“The old man I bought the cardamom from said Thimble’s a genius,” murmured Viv.
“I don’t think I needed some old man to tell me that,” Tandri replied with a chuckle.
“I’d say that’s fair.”
* * *
The rattkin setto measuring and stirring and produced a thick, glutinous dough, to which he added chopped walnuts and currants. He then grated the skin of the oranges over the bowl. The cardamom, it turned out, were small, wizened-looking seeds. He diced them incredibly fine, crushed them with the flat of his knife blade, delicately scraped some of the dust into the dough, and set the remainder aside in a twist of waxed paper.
Tandri and Viv grudgingly took turns making drinks for customers as Thimble kneaded and formed long, flat logs. He laid them out on two pans, sprinkled them with fistfuls of sugar, and popped them into the oven. Then he tidied things away, humming all the while in his delicate, tuneful way.
The smell was promising—nutty and sweet and subtle. It put Viv in mind of winter solstice celebrations. When he eventually withdrew the flat loaves from the oven, she and Tandri loomed close, but he shooed them away. Slicing them, he arranged rows on pans and returned them to the oven.
“Twice?” asked Viv.
He nodded vehemently.
When he judged them done and set them out to cool, Viv studied them dubiously. They smelled nice but resembled sad little slices of bread that hadn’t risen.
Thimble insisted they wait until the pastries cooled, and then, with nervous ceremony, he handed one to each of them. Viv wrinkled her brow as she examined hers. It was hard,like incredibly stale bread. The old manhadextolled Thimble’s brilliance, and it was difficult to argue with the success of the cinnamon rolls, but she shared a slightly worried look with Tandri.
As they went to take bites, he waved anxious paws at them and urgently whispered, “With drink!”
Tandri dutifully brewed two lattes. They took experimental nibbles. And… those hard little slicesweregood. They crumbled nicely, and the nuts and fruit were elevated by an exotic, creamy sweetness that had to be the cardamom. Maybe not as good as the cinnamon rolls, but… pleasing.
The rattkin made an urgent dipping motion.
Viv shrugged. She dunked one end into her latte and took another bite. Her eyes went wide. She chewed, swallowed, and allowed herself a moment to appreciate this subtle, elegant comingling of flavors. “Oh hells, Thimble. That old man was right. Youarea genius.”
The real genius, however, wasn’t apparent to her until Tandri pointed it out. “These will keep, won’t they? Overnight, maybe for several days?”
He nodded and beamed at them both.
“We’re going to need something to store these in. And Tandri, I think we’re going to need to update the menu again. What do we even call these, though?”
“I think I might have an idea,” Tandri replied. With a smile tugging at her lips, she retrieved her chalk from under the counter.
~Legends & Lattes ~
~Menu~
Coffee ~ exotic aroma & rich, full-bodied roast—½ bit
Latte ~ a sophisticated and creamy variation—1 bit
Cinnamon Roll ~ heavenly frosted cinnamon pastry—4 bits
Thimblets ~ crunchy nut & fruit delicacies—2 bits
*
FINER TASTES FOR THE
~ WORKING GENT & LADY ~
The following morning, the Thimblets didn’t start as strong sellers, but in the occasional absence of rolls, diners took a chance on them. As the day progressed, they were sometimes even a first choice.
Every so often, Viv found herself absently munching one and humming to herself.
