Intertwined Souls

Chapter 27 (part 2)

The next day dragged on as Ann waited for Beth's call. She tried to focus on her work and the preparations for the weekend, but her thoughts kept drifting to Beth.

Finally, late in the afternoon, her phone rang. Ann nearly knocked over her chair in her haste to answer it.

"Hello?" she said, trying to sound calm.

"Hi, Ann." Beth's voice came through. "About today... I can come over in the evening, if that works for you?"

"That's perfect," Ann replied, relief and happiness mingling in her voice. "Thank you, Beth. Really, this means a lot to me."

"It's no problem," Beth said. "I'll see you in the evening, then."

"Yes, see you soon," Ann echoed.

Ann hung up the phone, her heart still racing, but now with a flicker of hope. She leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes for a moment. She had done it; she had reached out and Beth had, albeit hesitantly, accepted her invitation.

The rest of the day was a whirl of activity as Ann prepared for Beth's visit. She cleaned her kitchen, laid out all the utensils she thought they might need, and tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach.

As the clock ticked closer to 7 PM, Ann's anticipation grew. She kept glancing at the clock, then the door, then back to the clock.

Finally, the doorbell rang. Ann took a deep breath and opened the door to find Beth standing there, a cautious smile playing on her lips.

"Hi, Beth. Come in," Ann greeted, stepping aside. "Thank you for coming."

Beth nodded, stepping into the house. "It's no problem," she said, looking around.

"I hope this won't take too much of your evening. I really appreciate you showing me how to make those cookies."

"It's fine," Beth said, setting her bag down and looking at Ann.

"Can I get you something to drink? Water, tea, coffee?" Ann asked, closing the door behind Beth.

"Water would be fine, thanks," Beth replied, her voice soft.

Ann nodded and quickly fetched a glass of water, handing it to Beth, who took a small sip, setting it down on the counter. "So, where do we start?" Beth asked, looking around the kitchen.

Ann smiled, pointing to the ingredients she had already laid out. "Well, I've got everything here, but I might need your expert guidance to turn these into something edible," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Beth cracked a small smile. "Okay, let's see what you've got here," she said, moving closer to the counter.

Before they could start, Ann decided to preheat the oven. However, she fumbled with the dials, accidentally setting the temperature way too high. "Oops, that's not right. We don't want to end up with charcoal, do we?" Ann said, her voice laced with amusement.

Beth laughed, the sound light and unexpected. "At least it would be an unforgettable batch of cookies," she teased.

Ann joined in the laughter, the tension between them easing a bit. "Unforgettable for all the wrong reasons," she chuckled, finally adjusting the oven to the correct temperature.

As they started mixing the ingredients, Ann attempted to crack an egg, but instead of hitting the edge of the bowl, she somehow managed to hit the edge of the counter, sending egg white splashing onto the floor and a bit on Beth's apron.

"I swear I'm usually not this clumsy!" Ann exclaimed, her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment.

Beth couldn't help but laugh again, wiping a smear of egg off her apron. "It's okay, Ann. It's nice to see you're human after all," she said with a laugh.