Page 37 of Sugarlips
I pushed one covered plate forward to the center of the table. “Anyway, we are trying to keep the menu small and the food relatively simple. We want most of the items to be pre-baked since we don’t have a full working kitchen in the truck yet.”
“But our kitchenette passed the inspection with flying colors,” Chloe added, rolling her shoulders back with pride.
“So, for the first menu item…” I uncovered the plate, presenting them with the first set of things we’ll offer in the truck. “A Daily Donut. This one is our ‘peanut butter and jelly’ filled donut and will be our launch day flavor.”
Each family member reached out and took a donut, except for Chloe’s parents who broke one in half and shared it.
“It’s delicious,” Mrs. Dyker said, smiling.
“We’re thinking they should be $1.99 each with an option to buy half a dozen for $9.99 or a dozen for $19.99.”
Finn finished his donut in two bites, and as he was reaching for another, Chloe smacked his hand. I nearly barked a laugh. I’d never seen a woman keep Finn in line—not even our own damn mother. “We’ve got four more things for you to try!” Chloe said. “Don’t fill up on donuts.”
“Next, we have something for the patrons who prefer salty to sweet. Fried mac & cheese balls.” As I spoke, Chloe lifted the plate cover. “They’re like my special version of arancini. These will be on the menu every day and they will come with five balls per order.”
Addy’s eyes went wide and she dove for the first one, biting into it. “Oh yeah,” she moaned. “These are amazing.”
I grinned at my twin, knowing she loved them. I created that recipe initially for her after she sprained her ankle a few years ago, and she’d requested them every year on her birthday ever since.
“We’re not really sure what to charge for them, so we’d really love to know your thoughts,” Chloe said.
“Keep in mind,” I added, “I can partially prepare them ahead of time, but they need to be fried to order, so they’re a little more time intensive.”
My mom spoke up first. “I wouldn’t go higher than $5.99… but I think they would sell better at $4.99.”
“A dollar per ball doesn’t leave a wide margin for profit,” Elaina said.
“Could you do four per serving instead of five at that price?” Mr. Dyker asked.
Chloe looked up from where she was taking notes, quirking her brow at me.
“Probably,” I said. “As long as they feel they’re still getting a good deal.”
“We could make four balls, slightly larger than this so they fill up the paper bowl we serve them in,” Chloe said, and I nodded.That could work.
“Knock, knock,” Neil’s deep voice called from the front door, and he poked his head inside.
“Neil! Glad you could make it.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elaina’s shoulders stiffen as he entered the house and carefully sat across from her at the table, beside our mom.
Just like Elaina, tension knotted in my shoulders, and my gaze kept bouncing between Neil and Elaina like a tennis match. A very silent tennis match.
Much to my contrary, though, Chloe was as relaxed as ever, and she smiled warmly at Neil. “Thanks so much for coming,” she said.
He gave her a nod and his smile, like mine, was tight. “Of course.”
“Right… well… we, uh, asked ourselves what’s theonemost cliché thing people reach for after a breakup?”
“A dartboard?” Elaina asked, blinking innocently enough, but her smile was sadistic.
Neil snorted and rolled his eyes.
“Um… no.” I cleared my throat and crossed to Chloe’s freezer to pull out the next menu item.
“Ice cream!” Chloe exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “But we realized we couldn’t just serve ice cream, so we made chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches.”
I grinned and passed out the ice cream sandwiches to everyone. “Wemade ice cream sandwiches?” As I passed by her, I poked her in the ribs playfully.
