six_word_stories | (no subject)

The small kid hinted an innocent smile as she looked up at her.

"May I please try some?"

She didn't think this was one of the usual band of ragamuffins that hung around the shop to get the day's seconds, basically any goods that couldn't go in the case due to being overcooked or having fallen flat or just baking unevenly. They weren't pretty, they wouldn't sell, but they were still good, and giving them to the children was something Jacob had been doing long before she'd started working there.

In any case, she smiled back, "Of course you can." She cut a generous slice off of the loaf behind the counter -the oven had been too hot when it went in, leaving the top hard and cracked, though the rest of it was still fine- before wrapping it loosely in a napkin and handing it over.

"Thank you very much!" Let it never be said that she wasn't polite. She took a bite of it, made a small sound as she chewed it, and then took a bigger bite, the softer insides more exposed. Her smile was wide, when she swallowed again and looked up.

"This is really good," she said. "This is even better than what momma made yesterday!"

She brought it back up to have another bite, but then realized what she'd said. Her eyes went wide. "Oh! Oh, don't tell momma I said that? I didn't mean hers was bad... we just left it in the oven way too long, and...."

She couldn't help but laugh at that, a soft giggle, shaking her head as her smile went all the wider, "Got all tough and crumbly? Yeah, I've had that happen, too." She shook her head then, "But don't you worry, I won't tell. A little tip between you and me? Definitely pay attention to your timers, and make sure the oven's not too hot. That's what happened with this one, it's why it's crunchy on top."

"Yeah? So... if I make the oven cooler, it'll be even softer?" Those little gears were turning.

"Well, yes and no." Her brow creased a little, she was still getting used to cooking without magic herself, "It does still have to get up to a certain temperature so that you've got cake and not just a bowl of warm batter, and you've got to heat it up enough that anything that would spoil in the heat cooks instead of just going bad."

"Oh." She looked back down at the bread in her hand. "That sounds.... like it might be tricky?"

She nodded, expression gone solemn, "It is, believe me, but it's worth it to learn, if you like cooking or if you like science."

Her grin broke through then, "Because cooking and baking are different, baking's more like science than cooking is, have to understand how things are going to react to each other and all."

It is too early for gingerbread. It's still only September!

"Yeah." She replied, still mixing the batter, "And we've just passed the Equinox, which means it's officially fall, and that means it's time for gingerbread."

She wasn't arguing, not really, just stating facts.