I don’t know. Maybe late.” Or maybe like in the next hour. But Louis will be long gone by then. “You should just go. I don’t want to hold you up.”
Louis groans. “Rupert. I need you. Vivian hasn’t said a word about us yet, which is kind of the whole point of this. And … she might bring that dickhole she’s dating.” Louis pushes out his lower lip. “Come on. I came through for you with Josh, didn’t I?”
“Yes,” I admit. “But, Louis, I have to make these cupcakes for the bake sale-“
Louis stretches his arms out. “Then I’ll help you. Just give me an apron.”
I back away from him and start rummaging around for another apron. I find one with a cupcake print and hand it to him.
He makes a face and points at mine. “I want the one you’re wearing.”
“But it’s mine!” It’s red-and-white gingham with little brown bears; my grandma got it for me in Korea. “I always bake in this. Just wear that one.”
Slowly Louis shakes his head and holds out his hand. “Give me yours. You owe me for not reading any of my notes.”
I untie the apron and hand it over. I turn around and go back to my measuring. “You’re a bigger baby than Kitty.”
“Just hurry up and give me a task.”
“Are you qualified, though? Because I only have exactly enough ingredients for six dozen cupcakes. I don’t want to have to start over-“
“I know how to bake!”
“OK, then. Dump those sticks of butter into the mixing bowl.”
“And then?”
“And then when you’re done, I’ll give you your next task.”
Louis rolls his eyes but he does as he’s told. “So this is what you do on Friday nights? Stay home and bake in your pjs?”
“I do other stuff too,” I say, tying my hair into a tighter ponytail.
“Like?”
I’m still so flustered from Louis’s sudden appearance that I can’t think. “Um, I go out.”
“Where?”
“God, I don’t know! Quit interrogating me, Louis.” I blow my bangs out of my eyes. It’s getting really warm in here. I might as well just turn off the oven, because Louis’s arrival has slowed down this whole process. At this rate I’ll be up all night. “You made me lose my count on the flour. I’m going to have to start over from scratch!”
“Here, let me do it,” Louis says, coming up close behind me.
I jerk away from him. “No, no, I’ll do it,” I say, and he shakes his head and tries to take the measuring cup from me, but I won’t let go, and flour poufs out of the cup and into the air. It dusts us both. Louis starts cracking up and I let out an outraged shriek. “Louis!”
He’s laughing too hard to speak.
I cross my arms. “I’d better still have enough flour.”
“You look like a grandma,” he says, still laughing.
“Well, you look like a grandpa,” I counter. I dump the flour in my mixing bowl back into the flour canister.