How To Find Your Future

4 - The Favorite Fudge

Olivia

Fridays are the worst days to work.

For multiple reasons. The first being that I have to work from right after school, about noon, all the way to closing. The second is that Nick doesn't work fridays. And the third, which is the worst, is that my mother is there all day. Which means constant nagging about my future, procedure, how I'm greeting our customers and debates about whether or not I need to make more fudge.

I walk in through the back. I'm barely one foot in the door when my mother comes hurtling into the backroom, points at me and says, "I need you up front now!" She runs back out.

I sigh. I never know why I hope to have a good friday.

I throw my bag into the office before heading out to the front. There's a line leading out the door. All the tables are full and people mill around chatting.

"Why's it so busy?" I ask.

My mother grins. "It must be that ad we put up down by the mall."

I try to resist the urge to roll my eyes. My mother is always proud of any promotion she does that gets us huge crowds like this. Me on the other hand? I hate it, because of how busy we get afterwards. "Where's Sasha?" I ask. Normally she's here before me after school on fridays.

"She said she had to stay and do a presentation. Have a good rest of your day!" Mom waves to the customer.

"Will she be here soon?"

"I'm not sure." She looks over her shoulder at me. "Could you start another batch? I'll handle the front."

I don't get a chance to respond before she's greeting the next customer. I turn around and hide back in the kitchen.

Why did she even call me to the front if she didn't need me up there? I open our cupboards and grab out the pots and pans I need. Why can't she hire more help on fridays? Or even have dad stay later in the day? I know he's up at five in the morning baking but still. I take a deep breath. Baking the next batch can calm me down.

I hope.

I separate all my ingredients between three different batches. I'm going to make our chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge and orange fudge. I first start with our regular fudge and melt sugar, marshmallow cream, salt and evaporated milk together. As time goes on I follow the steps I know by heart. It's not like making fudge is hard. That's probably why my parents chose to open a fudge bakery. The melting and forming part only takes about twenty minutes and after that you stick it into the fridge to harden.

As I start the orange fudge the back door flies open.

"Sorry I'm late!"

I turn and find my sister, her brown pixie hair looking more messy than usual. "Thank god you're here now," I say.

She smiles a smug little smile. "Miss me did ya?"

Before I can respond the kitchen door swings open and moms head pokes through. Her hair that had been in a ponytail now seems to be everywhere but the ponytail. "Sasha! Stop talking to your sister and get up here and help me!"

Sasha straightens like she's being yelled at by a military commander. She nods her head. I'm almost surprised she didn't salute our mom. "Coming."

Mom ducks back out to the front. Sasha spins around. "Talk later?"

I nod and focus back on the fudge. I pour the pecans and grate orange peels into the mixture of melted chocolate.

It's not like I'm trying to ignore my sister but when mom's like this on a friday it's better to not engage with either of them. My sister may be in a good mood right now but after a few minutes being out there she'll still turn into a mini mom/boss.