The Sorrow that Happens

First date- kinda

Clara's POV

There is flour everywhere. How a 5'4 women can get this much cooking ingredients in places there should not be, I'm not sure. My once laid out plan to just cook for mine and Shawn's date tomorrow has gone out the window. I thought we had finished, but then Anne hinted that we should make homemade cookies to Aunt Noonie and the train was off. For the last two hours, I have been watching the whirlwind that is Anne moving about the kitchen, leaving her handwork on every surface. At the moment, I am parched on the center island, just taking in my surroundings. By the fatigue I see written on Aunt Nonie's face, I can tell she has reached her limit as well, but Anne shows no sign of stopping. Currently, Aunt Nonie is doing the same thing I am doing, taking in her surroundings. I see the hamster wheel turning behind her eyes. No doubt contemplating how long this kitchen will take to clean and back up to her usual standards. Looking over at the clock, I see it is almost time to start dinner. Running my fingers through my hair, I let out a silent sigh. I am pulled from my wandering thoughts when Aunt Nonie touches my arm. Looking over at her, she signs, 'How is this girl not tired? I'm getting too old to spend all day cooking and baking. I want you to know, girl; I missed my daily nap for this crazy show.'

There is no malaise behind her words, but I can tell she is only slightly joking. The weariness on her face makes me chuckle. My replay is cut off by pan's crashing, causing me and Nonie to turn our attention back to Anne. Looking over, I see a full pan of cookies lying on the floor. "I am so sorry. I was not thinking, and I tried to grab the pan. I thought they had enough time to cool, but I was wrong." She looks from the cookies back to us and adds after a small pause, "that was the last batch; it looks like we are done today, ladies." A wide smile accompanies her face as she looks around the room, taking in all her destruction. Moving her delighted eyes to me, she says, "Do you think we made enough for me to take some home?" My eyes widen at her question. Looking over at Aunt Nonie, I give her my best 'really' face. We have been cooking for most of the day, and she doesn't know if we have enough for her to take. With a shake of her head, Nonie laughs, "Of course, girl. As much as Ash would love to eat all these sweets, I don't think that would be a good idea. That boy would be bouncing off the walls." As Nonie addresses her question, I hop off the island and start picking up the cookies. I hear Nonie ask Anne if she wants to stay for dinner just as the back door opens. I look up from my place on the floor to see Uncle coming through the mudroom into the kitchen. I can feel Anne tense up at the sight of him. I look up at her and see something on her face that I can't place, and the smile she was just sporting is erased. Before I can ask if she is ok, I hear Uncle ask, "What in the sam hell happen here? Did wild animals get lost?" Looking over at him, raising my hands, I reply, 'no wild animals, just girls having a girls day at the kitchen's expense. You want to help clean?'
At my words, Aunt Nonie lets out a loud laugh, and Uncle's face turns sour. "As much as I want to help with that," he waves his hands in the air, "I am old enough to know when to leave well enough alone and not come between Nonie and her kitchen. As soon as I start helping, she's going to start yelling, and nobody needs that."

At his words, Aunt Nonie throws the hand towel she is holding at him. He catches it with ease.

"You old fool. Every time you help, you make matters worse. You would think that as long as I have been running this kitchen, you would have learned where the pots go by now." I love watching these two go at each other. The love and respect they have for each other is captivating.

"Do they always fight like this? It's cute." I hear Anne ask as she comes and kneels next to me. I just shake my head yes because I found communication with her has been challenging today. She doesn't give me time to reply when she speaks. She will just ask or say something and then move on. I gave up early on, trying to have a conversation with her. Almost everything I have spoken to her has been yes or no. Sometimes Aunt Nonie will translate, but that was only when Anne would give her time before moving on with a new topic. It has been very frustrating at times, but I'm going to chuck it up to her, never having a mute friend before.