Page 324 of The Maxwell Brothers
"Hi," Paisley exclaimed, looking around excitedly. "I think it's amazing!"
"Thanks. Want me to give you a tour?" I offered.
"Sure," Gran said, whistling as she took everything in. “Liz, dear, you’ve outdone yourself!”
"I wiped the floors, and they’re still a bit wet, so be careful."
"We don't want to get in your way," Gran told me.
"Nonsense. You're not. And by the way, congratulations. I heard you’re a grandmother again."
“Yes I am. Can you believe it?” Her eyes lit up. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
“I bet you can’t. What’s her name?”
“Alma. Isn’t that lovely?”
"Yes it is.” An idea came to me. “Do you like to bake?"
"I love to. Used to do a lot of it back in the day," Gran said.
"That's perfect, because I’m doing another test run for the oven and the appliances. I want to confirm temperatures and baking times so I’m ready for customers tomorrow."
Gran nodded. "That’s smart."
“Want to bake with me?” I asked them.
“Yessssssss,” Paisley exclaimed, clapping her hands.
Gran beamed. “Just tell us what you want us to do.”
"Paisley, want to help me bring out the supplies from the cupboard?" I asked.
"Sure. Does this mean I can come here and buy sweets anytime?"
“Umm…,” I said, unsure how to reply. I was pretty sure the answer was no. "We’ll ask your parents.”
Paisley averted her gaze, and that was my cue that I was on to something.
"Put me to work," Gran said. "This is your kitchen, and I know better than to take the initiative. Just give me instructions, and I'll follow."
"Sounds good. Let me get the ingredients first.”
Paisley and I both went in the back. "You'd better pull your hair in a ponytail or it’ll get full of flour," I said, holding up my wrist. "You can take one from here. I always keep them on hand."
"Oooh, cool idea. I always lose mine. May I have the pink one?"
"Sure.” Once she had her hair situated, I quietly asked, "Is Gran okay?"
"She's a bit upset because she's not sure my great-uncle wants her to go to London."
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"I eavesdrop a lot," she said, making me laugh.
"And Gran loves baking?" I double-checked to make sure she wasn’t just trying to be nice.
"Shelovesit."
