Roommates

Chapter 20

Kneading a sticky glob of dough, Aurora smiled in fond reminiscence. She had taught Evangeline how to make her mother's classic sugar cookie dough, and it has turned out to have the exact texture and consistency of her mom's Christmas cookies.

The key was to always add more oil than is suggested. It keeps them soft after baking. They have a pleasant crunch on the outside while melting into your mouth on the inside.

Aurora looked over her shoulder at Evangeline, who was trying to shape a gingerbread man out of a thin layer of dough on the other side of the kitchen. Frustrated, she muttered curse words to herself. Despite her disgruntled mumbles, she had a smile pasted on her face.

"Do you want to listen to some Christmas music?" Aurora teased. Evangeline's quick scowl was response enough. After only a week of near 24/7 holiday tunes at work, Aurora couldn't begin to imagine how Evangeline felt. Jeff had turned on the holiday playlist the day after Thanksgiving, well before Aurora started working there. Evangeline had only been able to turn it off at 5:02, after the store had closed last night. If she never had to hear Mariah Carey's voice again, it would be too soon.

Aurora patted the dough and left it to rise for a few minutes. She came over to observe Evangeline. "Your gingerbread man is missing his head," she commented.

"I'll show you head," Evangeline seethed through tight teeth. She was overwhelmed by the simplest task. She wasn't cut out to be a baker, much less a cookie decorator.

The last time she baked something, the brownies came from a package and she only had to add one other ingredient to the mix before throwing it in the oven. This was a million times more difficult!

Aurora had asked her to make the first batch of dough, and it took her nearly an hour to get everything right. Like a pastry chef, Aurora had done her batch in a matter of minutes.

Rubbing Evangeline's shoulders and giving her a gentle squeeze, Aurora laughed. "If you're not too angry with Mr. Gingerbread, I would suggest making a snowman or two next."

Her playful banter wasn't unwelcome, but it didn't make Evangeline feel any better. She was floundering a child's task. "I'm having a good time, but I think I'm about done with this part. How much dough do we have left?"

"You've only done two gingerbread men." Aurora's blunt tone was paired with a genuine grin. "Here, I'll show you." She tore a chunk of dough off of the massive heap and set it down on a bed of flour. She grabbed Evangeline's rolling pin and smoothed out the cookie dough.

Evangeline watched with impatience, waiting for Aurora's magic touch to blaze through making all of these shapes.

"Two fingers," Aurora instructed, squeezing the top third of the dough with two fingers, forming the head. She then pushed the belly of the ginger bread man in to create the arms. She pressed her thumb into the bottom third to split the dough into two legs. She softened up the edges and picked up the dough boy to set him on the tray. "Like that."

Pouting, Evangeline sighed. "Way to put me out of a job."

"You'll get the hang of it."

Evangeline tried her technique and produced a mangled corpse. She tossed it on the tray and dusted the flour off her hands. "How about I watch you do it? You have magical fingers. I'd like to see what they can do."

Aurora smiled and shook her head at the blatant innuendo. "You're starting to sound like Trey."

"I've been friends with him for way too long," she agreed. She hoisted herself onto the counter behind Aurora and watched over her shoulder. A familiar scene to their second day together.