I shouldn’t say practically because sheliterallylicks it clean. When she pulls the bowl away, a dot of ice cream rests on her little nose. I reach over and swipe it off.
“Dad…this is good enough to win you a million dollar contract with a national chain grocery store. You’re going to need to upgrade the equipment around here to start rolling out gallons upon gallons of ice cream.” I shake my head because while I think it’s good, I don’t believe it’s enough to gain such a windfall.
I’ll be happy if I can get into a few local stores. That will be enough revenue to help during rocky seasons. And if all goes well with sales, we can expand the dessert line. I think that’s going to be our niche. Steels Nuts dessert line. Daisy even designed a new logo and I am so proud of her.
“I don’t know about that Mag, but I appreciate the compliment.” I grab their empty bowls and spoons and set them in the sink. “Tomorrow we’ll start making the large batch and prepare it for the festival. The morning I'll get some dry ice and you girls can help pack it up to deliver to the judges. I hope it stays fresh for the judges. I know they’ll want to display a sample for the public to view, but I haven’t quite figured out how to do that just yet.”
“Ooo,” Maggie squeaks while bouncing on her toes. “What if we can make a cute display? Something like a see-through mini freezer.”
Daisy scrunches her face. “How the hell are you going to do that? And in only a few days?”
Maggie runs around the kitchen island and begins digging through the cabinets. “Leave it to me. I know just what to do. Dad, we’ll need a small block of dry ice so I can test it out.” She pulls out several different serving bowls -metal, glass and ceramic– and holds them up. “Dad, can I use these?”
With a shrug I tell her, “Sure honey. Use whatever you need.”
She smiles and begins sorting through drawers. Once she’s piled up loads of dishes and utensils, she scurries off to the workshop attached to the garage, skipping all the way. Daisy and I look at one another with a laugh. Maggie is a curious one and often falls into her own world when she discovers something she’s passionate about. It’s a gift and curse sometimes, but I wouldn’t change one thing about her.
“She’s a strange bird,” Daisy chuckles.
“From one cuckoo to the next,” I tell her and she punches my arm.
She responds with, “You’re a turd. C’mon. I’ll go with you to get some dry ice.” I nod and reach for my keys that sit on a tray in the middle of the counter. “I’ll drive.”
Her hands reach out to snag my keys away, but I avoid the steal. “Nice try, Daisy. Your driving privileges are still revoked for one more week.” She sighs and pouts as she walks to the garage.
Her little traffic ticket cost me a pretty penny on my insurance and the only way I could think of to handle the situation was to take away her driving privileges. I know she’s itching to have her car back, but I have to stay firm. I’m a pushover when it comes to my girls, but I won’t let her stomp all over me this time. It’s truly laughable but I’ve made it this far. I can handle one more week.
He did, in fact, not live up to his promise.
7
SERENA
“Well. Isn’t this…interesting.” Tracy, the chairwoman of the pecan dish contest, takes our entry and eyes it with a curious look.
I can only chortle with an embarrassed smile because it is indeed interesting in the way that you want to stay far away from whatever follows. In this case I think it will be a puke bucket that tasters run to after having one bite of this monstrosity. I still cannot believe I let Santi talk me into entering it.
Pecan crusted red chile goat cheese dip. After all of the various recipes we tested, this is the crap we came to an agreement on. I use the termagreementlightly because I in no way wanted to present this to anyone. But yet, somehow, here we are. Handing over food poisoning on a dish.
“If any of these judges end up in the hospital, you’re paying their bill.” I point a finger in Santi’s smiling face as we walk away from what could be the downfall of our company.
Santi smacks my finger away and throws his arm over my shoulder. “Oh ye of little faith. You’ll be singing a different tune when we’re awarded first place and handed one of those giantcardboard checks. You know, like the others we have stored in a closet somewhere.”
My feet skid to a stop and I turn to face him. “I swear to God, Santiago, if this ends horribly and it affects a possible deal with Queen Foods, I will put a curse on you that every hair on your head falls out and you have a lumpy skull.”
His jaw drops and he places his hand lovingly on his hair. “How dare you put that on me, Serena Anita León. That is just cruel.”
I roll my eyes and move through the crowd that is growing bigger by the minute. The sounds of the festival are all around me. Kids laughing, bells and whistles ringing from games being played, and music playing from the band on the small stage. When I was a kid, these were all the things that made me happy. Santi and I would spend every minute of the three day festival running around and tasting all the food, playing with our friends and enjoying the carnival rides. Those are some of the best memories.
However, things hit differently when you’re an adult and realize there are too many people, too many kids running wild, and it's a wasted day when you can be working. I sigh with how quickly I’ve turned into the person I never wanted to be; a work consumed person who always wears a scowl and has no social life.
“Rena!” My name is shouted from somewhere around me, and I scan the crowd for who it could have been. When I spot a pretty brunette with a wide smile and cute dimple, I suddenly feel less cranky.
Daisy Steele is a delightful young woman, despite who her dad is. She has been asking me a lot of questions about design and illustration. She’s a very talented artist and unlike my parents, hers are encouraging her to pursue her passion. Maybethat’s why I feel like I’ve bonded with her. It has been really great talking with someone who has the love for art as I do.
“Hi Daisy. How are you?” She skips through the crowd and hugs me.
“Good. I’m so glad I found you. I need to show you something.” She grabs my hand and begins tugging on me.
