#TimsEspressYourself Short Story Contest [CLOSED]

The Perfect Blend - Parts 4 & 5

A Note from AvaViolet

Hey Everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the second round, I loved reading all the entries! If you didn't win this time, don't worry, there are still two more opportunities to continue the story and get a $100 gift card to Tim Hortons! Congratulations to RElizabeth for her winning part. Here is my continuation from that, I hope you all enjoy! Continue the story from here (there will be a total of 3 parts left after my part here, so we're nearing the end!). Don't forget to tag your post with #TimsEspressYourself. Good luck, and I can't wait to read what you've come up with from this!

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Part 4: Written by RElizabethM

When I turn around, it's Becky, the assistant property manager, with a latte clutched in her hand. How do I know her drink of choice? Let's just say my competitive nature where Isaac is concerned may have led to some light breaking and entering.

Or an attempt, anyway. I tried to pick his lock and broke it. When I called Becky to say I saw someone fiddling with his lock, she arrived on site very concerned about safety. My stumbling explanation coupled with the inferno across my face likely gave me away. She never confronted me, but I now provide her with regular lattes.

"Is your lock broken now too?" There's a furrow between her brows.

"Left my keys somewhere," I admit.

She drags a massive key ring out of the depths of her oversized purse and lets me into my apartment. "Should I put in a request to have the lock changed or do you know where they are?"

As I step past her, I catch a whiff of her drink, and it's not a latte. The scent takes me back to my childhood, to long afternoons spent with my grandmother, baking. "What are you drinking?"

"A cinnamon caramel oat latte. Sounds strange, I know. But I couldn't resist once I smelled it." She leans in conspiratorially and gives me another chance to inhale the scent.

I close my eyes, and a recipe I haven't attempted in years rushes in. I'd forgotten all about it--like many things where my grandmother was concerned. Her death destroyed me, and I avoided any reminder for years. But I find the sting isn't as sharp, and a strange warmth spreads across my chest.

Cinnamon. Caramel. Oats. Ideas are forming in my mind, and the anxiety that's been dogging me all day slows. Not all the ingredients are coming back, but I've got enough that I think I can get there.

"Becky, you're a genius!" I start to close the door on her, already cataloging what's in my apartment and what I'll need to buy.

"Your keys?"

"At Tims," I say. "I'll get them later."

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Part 5: Written by AvaViolet

There was no time to waste!

I run around my apartment pulling various ingredients out of my pantry and fridge, setting them along my counter with no rhyme or reason. I need to act fast while the recipe is still in my brain, while the smell of Becky's cinnamon caramel oat latte from Tims still lingers in my memory.

My grandmother is the reason I got into baking. I would stand on a stool before I could see past the counter and pour the ingredients she handed me into the bowl. As I got older, we would create desserts together, each of us adding something in at random and building off each other without a specific recipe.

"Baking's more fun when it's from the heart!" she would say. She never measured anything; just threw the ingredients in the bowl and it somehow came out amazing. I don't even think the woman owned a measuring cup.

All my happy memories are baking with my grandmother, and when she died, I couldn't stomach baking with her in my mind. So I pushed her out, pushed out the fun we had together, the experimenting and measuring things by smell and experience.

Maybe that's why my baking has suffered. Maybe that's why I keep losing to Isaac.

I can't force myself to forget everything I've learned from my grandmother. Not anymore. So instead, I embrace it. I recall a recipe we made tons of times. Each time was different, because we would keep tweaking it, but the cinnamon oat cake was always a crowd pleaser. I can tweak it now, like she would've encouraged, and add that caramel –maybe even some espresso—and make the perfect blend of flavour.

I don't think as I start pouring ingredients into my mixing bowl—I don't even measure. It's a risky move for a competition that's in a few hours time, but I can't help it. I'm not in my apartment, I'm at Grandma June's house, and we're fluttering around the kitchen, pouring ingredients into the bowl based on idea and flavour and intuition alone.

I taste the batter once it's mixed and am almost shocked by how good it tastes. It smells just like Becky's cinnamon caramel oat latte from Tim Hortons, and I promise myself I'll have to try it as soon as the cake is baked.

The cake is going to be amazing. I knew I could count on Tim Hortons to inspire me, even if I had to throw my poor cappuccino on Isaac first.

I pour my cake into five separate baking trays and pop them into the oven. It should take about 45 minutes to bake, then they need time to cool. Then I can assemble it, ice it, and bring it over to Northtown's Town Hall for judging.

The caramel espresso icing only takes me 10 minutes to throw together, then I lay down to relax. The stress that's been eating at me for so long finally seems to dissipate. I am going to win, I am going to beat Isaac, and I am going to bake the best dang cake anyone in Northtown has ever tasted.

Beeping wakes me, and I jump to a start. I must have fallen asleep! I search around for the noise and see it's the timer I set on my phone. How long has it been going off? I sniff the air and smell... burning.

My cake!

I jump up and run to the oven, shocked at what I find.

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Now, it's your turn! Submit the next part of the story below in the comments section of this chapter. Make sure you tag it with #TimsEspressYourself to enter. Entries must include all Submission Requirements. Deadline to enter the next part is December 12 at 11:59 PM EST.

The winner's part, along with my continuation, will go live on December 13th!