The Twins' Cake

          Today was my birthday. At work, we mostly joked around and have fun. It was basically an off-day for me. Sadly, at home is a different story. My husband and two bakers usually bake something on my birthday without using a cook book so I tried to put off coming home as long as I could.

          I opened the door cautiously and peered in. Usually, my two bakers would come out of nowhere and scare me. I heard noise coming from the kitchen so I headed there.

          “Mummy!” my children exclaimed and run up to me. I ruffled their hair and smiled at my husband. He mouthed ‘happy birthday’ to me and smiled.

          “Look what we made Mummy.” Alyssa interrupted our moment.

          I looked at her with fake wonder and followed the direction her small hand pointed. I saw the dreaded cake sitting plainly on the counter. Nothing was underneath it making me sigh to myself. I glanced at my husband to see him wearing an amused expression.

          “We made it together and Daddy just watched.” Joel stated proudly.

          He pushed a plastic fork in hand and guided me to the cake. It was circular with purple icing. I sat at the stool next to it and when I looked closer, I saw that it was actually mixed. A lot of red was still on display. There was no crisp visible on the cake and the middle looked a bit soggy and pushed in. I took the fork from my son and stared at the cake in abhorrence and hesitated.

          “Mummy,” Alyssa came up to me with wide, teary eyes, “Do you like it?”

          I took in her sad look and behind her, Joel was fidgeting and looking at the tiled floor. That was enough for me to feel bad about the way I acted.

          “No sweetie, the cake is absolutely pretty. I just didn’t want to mess it up by cutting it up. Let’s just save it for display okay?”

          I thought I had a high chance of not tasting this terrible creation but that thought was tossed out of my head when Alyssa replied.

          “It’s okay Mummy. We can make more.” She responded eagerly.

          I looked back at the cake in distaste but cut piece with the fork. Three pairs of eager eyes were watching me in anticipation. I raised the fork to my mouth and the harsh smell took me by surprise. It still smelt strongly of the batter but the smell of lime took over. Why would my husband let them put lime in the cake?

          I slowly put the cake in my mouth hoping to swallow it down and get it over with. When the cake touched my tongue, I barely registered the happy looks on my children’s face because the taste of lime and essence was sharp in my mouth. It was a bit mushy as well. I smiled and was about to move upstairs when Joel stopped me.

          “Take another piece Mummy.” he pleaded. I was going to decline but he gave me an adorable look and I sighed and turned to the horrid cake again.

          When I broke off another piece, I saw green sticking out so I pulled it out. The green thing turned out to be a leaf.

          “Why is a leaf in this?” I asked after a moment of taking two calming breaths.

          “I learnt that that’s a herb in school today.” Joel beamed at me. “I want you to eat a healthy cake.”

          I looked at my husband in shock and he was snickering behind his sleeve. I took a deep breath and pushed the cake in my mouth. This time, it felt like I was practically eating the batter. I mentally thanked God that I bought new toiletries yesterday. God knows I’m going to need the mouthwash and toothpaste.

          “Oh I forgot.” Alyssa said and pushed a grape in my mouth without warning. “Healthy eating.” she waggled her finger.

          I choked and swallowed quickly. The aftertaste of grape stayed in my mouth. There was also a vinegar taste left. I panted dramatically as if I just ran a marathon. I barely stifled my gag reflex.

          I quickly jumped up from where I’d been sitting.  My husband realized that he should just laugh aloud instead of unsuccessfully trying to hide it. I ran to the fridge and poured myself a glass of concentrated orange juice.

          I stared at my two bakers, my four year old twins.

          “That cake was delicious. Really.”  I vigorously nodded for emphasis. “I think I’m going to give the rest to my friends at work okay? I bet they’ll love it.”

          I walked up to them, placed kisses on each of their foreheads and walked down the corridor straight to the bathroom.