The Kings IV II

3

Alexis

"Mommy, I think I want to make a get well soon cake for Henry."

I looked up from my laptop, lifting an eyebrow at Josephine's small frame walking towards me.

"He's not been feeling well for days now. I think a cake might help him feel better," she said, jumping onto the bed with a toothy grin.

Whatever Fred and I were doing, we were doing something right. Josie definitely had Fred's compassion and my assertiveness, and I was proud of the being she was blossoming into.

"I think you're right," I said, placing my laptop on the nightstand, "let's make him a cake."

I boosted her up into my arms, and as soon as we made our way downstairs, I placed her on the counter. I grabbed the recipe book Adora had made for us a couple of years ago, flipping through it.

"I want to do all the mixing. You can do all the messy stuff, like washing the dishes, because that's just yucky."

I smiled, turning around to face Josie. Her legs were swinging off of the counter, and a warm smile crossed her face.

"How about you read the ingredients out to me and I'll grab them from the pantry and then we can both mix them together?" I suggestively asked, placing a hand on my hip.

"Okay, fine," she bluntly replied. I could tell she wasn't exactly pleased with this arrangement, considering she loved to take charge of everything.

I opened up the book to the page we needed and placed it on her lap, peering over her shoulder before preheating the oven. She began spitting off ingredients before I could make it to the pantry, earning a giggle from me.

"Cake mix, baking powder, baking soda, gra-nanulated sugar. Did I say that right?" She asked, her eyes meeting mine.

"It's granulated, my love. Try to say it again." I grabbed the ingredients she'd spat off, placing them on the counter.

"Granulated?" She asked.

"Look at you," I said, smiling, "beautiful reading. What's next on the list?"

"Salt from the pantry, and everything else is in the fridge," she replied, rather confidently.

"Are you sure? I think you're forgetting something,"
I said, knowing she'd forgotten to look on the next page for the buttercream recipe. I grabbed the icing, sugar, and vanilla extract, and walked out of the spacious pantry.

I kicked the door shut with my foot, placing everything on the counter. "Looks like we're going to have one heck of a cake."

She smiled up at me. "You know, this is for all of us. Not just Henry."

I giggled. "Grab the scale, mixing bowl, spatula and whisk from the drawer above your head."

After a quick visit to the fridge to get the milk, butter, and heavy cream, Josie had taken everything out and messily placed the items on the counter.

She impatiently watched as we measured the ingredients one by one and placed them in the bowl. Once we were done, she grabbed the whisk before I had a chance to and began mixing, her tongue between her lips as she concentrated as much as she could.

"What a view."

I turned my head to see Fred leaning against the door frame, admiring the view of his five-year-old daughter messily whisking the cake batter together.

Josie jumped off the counter, leaving her half-mixed batter a mess.

"Daddy," she yelled, running towards him. He caught her and threw up in the air, making my eyes go round.