"Well, I will absolutely look forward to that, sugar," says Charlie, hefting Cadi's weight against her as she pads into the kitchen. During term-time, there's no end of work to be done by a headmistress, not to mention Charlie's teaching load, and she's stealing a break and a cuddle with her little girl while she can.
Looking up from her work, Annie rapidly sucked in her breath at the sight of the sleeping child. She had been a bit noisy just then, utterly on accident.
"Thank you," she said feeling a bit chuffed as she picked up a knife to start cutting out hearts. "Seemed a bit appropriate, for the upcoming holiday and all."
"Do you?" Annie's smile brightened just a bit. There was nothing like a bit of an unasked for complement to boost a girl's confidence. It had been quite a bit of time since she had tried making biscuits all by herself. It was something that required practice which was exactly what this was.
"They're meant to be hearts, because of the holiday and all. They're not perfect, but I think it makes them charming, you know?"
"Tea is always welcome," Annie answered with a smile and a bob of her head. It was nice that so many people here were willing to make coffee and tea for each other. Not that she had ever minded making it, but it had that sort of neighbourlyness that she couldn't help but enjoy.
"And it might. You're here, so I think that helps you get first pick of them once they're done."
"Well then, go right ahead. I love making tea. Even if you don't drink it, it always strikes me as being a bit homey." Twisting slight to look at the girl as she said this, Annie shrugged her shoulders slightly.
They weren't the most artful of hearts, more like slightly cut up circles but it would do well enough. Besides most people weren't going to care how they looked just so long as they tasted good. "You think so? I hope they taste good when finished."
"There are cookies?" Lexie asks as she walks into the kitchen, a fact she probably wouldn't have noticed if not for the announcement that has her looking in the woman's direction. She isn't quite so stressed out as she was a couple of weeks ago, but the fact remains that food is food and cookies are good food, with an appeal that she definitely can't deny. If it means sticking around for a little while longer, that's fine by her. "What kind?"
"There will be cookies." Annie set the rolling pin off to the side and picked up the can that she had cleaned off for this. The best way to go about making hearts seemed to be if she cut them out of circles. They wouldn't be nearly as good as they would be if she had a cutter, but it was better than not at all.
"And sugar. Well, more of a shortbread really and there may or may not be icing but we shall see."
"I think icing sounds like a good idea," Lexie offers, crossing to the fridge and taking out a pitcher of iced tea, carrying it over to the counter a safe distance away from where the cookies are being cut. The last thing she wants to do is ruin a batch of what's sure to be perfectly good cookies when not only has someone already put a lot of work into them, but she's starting to look forward to them, too. "I mean, we have to have the things to make it, right?"
"We do, actually!" Annie nodded enthusiastically as she looked down at the first heart that she had made. It wasn't that bad, to be honest. It looked a bit odd, but she was certain that the edges would soften once it was making. Maybe she would do a batch like this and see how they turned out before mucking about with the execution. That seemed like the best plan. "It's just sugar and butter actually. I think I might throw in a bit of food colouring to make things fun though."
Not the most experienced in the game of love (not in any way that mattered to real relationships, that was), Bryce had yet to realize that Valentine's Day was fast approaching, and stepping into the kitchen at that moment did surprisingly little to jog the correlation. He did, however, appreciate the scene for what it was: someone baking what smelled like a superb batch of cookies on one otherwise dull afternoon. And given the amount of training he'd been doing since the school term had begun, Bryce wasn't the least bit hesitant to take the woman up on her offer.
"The moment they are, I'll be waiting," he laughed, slipping into a stool across the counter. "Those smell fantastic."
Letting out a bit of giggle and blushing despite herself, Annie nodded slightly as she smiled. It was really nothing, a reaction that wasn't exactly in keeping with what he had said. He was simply complementing her unfinished baking.
"Hopefully they'll taste as good. It has been quite a while since I've actually baked proper biscuits." Shrugging slightly she began picking up the cut out hearts and placing them on the sheet. "Fantastic might be a bit strong."
"Given how limited the supply is around here? I'd say you deserve credit just for trying." For the most part, that statement might just apply on a broader scale to just about everyone. Those who kept on, anyway, who didn't let this island get them down. Who didn't forget who they were, like Bryce often worried he was. (Then again, whether he'd ever been anyone at all was just as good a question as any. He had, after all, built a career on his superb capacity for lying and deceit.)
"I hope so, though I don't know if it is something like maths were they just give marks for effort. " With another smile and a bob of her head, Annie finished rolling out the biscuits. They were not as thin as they would have been if they had been sugar but shortbread was meant to be a bit thicker. Picking up the can she started to cut out circles, wondering if there was someone around here who could make proper cutters. That would be nice, not to have to make it up as she went along.
"Taste is more important than looks anyways. At least I think so."
When mention of the Valentine's Day auction had gone up, Sookie had realized, for the first time, that this was the first time she would be spending the holiday as a part of a couple. A working couple. Not just one that was casually dating, not one that was held together out of desperation, but instead a working, established couple, two people who loved one another, and could have taken advantage of the day in full. She doubted that she and Mitchell were going to make a big deal out of it, at the end of the day. It wasn't his style, and she wasn't especially desperate one way or another, but there was a private sort of satisfaction that she could get from it nonetheless.
The sort that had her beaming as she noticed the heart-shaped cookies Annie was working on.
"Oh lord, those smell delicious, though they also look too good to eat," Sookie gushed, leaning into the counter.
With a wide smile, Annie blushed faintly at the complement. She liked Sookie, she really did. It would have been a bit awkward and probably unfair if she didn't given how adorable that she found Sookie and Mitchell. Of course she felt a bit like a fifth wheel in her own hut, but she tried to not think about that. There was no point in dwelling on things that she couldn't change, let alone ones that she wouldn't change.
"Thank you. I just felt that it would be a bit fun." Shrugging slight as she started to cut makeshift hearts out of the dough. "You know, so that even people without proper valentines can have a bit of fun."
Annie was, without a shade of a doubt, one of Sookie's favorite people on the island. One of the wonderful things about being Mitchell's girlfriend was the fact that was automatically closely linked with the rest of his family, gradually welcomed into the household that had once been just three. Although she still couldn't conceive of the hardships each one of them faced back home in full, Sookie was glad that the three of them had one another. (And sometimes, just lurking under her skin was a sort of guilt. She had once believed that Mitchell and Annie would have made an adorable couple, and frankly, she still believed it. But she was just selfish enough, just desperate enough, that she didn't mention it anymore
( ... )
As far as Mitchell’s girlfriends went, Sookie was very first in line. Course Annie hadn’t known very many, but Lucy had turned out a bit sour and Lauren had been full on mad. Maybe it was because Sookie was the first blonde that he had brought home or the bit where she was nice no matter what. Anyways, it didn’t much matter. Thinking about it was just going to drive her up the wall, which was silly.
Gingerly moving the doughy hearts onto the sheet, Annie blushed a bit and tucked her head towards her chin. That was all well and easy for Sookie to say, what with her adorable accent and cute hair, but Annie had never thought much about that. She had gone from boyfriend to boyfriend, some lasting longer than others and always missing the good ones until well after it was too late. “I dunno about that,” she said without any false modesty. “And I don’t think I’m going to do that. I’ve had just about enough of falling into the first guy I meet. My track record is sort of rubbish doing it that way.”
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"Those smell amazing."
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"Thank you," she said feeling a bit chuffed as she picked up a knife to start cutting out hearts. "Seemed a bit appropriate, for the upcoming holiday and all."
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"Oh, yeah, definitely," she says, nodding. "I think they're lovely."
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"They're meant to be hearts, because of the holiday and all. They're not perfect, but I think it makes them charming, you know?"
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"And it might. You're here, so I think that helps you get first pick of them once they're done."
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They weren't the most artful of hearts, more like slightly cut up circles but it would do well enough. Besides most people weren't going to care how they looked just so long as they tasted good. "You think so? I hope they taste good when finished."
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"And sugar. Well, more of a shortbread really and there may or may not be icing but we shall see."
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"The moment they are, I'll be waiting," he laughed, slipping into a stool across the counter. "Those smell fantastic."
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"Hopefully they'll taste as good. It has been quite a while since I've actually baked proper biscuits." Shrugging slightly she began picking up the cut out hearts and placing them on the sheet. "Fantastic might be a bit strong."
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"Taste is more important than looks anyways. At least I think so."
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The sort that had her beaming as she noticed the heart-shaped cookies Annie was working on.
"Oh lord, those smell delicious, though they also look too good to eat," Sookie gushed, leaning into the counter.
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"Thank you. I just felt that it would be a bit fun." Shrugging slight as she started to cut makeshift hearts out of the dough. "You know, so that even people without proper valentines can have a bit of fun."
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Gingerly moving the doughy hearts onto the sheet, Annie blushed a bit and tucked her head towards her chin. That was all well and easy for Sookie to say, what with her adorable accent and cute hair, but Annie had never thought much about that. She had gone from boyfriend to boyfriend, some lasting longer than others and always missing the good ones until well after it was too late. “I dunno about that,” she said without any false modesty. “And I don’t think I’m going to do that. I’ve had just about enough of falling into the first guy I meet. My track record is sort of rubbish doing it that way.”
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