The Cupcake Diaries Collection: Katie and the Cupcake Cure; Mia in the Mix; Emma on Thin Icing; Alexis and the Perfect Recipe (28 page)

Matt burst in, taco pieces spraying out of his full mouth. “Hey! It’s not my fault! The coach changed it last minute, and I called Mom and she said to ask
Emma! I can’t miss that stuff, or I’ll get benched!”

“Matthew, don’t talk with your mouth full. And while you’re at it, get your elbows off the table.” Dad looked irritated. “Is it true that you bagged Jake today?” he asked.

I smirked at Matt and he gave me a dark look. “Yes, but . . .”

“But what if Emma hadn’t come home?” asked Dad.

“Well, obviously I wouldn’t have gone and left Jake. I waited until she got here, anyway,” said Matt.

Dad sighed. “Listen, guys, the logistics of your mom’s new job are tricky, there’s no denying it. Three to nine are hard hours for anyone and I know it puts a lot of responsibility on you guys. But we’re a family. And families chip in and help out and look out for one another.” He looked around the table.

Jake was drooping in his chair. It was past his official bedtime of seven thirty. Matt looked miffed. I tried not to look upset. I missed Mom. It was so much easier when she was here and Matt and I didn’t have to babysit every day. I knew it wasn’t Mom’s fault that she’d been “downsized,” or whatever they called it, from her job at the library. And I knew Mom wasn’t thrilled about working at the bookstore at the mall. Sure, the discounts were
great, but the hours stank and she was on her feet all day for not that much money.

“Here’s the deal. If you can’t babysit on your assigned day,” Dad said, looking at us in that Dad-like way, “then you have to let the other person know as soon as possible. And you owe that person a day. It has to be even. Do you understand?”

We nodded.

“Can I go to bed?” asked Jake.

“Run on up, take off your clothes, and get out your PJs, and I’ll come run your shower in one minute,” said Dad. Jake scraped back his chair and took off.

“Clear your plate!” I called, but Jake was gone. I turned to Matt. “Okay, you owe me, so you have Friday.”

“What? No way!” protested Matt. “I have plans!”

“Me too, and you owe me a day. I can stay with him until five. After that, just take Jake with you,” I said. “That’s what I did.”

“What was all that business about Jake and the ‘doggy,’ anyway?” asked Dad.

Oh no. “Oh, I had to walk the Andersons’ dog, Jenner, and Jake was, uh, going too fast on his scooter, and Jenner, um, stopped him for me,” I said. I really did hate to lie. But it was either that or not
be able to dog walk on the days I had Jake, and I couldn’t afford to lose any jobs.

Dad gave me another look. “Just make sure that Jake is your number one priority when he’s with you, okay?” he said sternly, but not really like he was mad.

I nodded.

“And you, too, buddy,” he said to Matt. “I’m going up to start Jake’s shower and get him to bed. If you can get your dishes in the sink and make a quick plate for Mom, I’ll come back down and clean up, okay?”

Matt smiled a gloating smile that he was off the hook for cleanup. I rolled my eyes at him as we all stood up.

“And kids?”

We looked at him.

“Thanks. Thanks for pitching in. You’re great kids.” He smiled a tired smile and started to leave the kitchen. “I’ll have a chat with Mom when she gets home tonight, and we’ll work out a better schedule, okay?”

We nodded at Dad and then turned and gave each other dirty looks. The battle was over, but not the war.

I
was so busy with school, flute, babysitting Jake, and walking Jenner that the week flew by. Alexis had sent around our cupcake proposals for approval by e-mail, and after reaching a consensus, she had e-mailed them on to our clients (Mia’s mom being one). Friday came quickly, and after a quick pit stop at the grocery store for supplies after school, the Cupcake Club came over for a meeting and to bake up a few samples of a new recipe of Katie’s. The plan was that after we baked we would head downtown for a slice of pizza and the movie.

Alexis called the meeting to order and said that Mia’s mom would like to sample the bacon cupcakes for the groom’s cake before she placed her final order for the wedding cupcakes. Alexis
coughed and shot me a look. “She’ll love it once she tastes it!” I promised.

We agreed to meet next Friday to bake them; Mia would take them home afterward. Next Mia confirmed the timing for the club’s outing to the bridal store the next morning. My stomach turned over as the reality of the dress set in. I hadn’t really paid attention to the e-mails about the plan because I didn’t want to. I still didn’t want to ask Mom for money for it, and I wasn’t sure I was going to have enough from dog walking or cupcake making. Finally, we discussed some leads we had for other jobs. Then it was time to bake.

On the menu today were raspberry swirl cupcakes with a pink cream cheese frosting. I was beating the frosting with a hand mixer, having to pause and rest the mixer on its back while I added ingredients. I couldn’t help fantasizing about the hands-free pink stand mixer. Someday. Soon!

Mia had brought three bridal magazines, and the others were all flipping through them while the cupcakes baked in the oven. Tomorrow we were going to The Special Day bridal shop at the Chamber Street Mall, and Mia wanted us to get some ideas before we went.

“Here’s a really cute one!” declared Katie. I
peered over Katie’s shoulder to see the dress she was pointing at. I looked at the price first. All the prices were a lot more than I thought. I had never really paid attention when I went shopping with Mom before, and lately there hadn’t been much shopping. I couldn’t remember how much a dress was supposed to cost, but the ones in the magazines were a lot of money.

“Ooh! Look at this one!” said Alexis. She handed the magazine across the room to Mia, and I leaned over to see it. It was a white, shin-length dress with a sash. It was beautiful. It was also $350! I gulped and prayed Mia wouldn’t like it.

“Oh, that is pretty!” said Mia. “I love it! But three hundred and fifty dollars! No way!”

Whew,
I thought.
I love my friends.
“That is crazy!”

“That’s business for you, baby,” said Alexis, reaching out her hands to take the magazine back. “They want to suck every possible dollar out of the big day.”

The back door opened and shut with a bang. “Emma!” It was Sam.

Mia, Alexis, and Katie sat up straight and adjusted their outfits and hair, trying to look good for Sam. It was kind of funny and kind of not. “In here!” I called.

Sam walked into the kitchen. “Yum! Did you save any for me?”

Mia flipped her hair. “We will,” she said with a big smile.

“They’re not ready yet,” I said.

Katie and Alexis stopped talking. And for Alexis that was a big deal. She just looked at Sam and smiled. Katie couldn’t even look at him. She stared at her sneakers.

Sam smirked. I think he thought it was cute that all my friends had crushes on him. “Here are your passes for the movie. Have fun!” He slid them across the counter.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Have you seen it?” asked Mia.

“Part of it. It’s killer,” said Sam. “Gotta go!”

The back door opened and slammed closed again.

“He is really cute,” said Katie.

“Totally,” agreed Mia. “And so nice!”

“Depends on the day,” I said. But Sam was pretty nice. Nicer than Matt.

“Such a hard worker . . . ,” said Alexis dreamily, and we all roared with laughter. All Alexis thought about was business.

Katie stood and went to peek in the oven at the cupcakes. “Almost,” she said.

“Don’t overbake them!” warned Alexis, picking up the timer and glancing at it. “Remember our bottom line!”

We’d wasted a whole batch last week because we’d gotten distracted by a reality TV show. We’d had to toss them all and start over; it had been a total waste of money and time.

The phone rang. I checked the caller ID and saw that it was Jenner’s owner, Mrs. Anderson, calling from work.

“Hi, Mrs. Anderson,” I said. Had I done anything wrong? Mentally I reviewed my last visit to the Andersons’. I was sure I’d locked up.

“Hi, honey. Ooh, that caller ID still gives me a start! Anyway, I was wondering if I could ask a favor?”

“Sure,” I said, relieved.

“Any chance you could give Jenner a quick run around the block today? The girls have a birthday party, and I’m going straight from work to meet them there. I totally forgot. The poor guy won’t make it. . . .”

I looked at my watch. I had to meet Jake at the school bus in fifteen minutes. The cupcakes would have to come out in a few minutes, then cool before we frosted them. Then we absolutely had to leave
for pizza by five, when Matt got home. The movie was at 6:20. But Mrs. Anderson depended on me, and I hated to say no. Plus, if I was going to have to buy a bridesmaid’s dress, then I needed the money. I planned it out in my head.

“Hang on just one second while I check something.” I covered the phone. “Would you guys meet Jake’s bus for me while I run over to the Andersons’?”

The others looked surprised but readily agreed. “Jake’s so cute!” said Katie, who didn’t have any siblings of her own.

“Let’s hope so,” I said. Then, returning to the call, I said, “Sure. No problem!”

“Great! I’ll just double up on the money for the next time you come, okay?” asked Mrs. Anderson.

“That’s fine. Don’t worry. Bye!” I hung up and took off my pink apron.

Mia was looking at me strangely.

“What?” I asked. “Mrs. Anderson needs me to walk Jenner. I’ll just be a second. The frosting’s almost ready. It just needs vanilla and one more whip. Then we’ll have to wait until the ’cakes are done to frost them anyway. I’ll be back in no time.”

“Don’t worry! Take your time. It’s no problem.
Really.” Mia stood to assume the role of chief frosting officer. She smiled, but she seemed . . . well, something was wrong. Was Mia annoyed?

I couldn’t think about it long. I had to run. “Okay. Thanks! Be back in less than half an hour. Jake will be here in ten minutes.”

I ran down the block to the Andersons’. Jenner jumped up, happy to see me, and I took him out. It took him forever to do his business (probably because he was off schedule), but he finally did, and then I ran him around the block a couple of times for good exercise.

I miscalculated how long that would all take—it had been about forty-five minutes. I glanced at my watch and ran home. When I got there, I saw Jake’s backpack flung on the driveway and the back door standing open.

“Hello?” I called, entering the house. But there was no reply. Only the smell of very burnt cupcakes. They were sitting on the counter, dark brown as pretzels and just as hard. “Bummer,” I said.

“Guys?” I walked through the downstairs, listening for my friends and little brother. They could hardly be this quiet. I opened the door to the basement rec room. Maybe they were playing video games?

Then I heard a “Hello?” from behind me. It was Matt, just arriving.

I walked back to the kitchen. “Uh . . . are you just getting here?” I asked.

“Yeah, but I’m ten minutes early! Give me a break!” said Matt, bristling. Mom had read him the riot act for ditching Jake on me the other day, and he’d been conscientious about his two turns since then.

“No, no, I’m not annoyed at you. It’s just . . .”

“Where’s Jake?” asked Matt. My heart sank.

“Uh, I’m not sure.”

“Was he here before? I saw his backpack. . . .” Matt headed out to the driveway and I followed him.

“I know, but I had to go walk Jenner . . . so I wasn’t here. . . .”

“What?” exploded Matt. “You mean he came home to an empty house?”

“No, my friends were here. I’m sure they met him. I asked them to, but now I don’t know where they are.”

“You left your friends in charge? Those cupcake girls?” Matt knew that it drove me crazy when he pretended not to know my friends’ names.

“Yes, Alexis, Mia, and Katie,” I said, trying not
to get angry. “They’re very responsible.”

“I’m telling Mom!” gloated Matt. “You shirked your duty!”

“Never mind that,” I said, starting to get a little panicky. “Where did they go?”

“Well, they couldn’t have gotten far. They weren’t driving, were they?” he teased.

I didn’t answer. He thought it was funny, but I knew something could be wrong. “I’ll check the park. Why don’t you go check—”

“I’m not checking anything,” said Matt happily. “This is your problem. I’ll be in here relaxing. Good luck.”

“You’re a jerk,” I said.

I walked quickly to the park, but it still took about five minutes and there was no sign of them there. Where else could they be? The duck pond? I hustled over, but there was no sign of them there either. Oh, why oh why wouldn’t my parents let me have a cell phone? (Well, I knew why: It was expensive. Mom and Dad had taken them back as a cost-saving measure. But it was so worth it! I decided to ask for mine back again when Mom got her old job back.)

Ice cream? Camden’s? Could they have gone that far? But there was no sign. Now I had been searching
for more than twenty minutes, and it was five fifteen. I decided to run home and check to see if they’d returned. By now I realized that my friends would take care of Jake, so nothing bad probably happened. But where were they?