Sugar & Spice

Chapter 5

Amy was beyond thrilled about the party and wouldn't stop chattering about it. Crissy was...terrified. She let Amy talk most days, and didn't really say much in response. She attempted to do what had never failed her in the past: bury her problems in food. But the anxiety continued to build.

Two days before the party, Amy slid into the kitchen, a grin splitting her face from ear to ear.

"We should go shopping," she declared. "Tomorrow."

Crissy cast a wary sideways glance at her. "You know how I feel about shopping, Amy."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, it sucks, but Quinn is totally hot and I hate to break it to you, bestie, but you totally need some new outfits."

Crissy returned her attention back to icing pink hearts onto three dozen sugar cookies. "I don't need a new outfit, it's a casual thing."

Amy came up behind Crissy, wrapped her arms around Crissy's waist and rested her cheek against Crissy's back.

"Okay then let's go shopping to have a day out, just you and me. We haven't had that in a long time."

"We work together every day. This whole shop is run by just you and me."

"But it's not OUR shop. Bert drops in every once in a while to sniff around us, scowl, grunt a few times, and walk out. So technically, we never really get to relax."

Crissy pinched Amy's arm and Amy whimpered in protest. "He's an old man, you should be more respectful. This shop has been in his family for years, he can come in here any time he wants to and talk or not talk as much as he likes."

"I hate it when you're diplomatic and all grown-up like that."

"One of us has to be mature around here."

Amy gave a mock gasp and stole one of the sugar cookies. Crissy attempted to swat her hand away but the cookie had already disappeared into Amy's mouth.

"Please, Cris?" Amy pleaded. "We could go see a movie and throw popcorn at each other. And we could get cinnamon rolls."

Crissy hesitated, the packet of icing hovering in midair above the cookies. She had never been able to resist a cinnamon roll in her entire life, and Amy knew it.

"Only if we go pajama shopping too," Crissy said. "If I have to wear some outfit you put me in, I want something comfortable at the end of the day."

Amy squealed and almost tackled Crissy in a tight hug. "Deal!"

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The day Amy and Crissy were to go shopping, Crissy had given up on sleep, choosing to spend the night in the kitchen, testing and adjusting recipes as needed. It was the only way she could stop herself from feeling sick from the nerves for the impending party.

Sometime around five o'clock, Crissy had recipes, flour, and sugar spread all over the coffee shop's kitchen counter. She never got this messy when she was baking during the day, but the chaos matched her thoughts and she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment. The phone rang and she absentmindedly reached out for it, never looking up from her scrapbook of recipes.

"Good morning, Cristina."

Crissy went rigid, closed her eyes and stifled a sigh at the sound of her mother's clipped business-like tone.

"Good morning to you too, Mom," she said as she rummaged through the mess on the counter to find her watch. "Uhm...why are you calling at five in the morning? Is everything okay?"