How Sweet It Is (31 page)
“Did you ever get the rabbit?”
Mischievously, she smiles. “I did. I named her Huckleberry Finn, even though she was female. To everyone’s surprise, those Kinston twins passed fifth-grade math.” After a moment she says, “I learned patience and how good things take time. Ernest says the twins benefited from my teaching. I gave to them, and they gave to me.”
At that, Giovanni pauses from his romping and barks. It is a sweet reaction, and mixes well with the faint scent of my aunt’s perfume.
From her truck, Regena Lorraine takes a spiral-shaped brown piece of pottery with two large dots on one side. “Here you are, Shug.” She places this object in my hands. “Sorry it took me so long.” Then she opens the passenger door and Giovanni leaps inside. She lowers the window, and his nose twitches with pleasure as his mouth produces a bubble of drool.
“Going to play Clue,” she says to me with a wave. “I hope I win something good tonight. I could use another measuring cup. My glass one broke this morning.”
After the truck edges out of the driveway and starts down the narrow sloping road, I look at what I’ve been given. The dots are eyes, part of a face—the face of a raccoon. The pink lips are faded, as though the bowl has been used and washed many times. So this is the famous raccoon bowl. I wonder what peanut soup tastes like from this silly container. I recall the story Regena Lorraine told me about the raccoons attacking my grandpa as he tried to get into the cabin. My aunt still laughs at the memory. Is that what this bowl is about? Being able to laugh at certain memories? Then eat hot soup from it? I think being able to fully taste all the flavors comes with experiencing all of life. Grabbing it by the reins and feeling it pulsate in your heart, in your mind, and in your hands.
Sometimes truly living comes in the least expected or wanted circumstances. Like having to teach middle-school children. Then, before you know it, you have been transformed and you
want
to be with them, you
want
to reach them.
The rust-colored cabin forms a bold and happy presence on the edge of this mountain. To the right of the driveway, the pile of leaves I raked yesterday is no longer a mound, thanks to my aunt’s mutt. It doesn’t matter. In fact, piles of leaves must be for jumping in—why else would they make such a nice crunching sound? With the raccoon bowl in one hand, I leap into the scattered pile. There is nothing wrong, I tell myself as I lose my balance and land on my bottom, with acting like you’re five again. Smiling into the pale blue sky, I note how the clouds look like creamy vanilla pudding.
There will be plenty of opportunities in the days to come to rake leaves in
my
yard by
my
cabin.
Right now I have cake orders to fill.
And after that, a date to get ready for. Zack and I have been invited to Burger King for dinner and then to McDonald’s for dessert. The kids are all going to meet us there. They claim I need to expand my horizons.
Sometimes that’s just what the recipe calls for.
6 baking potatoes (Yukon Gold potatoes are tasty)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tsp garlic salt
Salt
Pepper
Peel the potatoes. Cut them into wedges 2 inches wide and about 3 inches long. Place the potatoes in a bowl of cold salted water for an hour. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Drain the potatoes and pat with paper towels. Coat them with olive oil. Add the cayenne pepper, garlic salt, and pepper and salt to taste. Spread the mixture on greased baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes and turn the potatoes with a spatula. Bake for 15 more minutes or until light brown and crispy. Serve to any hungry middle-school group or gathering.
Jonas’s Favorite White Velvet Cake
4 large egg whites
1 cup milk
3 tsp vanilla
3 cups sifted white flour
1 ½ cups sugar 1 T plus 1 tsp baking
1 T plus 1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
12 T softened butter
Mix the egg whites, ¼ cup of milk, and vanilla in a small bowl. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and blend on low. Add the softened butter and the rest of the milk. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and continue to beat. Add the egg mixture a little at a time. Mix for 30 seconds after each addition. Pour batter into two greased 9-inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes and then loosen the sides with a metal spatula. Invert onto wire racks to cool completely before frosting with buttercream icing.
1. Have you ever wanted to leave a location and start over? If so, why? Where did you imagine you would go? If you have ever made a big move, did it solve any problems? Did it give you a new perspective?
2. Deena falls into the trap of focusing on outward appearances. Do you have any imperfections you try to hide? Have you ever wished you looked like someone else? Why do you think society places so much emphasis on people’s outward appearance?
3. In an uncomfortable situation, Deena resorts to the familiar. Can you understand her need to make a velvet cake after her first day of teaching? Do you ever feel like you have to prove to yourself you still have what it takes when things don’t go your way? What helps you feel better after a difficult day?
4. How does Deena handle the story of what has happened to Darren? Do you think her reaction is appropriate? Has child abuse impacted your life in any way?
5. Have you ever inherited something, big or small? What was it? Were you surprised to receive it? Did it affect the way you thought about the person who left it to you?
6. What did you think of Jonas? Do you know anyone like him? What was your favorite piece of “Jonas wisdom”?
7. A major theme of this novel is recognizing the need to forgive—and then following through. Have you ever found it difficult to forgive someone? Why are some people easier to forgive than others? Do you ever have trouble forgiving yourself?
8. Grandpa Ernest thought a lot of his granddaughter. Why do you think he left the cabin to Deena? Why did he ask that she teach at The Center? What did Deena learn from Charlotte, Darren, and the rest of the kids? If you were assigned to teach a group of middle-school students, would you welcome or dread the experience?
9. How has Deena’s mother influenced the way Deena has turned out? What do you think Deena’s personality was like before she met Lucas? Is Lucas really to blame for Deena’s problems?
10. What did you think of Regena Lorraine, Marble Gray, and Chef B? What parts did they play in Deena’s recovery?
11. Are Deena and Zack a good match? Do you see a future for them? Do you think Deena will stay in Bryson City?
12. What’s your favorite kind of cake? What are your favorite foods? Do you have any kitchen utensils or other objects you treasure because of how you received them?
To my dear friends at Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church, gratitude is not enough. You have supported
Rain Song
in so many ways, and I know you will do the same for this second novel.
To the great team at Bethany House, to my Cary writers’ group, to my agent, and to all the readers and enthusiasts of
Rain Song
, I am amazed, humbled, and grateful.
To Mom and Dad, thanks for believing in me even when my stories were juvenile.
To the Wisler children—Rachel, Benjamin, and Elizabeth— I’m proud of you, just as you are proud of me.
And to my New York Carl, who has proven that no one should be overlooked as a book consumer, a special thanks for your wisdom, dedication, vanilla lattes, beef stroganoff, and lemon crepes. Clearly, food is the way to a woman’s heart, and you have mine.
Alice J. Wisler
was only eight when she mixed up Japanese seaweed, Rice Krispies, milk, salt, pepper, and sugar in an aluminum tin and baked it for her five-year-old brother, Vince. From then on, her cooking could only improve. When her children were small, she ran a cake business from her home. After the death of her four-year-old son, Daniel, she compiled two cookbooks in his memory—
Slices of Sunlight
and
Down the Cereal Aisle
. After graduating from Eastern Mennonite University with a degree in social work, Alice worked in a group home outside of Philadelphia for emotionally challenged children. She later taught English-as-a-Second Language in a refugee camp in the Philippines and at a church school in her birthland of Japan. At her “Writing the Heartache” workshops, she eagerly shares the value of writing through pain. Alice lives with her three children and one pet beagle in Durham, North Carolina. Visit her Web site at
www.alicewisler.com
.
M
ORE FORM
Alice J. Wisler
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