Far in the past.
A timer dinged in one of her ovens and Ruth smiled at Katie as if they were sharing a secret. "Want to be a taste tester for me?"
A finely arched brow raised up in response. "Seriously?"
Ruth pulled on her mitts and grinned at her. "Ineverjoke about food."
Katie clapped her hands together. "Then, yes!"
The oven door opened with a soft woosh of sound and the heat that rolled out of it felt like a hot, steamy facial.
Ruth almost chuckled because she wouldn't mind a facial appointment, but she didn't have the time.
"Ohhh, that smells ah-mazing!" Katie was almost levitating with excitement.
"Christmas Crinkle Cookies." Ruth leaned in and smelled the cookies. "Peppermint in this batch."
She lowered the baking tray and set it down on the counter on the raised rack. "What do you think?"
Katie looked over the tray as if she was examining a map for a battle plan. "I really like the look of them. It's like..." She bit into her bottom lip in a gesture that Ruth recognized as a mirror image of her father's pensive expression. It was harder to see on Nick as his full beard hid some of his features, but Katie really was like her father in so many ways.
"Oh... it's like snow! The white tops look like a layer of snow cracking as flowers start pushing through."
Ruth heard the wonder in the young girl's voice, and she was stunned at the visual connection that Katie had made. "Youknow, I've never thought of that. That's a wonderful connection you made."
Katie seemed a little embarrassed by the praise. "It's nothing-"
"Don't say that," Ruth shook her head gently. "You're just discovering your talents. What do you see in the world? What you're discovering in yourself? It's not nothing." Ruth grinned at her. "It could be everything."
Katie looked at her with a little bit of wonder. "I... I do like art."
"Wonderful!" Ruth pulled off her oven mitts and touched her finger to the top of one of the cookies. "Oooh, this might be a little too warm, but..." She moved over to the other rack on the countertop. "This one came out about ten minutes ago." She touched her fingertip to one of the cookies and found it cool to the touch. "Let's taste test!"
Katie reached out and paused. "Are they the same flavor?"
Ruth understood the question. The other rack was green where the cookies she just pulled out of the oven were red.
"Yes. They're both peppermint."
Katie picked up a cookie at the same time that she did, and they watched each other while they took a bite and chewed it.
Ruth loved the sensation of the peppermint melting on her tongue, but she couldn't get lost in the sensation. She watched Katie as the girl's eyes closed and her chewing slowed.
"OH," Katie swayed from side to side, "that tastes so good."
Katie's eyes opened up in a heartbeat and she lifted a hand to cover her mouth. "Sorry."
Ruth's shoulders shook with laughter. "No need to be sorry. I love that you like it."
"Like it?" Katie took another bite, muffling her words. "I love it!"
"Glad to hear it." Ruth took another bite and smiled at the taste of it on her tongue. "How are your rehearsals going?"
"Good." Katie stopped chewing for a moment, and she looked away before she raised her gaze again. "Really good."
"Really?" Ruth reached up into the cabinet and pulled out a plate with a festive painted scene on its face. "I hope you're going to let me know when the tickets go on sale. I want to see the show."
"Great!" Katie rose up a few inches on her toes.
