The Painting

#3 Pancakes - Pancoga

"Have you got another pitcher of syrup May? Nora's hogging the whole thing." William protested. I l diverted my concentration from the griddle and the fluffy golden pancakes that had just begun to bubble.

Twins, Nora and William, who weren't more than twelve sat behind me at the kitchen island. Their feet swung loosely from the stools they were seated on and quietly hit the wooden platform as they argued over the syrup pitcher. I shook my head and smiled. Turning from my spot at the griddle I opened the cabinet above me.

"Again Nora?" I teased, pulling a quick one-eighty to set the jug on the island counter giving her a tired smile. William grunted in victory as he smothered his lone pancake with the golden brown liquid.

Spatula in hand I flipped my last batch of pancakes onto the last clean plate in the house. Burnt. Well, not that burnt, but not exactly the quality a master chef like me wanted to promote.

I ignored the self critique and set the plate on the kitchen island.

"These are burnt." William observed as he turned the pancake back and forth between the light and dark side, perplexed as to how I could have done such an asymmetrical job.

"No they aren't they are just a little overdone." I argued to my own defense. William only shrugged and set the cake down in the miniature syrup pond he'd created on his plate.

Nora and William had been staying with their parents at the B&B for the last week. Since the twins were typically much later risers than their folks, they were often the last ones to breakfast. They loved to talk and I became quickly acquainted with their sibling dynamic and bottomless appetites.

"What have your parents got on the agenda for you two today?" I asked taking the last of the three pancakes before the twins could beat me to it.

"Something about a nature walk." Nora trailed off, her attention now focused on cutting her pancake into precise pieces.

"Another nature walk." William chimed in, somehow managing to sound less enthusiastic than Nora about their parents family plans.

"Well, make sure they know Grace is setting up a bonfire tomorrow night." I reminded pulling up a spare stool so I could relax and enjoy my lone pancake before starting on the mountain of dishes behind me. "I'll be there, and I'll even be making something other than pancakes." I winked, earning a smile from the kids.

"William will go if that cute girl is there." Nora gestured with her fork to her brother as she made an exaggerated kissy face at him.

"Oh? Does William have a bit of a crush?" I grinned wiggling my eyebrows in express interest. "Well who is she? The Summer's girl?" I pried trying to recall all the tenants with daughters.

"Ew, no." William scrunched up his nose whilst chewing a mouthful of pancakes causing Nora to set into a fit of giggles.

"I don't know her name," Nora said after her giggles subsided. "But she's like your age with dark hair. William nearly ran into a tree when we saw her outside this morning on our way here." She pointed to the window behind me flicking a bit of syrup across the granite countertop.

William said nothing, but I could see his cheeks blush as he continued stuffing his face with breakfast food. Nora, oblivious to her brother's embarrassment continued in greater detail about how funny it was that he narrowly avoided a tree trunk while entranced by the mystery woman.

I tuned Nora out as I tried to divine the identity of the woman William became so instantly infatuated with. My mind slowly scrolled through the list of rooms and corresponding guests eventually landing on room #2. Lyle was the only guest that fit Nora's description.