Intermission: Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
UNDER the watchful eye of Mrs. Turner, the Northland cook, who had laid out the ingredients in a line, Amy added the butter, sugar, and eggs into a bowl and mixed them with a wooden spatula. She finished the batter by gently mixing in sifted flour and, finally, chocolate chips.
Amy rolled the dough into circles with her hands, pushed them down flat on a baking sheet, and then put the baking sheet in the oven.
“So it’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Day today, huh?” mused Mrs. Turner aloud. “You sure do know a lot of stuff, Lady Amy!”
“I didn’t know about it before today, either! Mrs. Akitsuki wrote about it in the paper today.”
“Oh! Isn’t she the one who writes that serial novel you and your mother are always looking forward to?”
“Yes! She published another chapter today along with the Chocolate Chip Cookie Day article!”
As they chatted and drank tea, the sweet aroma of butter and chocolate wafted from the oven.
Once the cookies were finished baking and had cooled slightly, Amy thanked Mrs. Turner for her help and left the kitchen with a plate stacked high with cookies.
“Mom! Ta-da! Chocolate chip cookies!”
“…And here I thought the robot cat from your favorite show had appeared,” said Isabelle, closing her book with a snap and smiling at Amy. She had been reading while relaxing and petting Tigger. “I’ve been wondering what you were up to. You almost never leave Tigger with me.”
“I wanted to bake some cookies after reading that article.”
Tigger hopped off the sofa and started trotting toward Amy, looking curiously at the cookies on the table. Although he was eyeing the still-warm cookies with great interest, these were not for cats to eat.
Amy moved the plate far away from Tigger’s reach, and he hung his head in disappointment. She sat down in front of him and put her arms around him, musing that he would make an adorable hunchback.
“Ahh,” Amy sighed. “You’re as soft as ever today… I’m sorry, Tigger, but you can’t have any cookies.”
“He looks so disappointed, doesn’t he?” said Isabelle.
“But they’re not good for cats…” Amy lamented, burying her face in the thick fur around Tigger’s neck. “Oh, I know!”
Her head popped back up and she gave him a light kiss on the tip of his nose.
“May 23 is Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, but it’s also Kiss Day!”
“Oh, Amy…” Isabelle said, chuckling.
With Tigger’s mood slightly improved, Amy gave Tigger cat treats as she and her mother enjoyed the soft, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.