“How’d you sleep?”she said as April joined her in the kitchen.
“Dad snored all night,” she whined.
April had slept on the sofa while Dr.Ang placed pillows and cushions on the floor to sleep.
“Consider the mattress he had, that’s surprising.”
“Dad said we should be getting our own bungalow soon. I think we can make it work until then.”
“Good.”
“Need help with breakfast?”
“If you’d like. There’s some pancake mix in the pantry.”
“Pancakes. It’s been ages since I’ve eaten that.”
Dr.Ang joined them. “What smells so good? Coffee?”
Sonya glanced at the percolator. The glass knob atop the cover of the pot had yet to show the rich brown of a well-brewed coffee. “It won’t be long.”
“We’re making pancakes,” April declared as she mixed the batter.
“With real maple syrup?”Dr.Ang ventured.
“I’m afraid not,” Sonya said, pulling out a bottle of store-bought imitation syrup. “But this is actually quite good.”
The coffee finally bubbled up with the desired shade of brown. Sonya turned the stove burner off and poured a cup for Dr.Ang.
“Thank you,” he said as he leaned back against the dinette table.
April let out an annoyed sigh. “I don’t think we’re going to have enough of this mix for all three of us.”
Sonya pointed to the four yellow tin boxes on the counter. “The biggest one has flour in it,” she told April. “Just add a bit, and we’ll add another egg.”
April smiled as she looked at the decorative boxes. “Tea. Coffee. Sugar. Flour. Is that what’s really in each box?”
“Yes, but I’m considering getting rid of the sugar – I hardly ever use any – and putting in cookies instead.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that.”
With more pancake mixture ready, she poured a large spoonful into a hot cast iron pan and spread it out.
“You look as if you’ve always made pancakes.”
“I’m a fast learner.”
Dr.Ang, quietly sipping his coffee, watched them with tender eyes. Sonya caught his glance and wondered what he was thinking.
With breakfast ready, Sonya set the table and they settled in to eat. It was hard to not stare at her daughter, to not make the comparisons. The shine of her hair, the wisdom in her eyes and the grace of hands; all so similar to her own, especially when she was that age.But at that age, Sonya was already engaged, then married to the Emperor, who was also only a teenager.That was how it was back then.
She saw so many similarities, but then again, as her mother, she wanted to see them. She wanted that visible confirmation that this young woman came of her womb.
Did the young woman see the resemblance as well? Like the way she ate; April had the habit of looking at every morsel of food at the end of her fork before putting it in her mouth. The very same habit Sonya now tried to control to avoid the obvious comparison.
“Have you read the script yet?”Sonya said as she set another pancake on her plate and poured syrup over it.
The cozy little dinette table barely had room for their plates, but they made it work.
