Delicious temptation

It was a regular Thursday evening when Stephanie had attended a colleague's birthday dinner and brought back home some leftovers. One of those leftovers happened to be half of a chocolate cake with a softer-than-air sponge and creamy truffle filling. By the time Stephanie arrived home, her two daughters were getting ready to go to bed to wake up early for a school day. Stephanie placed the cake in the fridge, made some fresh mint tea, and prepared to read a few chapters of a novel. Husband George made sure the younger daughter Nora got tucked in and shut the lights upstairs. George came back downstairs; they reflected on their day and discussed office events.

Stephanie was tired and headed upstairs to get ready for the night. George stayed behind and browsed channels for daily news and for something fun to relax with. Constant ads about chocolate created a sudden urge to snack, and he headed to the pantry. Unsuccessful to find anything that would spark his interest, he opened the fridge. "Oh là là! A chocolate cake.. just what I need!" But in closer examination, he saw a note saying, "Do not touch the cake! This is for Friday evening dinner." George headed back to the couch, a little disappointed but still fully aware of his responsibility to comply with the rules as a grown-up. It took a restless hour and two cups of camomile tea before he decided to give in... How can he go to bed obsessing over that cake!? So very carefully treading, cut a sliver of the edge from the cake to enjoy and placed rest back to the fridge, seemingly untouched.

By early morning, around 6am, Stephanie got downstairs to prepare breakfast for the girls before school. She had a quick meal and brewed some coffee. Every time preparing breakfast and opening the fridge, Stephanie kept eying the cake as well. Recalling its mouth-watering chocolate flavor and rich truffle filling, she became a bit obsessed with the cake. Imagining how well it would match the fresh americano, she hesitated repeatedly and disciplined herself to find distractions. Little eight-year-old Nora arrived in the kitchen demanding a grilled cheese sandwich or pancakes instead of oatmeal with fruits. Stephanie knew how important it is to inject kids with healthy eating habits early on and not spoil their appetite. Fourteen years old Sarah didn't wanna eat anything besides a banana and take some coffee. Soon girls headed to school, and George left as well. Stephanie had an hour before leaving for her first meeting. Distractions had left, and she noticed the cake again. "Well, perhaps just a tiny bite, no one else will notice!"

It was an afternoon, and grandma Grace arrived at the house to watch over the kids while parents would come back. She started preparing fruit salad and snacks. The school bus was supposed to arrive soon, so Grace had to hurry up. She noticed the cake in the fridge but not the note. Long years of dieting had made her vulnerable to such temptations, so she tried to brush it off her mind. Girls arrived. Sarah running upstairs to her room with her fruit salad, and little Nora turned on the tv. Grace decided to make some tea and wait for her other daughter to arrive and help prepare the traditional Friday dinner they had enjoyed with the family. Again.. the cake in the fridge seemed tempting and reminded her of her old days in England when she would have an afternoon tea with some scones or cake selection. She caved and cut a small slice to enjoy with her milky earl grey.

It had passed an hour or two, and Grace had fallen asleep on the couch. Nora was bugging her sister, who showed no interest in getting up from her bed and playing with her sibling. Headed to the fridge to find some strawberry milk, Nora discovered a mysterious box on the top shelf. She used a chair to reach the top shelf and was positively surprised to see a cake. No grown-ups lecturing her; she started digging in the cake until Sarah arrived... "Oh no, you are not supposed to have dessert before dinner!!!" Little Nora got scared for being naughty and ran to her room. Sara staring at the cake, felt sorry for her sister getting in trouble. Trying to fix the appearance of the cake, she reshaped it and had few delicious bites. Putting it back to the fridge, she found the note on the bottom of the refrigerator and reattached it to the box.

Aunt Felicity had arrived to help grandma and her sister with their weekly family dinner. George barbecued, and kids set the table. They cooked and joked, ate and caught up until Stephanie asked her sister to bring out the cake for dessert she had taken home last night. Felicity went to the kitchen to find less than an average slice of chocolate left in the fridge. She figured it must be a joke that six of them are going to have that for dessert. She set it on a small plate and brought it out to the patio. How big was everyone's surprise to see what was left of the cake after each of them just taking a tiny piece to give in to that delicious chocolate temptation...