Happy Pancake (The first pancake)

“Yes!” I screamed as I swiftly jumped into dad’s tired arms. He frowned and smiled at the same time, patting me gently on the back. And though everyone in the hall was clapping, praising us for getting the first prize, I could only hear my own heart beat.

The shock that it gave me when he said our name was unforgettable, and I was so glad what our own hard work had come to. I’ve always believed that hard work would always earn you a place where you wanted. And finally, it was what I could prove to myself.

Getting up to shake hands and exchange a few words with the judges felt incredible too. Never had we thought we would earn this place today. Never-though it was nice. One of the judges who sat in the front row came forward and presented us our trophy. It gleamed into our eyes- it was so perfect. I touched it to see that it was really real. But of course it was. I blushed as he praised us for our work. He smiled at Dad before leaving.

In the corner of my eye, I saw mum crying with joy as she quickly came up to us and gave us a big hug. She laughed and talked, her words becoming a jumble. Everyone was very happy… even Hannie bounced with Joy which only happens when she’s that happy.

We walked up Sunny Hill whilst holding our proudly earned trophy before entering our shop. I placed it at the front in the cabinet for the customers to see. Proudly it stood alone, showing off the quality of the shop. It glowed and reflected in the sunlight like glass.

“Dad, should we celebrate tonight?” I asked him whilst grabbing a high stool to lean against.
“Yeah, sure, why not?” he beamed, “but I have to clean a few dishes first, your mum’s been complaining about the mess we’ve made!”

I laughed when she came in with a confused expression on her face. But you know my mum- she’d always be able to tell when you’ve talked about her behind her back. She just knows. Apparently it’s ‘mother’s instincts’… But I don’t believe in all that… it’s just the way we laugh at her when she looks at us.

“You haven’t bad mouthed me have you?” she said, placing one hand on her hip, and the other, flat on the table before bursting out in giggles.

She’s always like that- my mother. One minute she’s angry at you- the next she’s changed. You can never tell what’s going on at this rate. She came up and hugged me from behind.

“You know- even though you are capable of so much, I still don’t think it’s a good idea for you,” she said with curiosity in her voice. Curious of how I’d respond.

“What?” I asked, not understanding what she meant.
“Working in that dessert industry… I’m not sure if it’s best for you to go in that direction. You’re so young, and yet you should be thinking bigger…instead of just learning about family business…oh my poor baby,” she cried.
“Oh mother!” I exclaimed, “stop that- I’m not nine anymore. I want to do this. I’m not interested in learning physics and becoming an astronomer…nor am I interested in learning about politics and becoming a lawyer. I chose to do this…not you, not dad.”

She sighed in relief.

“Oh, are you sure honey?” she asked looking deeply into my eyes so I could not hide any emotion from her.
“Yes, but I have one condition,” I replied, and her relaxed eyes became pierced once again.
“What is it?” she asked, desperate.
“You guys have to promise to stay by my side, no matter what obstacles I have in the future. Okay?” I said.
“Yes! Sure.” She said, before laughing with relief. I smiled at her, and uneasily looking she did too.

Her shoulders grew on me as she gave me a hug, the queerness in her voice softened.

“So,” she said before giving a hard epic clap, “what should we prepare to eat then?”
“I don’t know…what ingredients do we have left?”
“Well.. I hope we have some flour to make some pancakes,” she said as she started looking in the cupboards.

She fished out half a bag of flour, two eggs, the sugar container, milk and some flour essence and her “special ingredient”. There was just enough to make our award winning pancakes, which unknowingly became the start of everything.