Milli’s First Cake bonus
chapterette
Little Milli Vanilli waved at her new friends as she got off
the bus then went up the long white stone path to the Haywood mansion. Stepsister
Marni had gone to dance class and so Milli rode the bus alone on the early
release day. She let herself in with the key she had never needed to use.
Milli stood in the foyer and called out timidly, “Hello?”
The maid was gone for the day. The house felt oddly empty
and overwhelming. She walked through the mansion and up the grand staircase to
put her backpack on her desk in her bedroom. She hung her coat and looked at
the clock. It would be at least two hours before anyone else came. She had
never been alone in the Haywood’s home...
My home, Milli
corrected herself. Mommy Emily said this is my home now.
Her bedroom was bigger than the whole apartment she had
lived in with her biological mother Diva and little brother Duran. Milli’s tears
came unbidden as she thought about the day she took her brother and tried to
flee from their mother’s abuse.
Duran’s crying was
getting louder. He was so hot and kept pushing away his bottle and pulling at
his ear. She didn’t know what to do. Milli tried to shush him then she heard
the sound she feared most.
“Shut up, you
worthless brat!” Diva shrieked as she staggered into the room.
Their mother still had
blood running down her arm from shooting up. She yanked the toddler from his
tiny sister’s arms and began shaking him violently, making him scream louder
and struggle.
“Mommy, stop! Mommy,
please stop,” Milli begged pulling at her mother’s arm but she wasn’t big
enough.
Diva didn’t even seem
to notice Milli hanging from her arm. There was a sickeningly loud pop and
Duran stopped screaming. He just hung limply and made a weird gurgling noise.
Panicking, Milli bit her mother on the arm.
“You bit me, biyatch!”
Diva dropped Duran and snatched Milli up by both arms, twisting them until
Milli screamed.
“How dare you bite
Mommy, you ungrateful brat!” Diva screeched.
“I’m... I’m...” Milli
stammered between sobs. “S-s-s...”
Diva’s milky jade eyes
wild and wide as her beautiful face twisted into something evil. “Say you’re
sorry and you love Mommy, or you’re a bad girl.”
“I love you, Mommy...
I’m sorry... I love you, Mommy... I’m sorry...” Milli chanted the demanded
words and cried as Diva continued to twist her arms. Then Diva threw her on the floor next to her baby
brother.
“You better love me,
you worthless slut. You’re as useless as Roxie and I’ll kill you to if you
don’t be a good girl. Are you going to be a good girl, Milli Vanilli?”
“Yes, Mommy... I’m
sorry, Mommy... I love you, Mommy... I’m
good girl...” Milli sobbed with her voice cracking. Her wrists hurt so
much, worse than they ever had.
As Diva staggered
toward the bedroom, Milli tried to make her hands work to pick up her brother.
“Duran... Duran, look
at sissy.” Milli begged in pained whispers.
His eyes were vacant,
like Roxie’s eyes had been after their mother killed her. Desperate for help,
Milli managed to get her arms around Duran
and stood up. She bit the latch on the screendoor to open it and pushed the
door hard with her foot when it squeak.
Diva yelled after her, “Where do ya think
you’re going?!?!”
Milli struggled to
carry her brother across the yard while Diva staggered after her, shrieking
like a monster from a nightmare. As Milli ran across the street, she tripped on
Duran’s foot and they tumbled to the burning pavement. Tires squealed louder
than her mother. The car horn blared loudly so Milli closed her eyes, waiting
to be squished like the neighbor’s cat...
But she wasn’t squished that afternoon. Panicking, Milli sat
on her bed weeping because she was alone and couldn’t stop the memories of the
nightmare her life had been before that day. That day Duran had died and left
Milli alone in the world except for their murderous mother. That day Dr. Emily changed
her life and fought Diva for her. Hearing the clock downstairs chime, Milli
hurried to the kitchen, hoping it was the backdoor bell, but no one was there.
“Hello!” Milli cried out, panting in panic. Only the echo of
her fear answered in the giant empty silence of alone.
Milli rushed into the pantry and slammed closed the door.
The small space was the same size as the walk-in closet that had been her
bedroom for most of her life. It felt safe. The light turned on automatically as
Milli sat on the floor staring up at the fancy fixture with tears running down
her face. A minute passed, then another,
then many more. She heard the clock chiming the quarter hour in the foyer while
Milli looked from shelf to shelf. She had never seen so much food in one place
except at the corner bodega or the food pantry. Twice a month until her death,
Roxie had taken Milli to help carry home the charity that had kept them alive
while their mother sold her food stamps for drugs.
She remembered Roxie cooking for her and teaching her how to
make macaroni and cheese or Ramen in the microwave, but Milli was a lot older
now. Three years older. Eight years old,
almost a grown up. Thinking of Roxie’s courage, Milli stood up and began
touching the boxes and cans and jars. So many kinds of food, more kinds than
she ever imagined existed. She wondered what it all tasted like. Milli decided
she should cook something for dinner since the maid was gone, then she
remembered her new Daddy, Charles would bring home Italian food from the place
with the flaming bananas and ice cream that Marnianne liked so much. Milli
liked the chocolate cake Emily had shared with her more than the bananas and
ice cream but she ate it because it was Marni’s favorite and her new sister
tried so hard to share everything she loved with Milli, just like Mommy Emily
did.
Pulling down a box with a picture of chocolate cake on it,
Milli looked at the directions. It seemed simple enough; just add water, oil,
and eggs, then bake. Reaching up to turn the knob, Milli decided to be brave.
She would bake a cake instead of hiding in the pantry. Mommy Emily and Daddy
Charles would be so proud of her for overcoming her panic attack on her own
today. Looking around, Milli began getting the things she needed out of the
cupboards and refrigerator, then spent several minutes trying to figure out
which knob turned on the oven.
~~~~~
Dr. Charles Haywood sped home through the early rush hour
traffic of Las Vegas. He scowled at the light, willing it to change as he was
forced to stop. Their adopted daughter, Milli, was home alone, she had been
home alone for over an hour. Something he and Emily had promised she would
never be until she was comfortable in their home. Milli had acute PTSD-related
anxiety attacks and so many phobias, the result of severe abuse by her violent,
drug addicted biological mother, but the child had shown amazing courage when
she testified against the woman who birthed her.
The trial convicted Diva Divina Velvet of murdering her
other children and her husband. Milli had been lucky to survive the sociopathic
woman. He uncharacteristically honked at the slow car in front of him, worried
for Milli home all alone. The maid was off, and both doctors had forgotten
about the early release from school today. Marnianne had ridden with a friend
to dance class then called to ask if she could take Milli some ice cream after
ballet. Realizing their error, Charles canceled his last two appointments and rushed home. He parked in the
garage and went into the rear foyer before the garage door closed. Inhaling to
call out to Milli, he smelled something... off.
It smelled sweet like cake but also bitter like burnt
pancakes. He could hear Milli singing in the kitchen to deafeningly loud music.
Peeking in around the corner, he was shocked to see his adopted daughter
covered from head to toe in flour. The smoke detector was beeping in time with
the music as the oven smoked. Kneeling on one of the white barstools, now
smeared with something brown, Milli was staring at her tablet then back at
something lumpy and melted-looking . He realized she was making frosting
flowers to go what he guessed was a cake? Maybe?
He closed to oven and tapped on the alarm panel to silence
the alarm then he typed in a code to cancel the alert before the fire
department came and turned the radio down. “Milli, little angel, what are you
doing?”
Milli blinked rapidly, looking distressed at the huge mess.
“I... I...”
“It’s okay, don’t be upset. What did you make?” Charles
asked gently.
“I made a cake but... but... it isn’t finished.” Milli’s
chin trembled. “I wanted to make it pretty for Mommy Emily and Marni.” The cake
was obviously still warm because the frosting ‘roses’ were melting.
“Oh... well... good job. You finish up and I’ll tidy the
kitchen,” Charles offered.
Milli grinned and bounced on her knees, excitedly. “Do you
want a taste? I trimmed the cake like the video showed.”
“Yes please.” Charles dutifully opened his mouth and
accepted some almost burnt and yet partly raw cake trimmings with a smear of
melted frosting. The warm, undercooked cake was disconcertingly crunchy beyond
the partly charred part and Charles coughed as he swallowed because it taste so
wrong. Then he got a drink of water.
“You don’t like it?” Milli stared at him with large
devastated jade eyes.
He couldn’t bear to tell the eight-year-old the truth, so he
lied, like a good dad. “Oh, it’s wonderful. I missed lunch and am so hungry, I
didn’t chew it enough before I swallowed. Why don’t you clean up and we’ll pick
up dinner before Mommy and Marni get home?” He tapped her nose affectionately,
“You have flour on your face.”
Milli nodded rapidly sending her dark curls bouncing. “I had
to oil and flour the pans. It was so hard but fun too. I love baking!”
“I know, and the cake
didn’t stick so you did a good job. Now, upstairs with you.” Charles praised
her then sent her off to change.
He looked at the cake mix box, then realized he didn’t see
any eggshells. Picking at the cake trimmings, he found several bits of
eggshells. He carefully pushed a knife into the center and created a small
hole. It oozed raw batter. Charles rubbed his forehead and called Emily as he wiped
the counter around Milli’s attempt to make dessert.
“Hello love...”
“Milli?”
“Milli is fine. When I got home, she was baking a cake for
dessert tonight,” Charles explained.
“She what?” Emily
sounded startled.
“She baked a cake from a box mix we had in the pantry. It
expired two years ago,” Charles revealed as he tossed the box in the trash.
“She put the eggs in it shell and all and I think she used your garlic and
olive salad oil or that’s what it tastes like,” Charles groaned as Emily burst
out laughing.
“She tried, that sweet
angel.” Emily insisted.
“Yes, she did but the cake... I can’t let any of you eat it.
It’s horrible,“ Charles bemoaned, he didn’t know Milli was standing outside the
kitchen door in the hall.
Little ears eavesdropped as tears gathered in her pale jade
eyes. Milli couldn’t hear was her adoptive mother was saying but her new dad
hated her cake and lied to her about it. He wasn’t proud of her, she had made a
mess, and he was telling Emily. Milli wished she could hear what Emily was saying
but she couldn’t. So, she sat on the cool marble floor with her heart starting
to break. Then Charles said something that made Milli listen closer.
“No, Emi, I can’t just tell her the cake is bad. She worked
so hard and even looked up how to make frosting and frosting flowers online...
Oh love... Milli is such a sweet little angel and I am so glad we adopted her...
I’m sorry, but I have to get rid of the cake or it will poison us all... She will
be upset when you get home,” Charles revealed to his wife.
“Milli is very smart
and practical... Drop it while putting it in the refrigerator, beg her forgiveness,
and then offer to help her make another one. I’ll make sure Marnianne and I are
late picking up dinner so she can still surprise us,” Emily insisted then
added, “I have to go, my next patient is
here. I love you, Charles, take care of her.”
“Good idea... I love you and I will.” Charles hung up then
looked at the lopsided, burnt and raw mess with its melted, separating
buttercream frosting. He sighed and muttered, “Forgive me, Milli.” Then he
picked up the cake and dropped it on the floor in front of the refrigerator. The
plate shattered as the still raw center splattered.
Hearing the crash, Milli jumped up and ran into the kitchen,
“Oh, my cake!” Tears still glistened on her cheeks.
“Mind the glass,” he stopped her before she could come too
far. Kneeling, Charles looked at her with true regret as he lied about the
accident. “I’m so sorry, Milli. I was going to put it in the refrigerator until
dinner. I dropped it, please forgive me.”
Hugging his neck, Milli nodded. “It’s okay, Daddy Charles.” She
knew he dropped it on purpose, but she believed his apology.
Standing up with her in his arms, he looked at her clean
face and clothes then carried her to the kitchen door and. “Go get your jacket
on while I clean up the mess and we’ll get stuff for another cake from the
store and bake it before Mommy and Marni come home. Quick like a bunny, hurry.”
He set her feet on the hallway marble. She ran up to her
room, grabbed her coat and came back. Pulling his hand, toward the garage,
“Hurry, Daddy. We can clean up while the new cake bakes.”
In the car, as Charles drove them to the grocery, Milli’s
eyes filled with tears but she blinked them back. Her heart was so full it felt
like it would burst. She had made a terrible, ugly cake, but Charles had eaten
some and lied that he loved it because he loved her. He had risked her being
angry with him because he wanted to protect her from getting sick from her bad
cake. Milli looked out the window and wiped away a tear, not a sad tear, but
the joyful tear of a little girl who finally knew unconditional love from a
parent.
Anemones By M.M. Ward
#ibooks
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