Page 59 of Finding Yesterday
He takes a bite of one before eyeing me. “This is really good. Too good. What did you change?”
“Oh.” I wring my hands together, not sure what to say. I worry that Pops might be insulted that I made a few alterations to Hannah’s recipe. “I was just experimenting.”
“Spill it.”
“I tried adding red wine vinegar plus a few scallions for better texture.”
He rubs his chin. “Hmm, we may need to think about changing this for good. Why don’t you make more and we’ll serve them tonight.”
“Great!” I clear my throat. “Oh, and instead of plain flour, I used almond flour. It adds a more textured flavor to the cakes.”
“Humph. You sound just like your mother.”
My eyes go wide and my jaw drops. “What did you say?”
“You’re just like your mother, Millie!” he yells.
I take in a gulp of air. “No, I heard you. It’s just, you knew my mom well?”
“Of course I did.” He flashes me his standard look, peering over his glasses. “She was with Hannah all the time.”
“I know, but I didn’t know you knew her.”
“Yes,” he replies, his voice softening. “She and Hannah were really good friends. I thought you knew that.”
“I knew that, sort of. But I didn’t know you were friends with her too.”
“Oh. Well, now you do.” He starts to shuffle away.
“Hey, Pops?” I croak, my breath caught.
He turns. “Yes?”
“Can you tell me something about my mother?” I bite my lip. “Anything? I mean, like a memory?”
Sadness flashes in his eyes and his normal hard expression softens. “Sure, kid. I can do that.” He looks up in thought. “Millie would always come to Hannah and tell her that the PTA hated her food. Millie was in charge of making the desserts for the kids’ birthdays, but the PTA president told her they weren’t very ‘kid friendly.’ Millie didn’t use a lot of sugar.” He chuckles. “But she refused to give up. She and Maw would get together to try and hide vegetables in burgers and fries. I know they do that all the time now, but back then, not so much. The people of Blue Vine, well, they just didn’t understand.”
Something catches in my throat. “Wow, she did that? That’s so cool. My mom was so cool.”
“She definitely was, kid.”
“I know how she felt.” I smile, a bittersweetness washing through me. “Being misunderstood.”
“She was just ahead of her time.” The edges of Pops’s mouth quirk up. “And with what you did with Tangz, so, my dear, are you.”
* * *
I’M AT THEFine Bone before it opens again. But this time, I’m here to deal with the mouse situation. I’ve taken everything off of the built-in pantry shelves so I can check if there’s a mouse hole anywhere. The catch and release cage is ready, and I have to do this quickly so I can snag the little guy and plug the hole before any of the rest of the crew, aka, the mouse killers, show up.
“What are you doing?” It’s Jack’s voice.
I jump, whipping around. “Why are you here?”
“Um, I work here. Remember?”
I close my eyes. “Sorry, I meant what are you doing herenow? While the place is closed? And in the pantry?”
He tilts his head. “I came in to do the books. And I heard someone back here, which scared me because I thought I was alone.” He narrows his eyes, approaching me. “Whatcha got there, Claire?”
