forbidding her to enter the contest? That wasn’t right, no matter what they had said earlier about not competing.
“No, if you’re going to use the recipe, you should enter it in the contest. There’s no point in going to that much trouble otherwise.”
“Really, it wouldn’t be any trouble—”
“I insist,” Carolyn said. “If Shannon insists, so can I. Obviously, you want to make the cookies, and so you should enter them. There’s nothing else to be said.” She sniffed coldly. “It’s a free country, after all.”
This was turning out all wrong, just as Phyllis had been afraid that it would. “I don’t have to do it if it’s going to bother you.”
“Why should it bother me? I’m certainly not afraid of a little competition, if that’s what you mean! After all, we both know I’ve managed to beat you plenty of times before.”
Phyllis could understand why Carolyn might be a little upset, but she didn’t have to be rude about it. “As Shannon pointed out, it’s all for a good cause—”
“Of course.”
“Anyway, even though she was acting a lot nicer, she was still determined to get her own way.”
“Like someone else,” Carolyn said.
That did it, Phyllis thought. Now she w as getting mad.
“You know, this is fine,” Carolyn went on before Phyllis could say anything, “because I was just thinking about coming up with a cake for the auction after all.”
“I thought you said you didn’t like to decorate cakes.”
“Well, we all say things we don’t exactly mean sometimes, don’t we?”
This had gone on long enough. Phyllis was going to put a stop to it before it got out of hand, and she was going to do that by changing the subject. She stood up and reached toward Carolyn. “Give me what you’ve written and I’ll get to work on it.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary anymore. I can do it.”
“You don’t like using the computer—”
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of it myself.”
“I’m sure you are,” Phyllis said, “but I don’t mind—”
“No thanks.” Carolyn got to her feet and started toward the stairs.
“All right,” Phyllis said after her. She thought but didn’t say, Be that way.
But as Carolyn went upstairs and Phyllis sank back into the armchair to brood, Phyllis wondered how much of what she felt was really annoyance with Carolyn—and how much was the guilt she felt over breaking her word to her friend.
Thank God for Sam Fletcher, thought Phyllis. First Eve had been irritated with her, and now Carolyn. But good old dependable Sam was still her friend.
For the next few days Phyllis threw herself into her preparations. She baked the jack-o’-lantern cake first but didn’t let anyone see it except Sam. She didn’t fully trust Eve not to tell Carolyn about it, and of course since Carolyn had declared that she was going to make a cake for the auction, too, the old spirit of competitiveness that had existed between them for so long was back in the forefront.
Phyllis moved some pans around in the cabinet hunting for her Bundt pan. She had two, but they were slightly different. This time she’d just bake two cakes one after the other using the same pan. Since one of the pans was a new silicone type, she decided to use that. It would be easiest to find another pan like it before the day of the carnival.
Since she was using a white cake mix, she thought about adding food coloring to the cake to make it orange, too. She decided against that, however. The icing was going to have enough food coloring, and she didn’t want to run out. She probably would use a little in the cake for the auction to make it a lighter orange than the frosting.
She lightly sprayed the Bundt pan with oil and set it on a cookie sheet. The silicone pan was too flexible to use without something under it. Even with having to use an extra pan under it, she liked the silicone pan because it was so easy to get the cake out after it had baked.
Following
“No, if you’re going to use the recipe, you should enter it in the contest. There’s no point in going to that much trouble otherwise.”
“Really, it wouldn’t be any trouble—”
“I insist,” Carolyn said. “If Shannon insists, so can I. Obviously, you want to make the cookies, and so you should enter them. There’s nothing else to be said.” She sniffed coldly. “It’s a free country, after all.”
This was turning out all wrong, just as Phyllis had been afraid that it would. “I don’t have to do it if it’s going to bother you.”
“Why should it bother me? I’m certainly not afraid of a little competition, if that’s what you mean! After all, we both know I’ve managed to beat you plenty of times before.”
Phyllis could understand why Carolyn might be a little upset, but she didn’t have to be rude about it. “As Shannon pointed out, it’s all for a good cause—”
“Of course.”
“Anyway, even though she was acting a lot nicer, she was still determined to get her own way.”
“Like someone else,” Carolyn said.
That did it, Phyllis thought. Now she w as getting mad.
“You know, this is fine,” Carolyn went on before Phyllis could say anything, “because I was just thinking about coming up with a cake for the auction after all.”
“I thought you said you didn’t like to decorate cakes.”
“Well, we all say things we don’t exactly mean sometimes, don’t we?”
This had gone on long enough. Phyllis was going to put a stop to it before it got out of hand, and she was going to do that by changing the subject. She stood up and reached toward Carolyn. “Give me what you’ve written and I’ll get to work on it.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary anymore. I can do it.”
“You don’t like using the computer—”
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of it myself.”
“I’m sure you are,” Phyllis said, “but I don’t mind—”
“No thanks.” Carolyn got to her feet and started toward the stairs.
“All right,” Phyllis said after her. She thought but didn’t say, Be that way.
But as Carolyn went upstairs and Phyllis sank back into the armchair to brood, Phyllis wondered how much of what she felt was really annoyance with Carolyn—and how much was the guilt she felt over breaking her word to her friend.
Thank God for Sam Fletcher, thought Phyllis. First Eve had been irritated with her, and now Carolyn. But good old dependable Sam was still her friend.
For the next few days Phyllis threw herself into her preparations. She baked the jack-o’-lantern cake first but didn’t let anyone see it except Sam. She didn’t fully trust Eve not to tell Carolyn about it, and of course since Carolyn had declared that she was going to make a cake for the auction, too, the old spirit of competitiveness that had existed between them for so long was back in the forefront.
Phyllis moved some pans around in the cabinet hunting for her Bundt pan. She had two, but they were slightly different. This time she’d just bake two cakes one after the other using the same pan. Since one of the pans was a new silicone type, she decided to use that. It would be easiest to find another pan like it before the day of the carnival.
Since she was using a white cake mix, she thought about adding food coloring to the cake to make it orange, too. She decided against that, however. The icing was going to have enough food coloring, and she didn’t want to run out. She probably would use a little in the cake for the auction to make it a lighter orange than the frosting.
She lightly sprayed the Bundt pan with oil and set it on a cookie sheet. The silicone pan was too flexible to use without something under it. Even with having to use an extra pan under it, she liked the silicone pan because it was so easy to get the cake out after it had baked.
Following
Similar Books
