Episode 13

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"Lexa, try this," I offer her a piece of beignet from the new menu I've baked for the café. Finally, it's Saturday, granting me a full holiday after five straight days of lecturing at Oxford University.

"What's this?" She takes a bite, chewing thoughtfully. "It's a beignet. Remember the Disney cartoon 'The Princess and the Frog'?" I pause, grinning. "Yep, they're from that movie," I add. "The taste is good," Lexa gives me an approving thumbs-up. I let out a sigh in relief and said "I've been trying to perfect this for months. Finally nailed it. So, shall we add it to the new menu?" I ask Lexa softly.

"Why not?" Lexa responds swiftly. "Dan! Grab the board and add something about the Beignet," she calls out to Dan who was emerging from the storage with curious about the new menu. "Here, Dan!" I also offer him a piece of beignet. "Try it, you'll love it," I wink and say. As soon as he takes a bite, his eyes widen in amazement. "Wow! This is incredible," he says with a full mouth.

"This is going to be popular. I need to get ready to announce it," he quickly disappears out of the café to add the new menu to the board.  While Lexa and I preparing at the counter by arranging small cakes, sandwiches, and cookies in the showcase before opening the shop.

"You should start baking now, Jenni," Lexa suggests as she walks to the door and flips the sign from closed to open. I give her nods and tie my apron back on to start baking the beignets. Before I head into the bakery room, Lexa calls out.

"How long will it take?" she asks. I tilt my head in thought. "Maybe just a few minutes," I say as I tie a handkerchief over my head by covering my hair. "Just make a double dozen, Jen," while she gives me a nod in acknowledge and switches on the lights.

"Got it," I call out and enter the bakery room. "Can I help you?" Adie follows me into the bakery room with her cute small smile. "Sure, Adie," I say, lifting her onto the kitchen counter while I start to make a mixture by mixing flour, sugar, salt, and egg yolk in a large bowl. After the mixture becomes creamy, I playfully dab some on Adie's nose by eliciting giggles.

"Jenni!" she giggles. Then, I put her back down before heating up the stove to fry the mixture. I add butter oil to the pan and place it on the stove. It takes nearly 15 minutes to finish a dozen beignets. Before placing them on the showcase plate, I add some toppings to making them look even more delicious. Not only am I admiring the beignets, but Adie is also staring at them with excitement in her eyes.

"Would you like one too?" I ask her with a smile. She eagerly nods with smiles.

"Sure, I'll give you one in the next dozen, okay?" I give her a gentle pat on the head before heading out to the café to display them.

Beignets :

"Lexa! They're ready," I called out to Lexa, who was bustling around taking orders from customers

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"Lexa! They're ready," I called out to Lexa, who was bustling around taking orders from customers.

"Thanks, Jenni. Just leave them there," she swiftly replied, giving me a wink before refocusing on the customers. I quickly made my way back to the bakery room to prepare another dozen.

"Can I help mix the ingredients?" Adie asked, looking up at me with pleading eyes while I was preparing for next dozen.

"Do you want to help?" I asked with a soft smile, meeting her gaze. She nodded eagerly in response.

"Alright, let's...," I paused, scanning the bakery room until I spotted a chair tucked in the corner. I swiftly pulled it near the kitchen counter and lifted Adie onto it so she could see and assist me. As usual, I gathered flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and egg yolk into a large bowl to create the mixture.

"Okay, now you have to stir it carefully and smoothly until it becomes creamy, okay?" I instructed her gently.

"Okay, Jenni," she replied with a huge smile and starting to stir. I offered my support by guiding her small arms. About 15 minutes later, I emerged from the bakery room with another dozen beignets to display. There is only five remained from the previous batch. A small sense of pride washed over me before I returned to the bakery room.

"Do they taste good?" I asked Adie, who was enjoying my homemade beignets with a mouthful.

"They're amazing, Jenni," she replied enthusiastically while sipping her cold milk.

"Thank you for enjoying them," I said with a smile and taking a sip of my coffee. As we both savored our treats, Lexa swung open the bakery door and entered, catching us off guard with her sudden appearance. We both turned to her with confused expressions.

"Do you need something, Lexa?" I inquired. Without a word, she stared at me while holding two display plates.

"Is everything okay, Lexa?" I asked, growing concerned as she remained silent by  putting her head down.

"Oh, Jenni, what have you done," she murmured, causing my heart to sink.

"What happened?" I asked in shocked. She shook her head and looked up at me. But this time  her face breaking into a smile.

"Your beignets... they're a hit. Customers love them," she exclaimed, jumping with joy. I gasped in disbelief before joining her in excitement.

"So, you need to make more dozens," Lexa said, lightly holding my arm.

"You got it, Lexa," I replied, giving her a playful wink and a blown kiss before she disappeared into the cafe. 

I turned to Adie with huge smile.

"We did it, Adie!" I cheered, rushing over to her and lifting her into my arms, spinning around in celebration. She chuckled in response, pressing her cheek against mine as she hugged me from my shoulder.

"Well done, my pretty Jenni," she said in her sweet voice while her cheek against mine.

"Thanks for your help too, my little Adie," I replied, nuzzling her cheek with a giggle. We shared a moment of contentment, smiling at each other before I began preparing another batch of beignets.


Yeah,...this is my family, this is my home. This is my Roman Empire.





Home was us ...Adie
Just the two of Us...



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