Purgatory, West Virginia
April 3
Twitch and Auggie puttered around the kitchen. He still hadn’t warmed up to her, but the lure of sweets had him begrudgingly assisting. She grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and instructed Auggie to get the flour and baking soda from the grocery bag.
“First, we mix the dry ingredients,” she instructed.
Auggie hauled the heavy bag out and set it on the counter. “I don’t know why we’re doing this. They sell cookies at the store. They were one aisle over.”
Twitch studied the grumpy little boy. “Auggie, have you ever had a homemade chocolate chip cookie?”
“No, and I don’t care if I ever do,” he grumbled.
“Let’s see if you feel the same way in about thirty minutes. Now plug in that hand mixer. The beaters should be in one of those drawers.”
Auggie pulled them open until he found the attachments. As he withdrew the beaters, a loose piece of paper fluttered to the floor. He picked it up and read it.
“What’s that?” Twitch asked.
“A grocery list. I guess it was Miss Annabeth’s.” He passed Twitch the paper.
She set it aside and put the butter and sugar in a bowl. “You get to do the fun part.” Twitch turned on the mixer and showed Auggie how to hold it. Then she guided the beaters into the bowl. The little boy’s face was alight with fascination.
She cracked in the eggs while Auggie continued his task. “Two minutes for that. Keep going until the mixture gets a little fluffy.”
“What the fuck is fluffy?” Auggie asked, staring into the concoction.
“Auggie,” Twitch scolded.
“Yeah?”
“Please don’t curse. You’re too young to be using words like that.”
“Finn swears,” he defended.
“Finn is an adult. You are a little boy. Cool it with the swearing,” she insisted.
“Fine.”
Trying to remain serious, Twitch turned away and picked up the grocery list Annabeth must have placed in the drawer all those years ago. She covered her mouth with her hand.
“Auggie, where’s Finn?”
“Out in the shed. I heard the table saw earlier,” he said.
“Okay, good. Let’s finish these bad boys up and get them in the oven. You’re in for a treat.”
“If you say so.” Auggie’s nonchalance was undermined by his laughter when the mixer spattered his face.
Twitch ran a cloth across his cheek. “After these bake, Finn and I need to talk.”
Auggie responded with race car noises as he ran the mixer around the bowl.