She opened the door to find Katie standing there with a plate of oatmeal raisin cookies in her hand. "Did you bake those?"
Katie beamed with pride and held out the plate. "I did! My dad freaked out when I asked him to use the oven at home, but after watching me put these in the oven and set the timer, I think I calmed down a little." She wiggled a little in place and nodded at it. "Want one to try?"
"Absolutely!" Ruth reached out and took a cookie from the plate. It was warm and had the proper squish to it that said it was perfectly done.
She took a bite, inhaling all the spice and goodness in the cookie, closing her eyes to savor the taste. "Mmm..." She opened her eyes, smiling at the young girl before her. "Super tasty!"
Katie beamed at her. "Thanks! My dad said so, too."
Ruth nodded. "Good. It's nice when you have people who appreciate what you do."
Katie looked around her into the bedroom. "Are you... ah.. busy?"
Ruth paused and then stepped to the side. "I'm looking through my closet for something to wear to dinner."
"With my dad?" Katie drew out the word 'dad,' smiling as she did. "I heard he asked you out on a date."
Ruth felt her cheeks heat. "Yes." She nodded at Katie. "We agreed that he should ask you first." Ruth gestured for Katie to come inside.
Katie didn't hesitate, darting inside to half-jump, half-fly onto the bed. She didn't even drop a single cookie as she pounced.
"Well, I am all for it." Katie set the plate on her lap. "I've been hoping he would ask you some day before we all turned grey and wrinkled!"
"That would happen to us much faster than you, Katie."
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Both of you act like you're in your forties or something."
Ruth almost swallowed her tongue. "Not quite but I'm getting there."
Katie's reaction was telling. Katie gaped at her. "What? How old-"
Katie clapped a hand over her mouth and mumbled through her hand. "Sorry. I'm not supposed to ask questions like that."
"You can always ask me." Ruth chuckled as she walked over to her closet. "I might not want to answer, but if that's the case, I'll tell you. Okay?"
"Okay."
Ruth heard her voice clear like a bell apparently she had lowered her hand.
"I was thinking about... this."
She turned to look at Katie and held up the dress in front of her. "What do you think?"
The look on Katie's face said it all. "That dress is going to make you look like one of those maids at the Haunted Mansion. It's nice, but looks..."
"Old," Ruth smiled. "I get it."
She turned back to her closet and hung up the 'aged' dress at the back of the closet. She wasn't going to wear that again.
The next dress in the lineup was one that she'd worn a few times to events where she had to dress up to drop off her baked goods for a private party. Dark green and flowy. "What about this?"
She turned to look at Katie and got a half-smile from the girl.
"It's... dark?"
Dark.
Uh.
