The Late Bird's Tale: A Tale of the Floating World

Part 1 || 8 | Momo | Cakes and Memories, A Rebel Reaper II

Written on 2/28/21. Winter Season, February 2021 edition (1st scene).
Written on 8/30/21. Summer Season, August 2021 edition (2nd scene).
Momo Yume (picture reference).

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Part 1 || 8 | Momo

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A Tale of Cakes and Memories

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The Cake Fairy had two kinds of customers, depending on the time of day. In the morning, parents with kids occupied the curbside chairs and tables beneath the large awning of the shop, but as the day waned into the afternoon, younger couples and dates began to fill these same spaces. Hence, by 8:30 a.m., Momo and her colleagues were met with the sounds of parents scolding naughty children for asking when their cakes would arrive for the umpteenth time, and the little ones were pining all the more. After the muses took their seats at a curbside table close to the edge of the curb, Momo noticed that they were the only single women amongst the customers. She even saw some of the kids looking their way, before their mothers scolded them for staring at strangers.

"It's a family-friendly place," Momo said, looking around at the waitresses taking their customers' orders, all of them dressed as maids.

"It's G-rated now," Ryder said, "but it gets a bit sexier in the afternoons."

"Let me guess," Momo said. "Couples?"

"The horny kind, yes," she said, nodding her head, "but we'll avoid that when we go back for those reports."

"It's not even 9 o'clock yet," Sakura said as more parents brought their unruly kids and took up more tables and chairs around them. "This place makes me queasy. I'd be annoyed if I had to stay so long with a bunch of crazy kids."

At this, Momo deadpanned, saying, "You're still a kid, so it's fine. And you still act like one, too."

"Like turning me into a peach blossom?" Sakura said.

"That's for turning me into a cherry blossom at the office," Momo said, "and you even took off my clothes afterwards."

"Settle down, you two," Ryder said when a waitress arrived and took their orders. Ryder ordered a slice of tiramisu, Momo ordered a slice of mocha cake, and Sakura ordered two slices of strawberry cheesecake. In addition, Ryder ordered a soda, Momo ordered iced green tea, and Sakura ordered orange juice. After the waitress left, Ryder smiled at Sakura. "Someone's got a sweet tooth."

"Trust me, you have no idea," Momo said, smiling at the thought of spilling the dirt on another of Sakura's childhood fixations. "You won't believe the amount I spend on cakes every month. She demolishes them like there's no tomorrow."

"You have one, too," Sakura said.

"Yeah, but it's more in the ice cream variety," she said, thinking of cookies n' cream, mint, chocolate chip, rocky road, etc., till an epiphany struck her. "Ryder, do they serve ice cream cakes here?"

"They have a wide selection," Ryder said, "so I'm sure they do. Ask the waitress when she comes back."

When the waitress came back with their orders, Momo asked her if they served ice cream cakes. The waitress said that they did, as well as root beer floats, so Momo and Ryder and Sakura ordered root beer floats. In addition, Momo ordered a slice of cookies n' cream ice cream cake, Ryder ordered a slice of mud pie ice cream cake, and Sakura ordered a slice of strawberry ice cream cake.