Falling Flat

Lyliana loved to bake. It was her own personal form of stress relief. Whether people at the office got under her skin or the latest in a long line of suitors irritated her, the kitchen was where she would find respite from the aggravation.

She knew the recipe by heart – literally and figuratively. Her father’s favorite chocolate angel food cake was only for times of intense stress, and this was one of those times.

Whipping the egg whites, Lyliana recalled her father. He used a copper bowl, something made in France if she remembered correctly. He said the copper made the egg whites more stable and less likely to unfold or degrade. His meringues were always much better than any others. He had said that when he passed, he would hand the bowl down to her, but it hadn’t happened. She didn’t begrudge her brother the bowl. Theo had taken care of their father for much of the last six months of his life – and he was a great baker in his own right. No, it wasn’t resentment as much as envy when she visited him and saw it hanging in the kitchen he shared with his husband, Erik.

The smell enveloped Finn. He hadn’t even entered the kitchen yet and his salivary glands were flooding his mouth. Eyes closed, he breathed in the rich, decadent scent of chocolate. Licking his lips, he knocked on the backdoor of the small bungalow and waited. No one came.

He knocked again and this time leaned in to listen, to stretch his hearing in hopes of catching a footfall or the sound of a radio. Nothing beyond silence greeted him.

“She may still be upset with you,” he muttered to himself.

“If she is, why is she making chocolate cake?” he wondered aloud. “She knows it’s my favorite.”

Lyliana stood silently on the other side of the door listening to Finn’s conversation with himself. She wrestled with the idea of opening the door and quietly yelling at him for the pain she was feeling, however she knew that it was all on her. Of course, she had made the chocolate cake for him – because of him. And she admitted deep down she had hoped he would come by to apologize, so she had baked the chocolate cake as a way that she could apologize too, while still baking out her frustration.

The fight had been over nothing, really. Another silly argument about surprises. She had mentioned, in what she thought was an offhand way, that she really didn’t want to pick out a present for herself this year. She preferred that he surprise her. He had, of course, come back with his age-old argument that if he did, and she didn’t like it, she would feel like he wasn’t paying attention to her and would be upset. She had countered that she was sure she would love whatever he bought; they had gone back and forth until he left in a huff, and she had cried into her pillow.

Finn stood outside the door trying to decide what to do. The small box in his pocket got heavier by the moment. He hadn’t meant to start an argument the night before; he had been trying to throw Lyliana off track by asking her to help him pick out a birthday present for her. The last thing he had wanted was to frustrate her to the point of practically being kicked out.

The timer on Lyliana’s over chose that moment to go off.

Jumping at the sound, Lyliana quickly reached to the oven and shut it off, certain that Finn had heard it before she did so. Unfortunately for the cake, she bumped against the stove in her rush. She could almost hear the cake fall.

With a sigh, Lyliana opened the oven door and stared at the deflated cake.

“Great, just great,” she muttered. “So much for my apology chocolate cake.”

Trying the doorknob, Finn pushed the door open and stepped across the threshold in time to see the tears forming in Lyliana’s eyes.

He pulled her into a hug and whispered, “it’s okay sweetheart, it’s okay” as he rubbed her back.

Her voice was muffled by his chest, so he stepped back a little.

“What was that, baby?” he asked.

“I’m sorry I got bent out of shape last night,” she sniffed. “And now the cake is ruined and...”

Finn didn’t let her finish the sentence. He tilted her chin up and kissed her.

“It’s alright. I’m the one who should be apologizing,” he said. “It wasn’t very nice of me to insist that you pick out your own birthday present.”

Lyliana sniffled again.

Leading her to the kitchen table, Finn gently pushed her down on to a chair and grabbed the box of tissue off the countertop.

“Here,” he said, holding out the box. “Take one.”

Kneeling down in front of her, he pulled the small box from his pocket and waited for her to wipe her eyes and look at him.

“Lyliana,” he said hesitantly. “Will you marry me?”

She sat there looking between him and the ring, more tears welling up in her eyes.

“Well?” he prompted when she remained silent.

“The cake fell,” she replied.

Finn gave a nervous laugh – “is that a yes or a no?” he asked.

“It’s a…” she began, before nodding and grabbing him for another hug. “It’s a yes, you goose.”

Finn pulled her away from him and kissed her again. “Then I guess we better get that cake out of the oven before it is burnt as well as flat,” he laughed.