AssassinPsyche's Drabble Book; Mythological Hearts Universe

Stress Bake

Forty year old Molly walked down the hallway holding the hand of her wife who she had been with exchanging rings a beautiful night sixteen years ago, forty two year old Jessica. The two looked at each other before following the scents that made them think of a bakery; cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon, and just the other scents that mixed and became mostly just the smell of 'bakery' not able to really pick out the different items. The two women peeked over and saw the back and mop of electric blue hair of their oldest son. This confused Molly why Easton was baking so much, obviously as the house smelled only how it would smell when they were baking both when the mothers were teaching their children; Easton, thirteen year old Mai, and eight year old Ivan was just starting seriously learning and Shawna was only four so only did things very simple like pouring in already measured out ingredients and such. It is the same as the child that they were looking into adopting and would happen soon enough would be adopted and they would be the last they adopted. Five was enough.

But this normally still didn't happen unless it was around the holidays when their home was the place to be.

Molly didn't understand but Jessica, who always preferred baking and that had been how she had bonded with their teenage son, while Molly had with the stories she grew up hearing that Easton soaked up like a sponge. Jessica had done the same thing many times growing up.

"Oh I see what's going on." Jessica Zwingi said before turning to Molly, who still looked confused by it. She went plucking away at a computer to try to code-to teach herself to code-but Jessica did the same thing her oldest son did, when she was stressed, she baked. She would stress bake. "Liebchen, (Sweetheart,) why don't you go take Mai, Ivan and Shawna to the park?" Mai was just at the age that she was starting to be too old for the park but she, along with all the children, loved their siblings and would happily be with her eight and four year old younger siblings. "I think there will be a lot of treats when they come back, I'll make lunch to."

"Okay amour, (love,)" she whispered kissing Jessica before walking away and Jessica made her way into the kitchen. She was able to look around and hummed seeing what was made already; braided bread was in a bag that they had since Jessica loved to make sourdough bread since she loved it with soup. There were gingersnaps in the cookie jar and he was mixing something that she saw her index card that was labeled Muffins that she had written.

"What'cha making mein stern? (my star?)" Jessica and Molly had pet names for each child and as Easton adored stars and stargazing so calling him star was obvious. On top of that they called the children baby or baby boy/girl. Easton had taken it on as well, picking to give each person their own pet name.

"Oh, mutti. (mom.)" Easton looked up and Jessica frowned as she realized that Easton must not have taken time off, who knows how long he had taken to drink? Making bread was a long time allowing it to prove, but during the time to prove he probably made something else. Like the lemon bars that she now realized were on the cooling rack. "I'm make muffins." He explained and she just raised an eyebrow looking pointedly at the bread, cookies and cooling lemon bars.

"You wanna talk about it, barli? (little bear?)" She sighed as he shook his head, something had happened, she knew that it was, but she wouldn't push. Not right now. "Okay, well, didn't you read the recipe?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked and she shook her head flipping the index card from the 'Directions' side to the 'Ingredients' side. On the bottom of the list of ingredients by a star was the note 'bland without flavoring'.

"I didn't know what flavoring is." Easton said looking at the '2 cups flavoring' of the recipe.

"Oh Easton," Jessica shook her head before patting his hand. "It means something in the muffins; blueberries, chocolate chips, something." She explained grabbing a pen by the fridge-where they had the notepad with the magnet back where they kept a going shopping list on the fridge-and used that pen to hold her hair up in a bun. "Mind if I help? I think we have some strawberries left, enough to make strawberry muffins. We used the blueberries to make pancakes."

"Oh, sure mutti, you mind chopping the strawberries?" He asked and she nodded. It was not till they were working together to fill the cupcake tray, the recipe would make at least two dozen muffins, usually more to being closer to two and a half dozen.

"So how was your day?" She looked up as Easton made a noncommittal sound and she looked up at him, "Easton?"

"Mrs. Blanche failed me today." He said looking down and Jessica sighed looking at him.

"Did you deserve it?"

"I...I forgot to do my homework."

"How many assignments?"

"Just the one! I swear mutti, (mom,) it was just Thursday nights. Mama was sick..." Jessica frowned as she remembered when Molly had been sick vomiting and chills while she had a fever, twenty four hour flu.

"Oh mein stern (my star) we both appreciate you helping, you are such a good boy." She kissed his forehead. "She should have given you an extra day, family being sick is something but homework is only twenty percent and you have homework from her at least once a week. That is a minimum of 71% for homework, you'll get a high B or low A at the least." She promised him and Easton calmed down, it was good to have a teacher for a mom sometimes, the fourth grade teacher was used to doing grades and knew how to do quick math in her head.

"I guess you're right," he finally agreed and Jessica nodded.

"You know that Mama and I have always told you how important education is," that was true, Easton remembered being told many times before that the only thing in this entire life that no one could take from you was your education and knowledge. His mutti (mom) had been told this by her mom, and she had been told by her father who had been told by his uncle. Who knows who told him, or if he had learned that for himself.

"Yes. No one can take it from us." He had thought of it and it was true, even life could not be guaranteed; Death came for them all.

"But it is not something to freak so badly off of. I know you take it hard when you get a bad grade, baby, but it is far from the end of the world." She promised kissing his forehead and he hugged her, ignoring the flour that he had on his cotton candy pink and blue plaid short sleeved shirt.

"Danke mutti. (Thank you mom.)"