Pancakes & Pandemonium - Culinary Competition Mystery #6

Chapter 16

(Amy)

"I hope the rumor is true that the electricity will start coming on today. Wouldn't that be nice?" Geri said as she arranged whole wheat rolls in a basket.

The buns had just been delivered to the warming tent from the wood-fired oven. It was another cold and blustery morning at Riverbend Café. With all of the tents and campfires on the riverbank, it looked like a Civil War reenactor encampment outside the coffee shop.

Amy nodded in agreement. She and Alex had been so tired that neither one of them woke up to add wood to the fireplace during the night. There were only a few dying coals left when Pogo woke them up by burrowing in between them under the blankets. The living room was so cold that they could see their breath. "It would. This storm has affected pretty much every part of our lives. I swear I can barely remember what a normal day was like where I could take a hot shower, turn on the lights, and use my stove."

"It's still going to take a long time to get back to life as usual for many businesses and homeowners, but electricity sure would make things easier. Like the bed and breakfast where we were going to get married is in shambles. I'm sure the owners will welcome being able to use power tools."

"So have you figured out what to do about the wedding? Are you going to have the ceremony somewhere else or move the date?"

Geri grinned, and a mischievous twinkle glinted in her eyes. "We're thinking about going to Las Vegas. Would you like to come and be a bridesmaid?"

"That sounds like fun! I'm in if you want me to be in your wedding. It would be my honor."

"Wonderful. So now could you convince Carla to come? She's not too keen on a Las Vegas wedding. Or...maybe a wedding anywhere." Geri shook her head. "It seems that she's gotten so into being a mom that she's trying to mother me, worried that I'm making a bad decision."

"I'll talk to her and see if I can figure out what's going on."

"Thank you."

Amy's mother had been silently standing next to her and Geri as they worked at getting the rolls and muffins transferred from baking pans to serving trays. She wrinkled her nose up as she took a noisy sip of her coffee. Slurping ramen noodles in Japan was a sign that a diner enjoyed their meal. The beverage-drinking sound effect most likely had a different meaning in the case of her mother. She lowered her cup and said, "Isn't that precious! You jump at the chance to be in her wedding, but you wouldn't be in mine."

The rude comment rattled around in Amy's mind and left her speechless. But Geri came to the rescue in trying to figure out what her mother was talking about. "Oh! Are you getting married too?" she asked.

"No."

Geri glanced at Amy. Now they were both lost in the wayward conversation. Suddenly a possible reason for the strange outburst occurred to Amy. "Did you get remarried and not tell me?"

"No."

"Then why did you say that I wouldn't be in your wedding?"

"I don't know." Her mother turned to look at the river that was covered in chunks of slowly moving ice. She sighed dramatically then walked away.

"That was...interesting," Geri said. "I don't mean this to offend you, so please don't be mad at me, but I can see where you get some of your quirks from. Every once in awhile it takes me a bit to catch up to what you're thinking during a conversation. I have to say though, I still don't know what point your mother was trying to make. She took a left turn, and I never caught back up with her."