VI: Velvet Cake

"Oh you munchkin. You came to visit mama didn't ya?" Angela's grandmother, Mila, hugged her as she opened up her door and found the child standing outside with a man behind her. She led the two inside. "New bodyguard, sweetheart?" Mila asked as she sat Angela down on the two sitter couch and still saw the bodyguard standing beside the two sitter couch. "Oh dear, sit down, common?" She walked to him and led the clueless man to sit beside Angela and the latter couldn't help but laugh. 

Her grandmother was the warmest person alive. She was sixty five years of age, but she looked forty. She always said her genes were strong. "Did you have breakfast before coming, darling?" It was still bright in the morning, the hour of eleven. "Let me quickly bake your signature cake for ya." Mila chuckled and Angela joined her. 

"I had breakfast before coming, Nana, but we can still bake the cake later. I love your velvet cake, Nana." Angela told her and glanced to her right, the man seated beside her was staring at her and she turned her gaze back to her Nana with a light blush forming on her face. 

"Oh dear." Mila chuckled at the exchange that went on between the two just now. "How have you been, dear? How is Henry?" Mila was seated on the couch on the other side where she could see the lady and her bodyguard. She lived in an average duplex. It was nicely painted and fully furnished. 

"Father is fine. Bringing suitors for me as usual, but I don't like any of them." She twitched her lips and watched her Nana nod. 

"Still? You haven't found the one you like?" She asked and Angela shook her head. "I must say, your elf bodyguard is very handsome." Mila squealed like a young woman and Angela widened her eyes. She looked at Zayden, who's expression was very impassive as though he wasn't the one a grandmother just called handsome. "I always knew elves were handsome. Look at his glowing skin." 

"Nana stop." Angela rubbed her temples. Of course, his caramel skin glowed, most especially under the sun. He was a really handsome man. 

Mila chuckled at Angela's expression. "Oh munchkin, I'm only saying the truth."

Angela shook her head with a smile, her gaze on her grandmother. "What of papa?" 

"He went to the shop. He should be back by," Mila's eyes went to the wallclock hung on the wall, atop the two sitter couch, "Probably by the hour of one. He's old, yet he doesn't want to stop that stressful work." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Did you have breakfast, dear?"

Angela was about to answer when she realised her Nana's gaze wasn't on her but on the man beside her. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen him having breakfast. 

"Yes, ma." The 'ma' sounded very funny that Angela and her grandmother burst out laughing. Zayden only blinked his eyes, wondering what was funny. 

"Oh sweetie, you can call me Mila, or Nana, like Angela does." Mila told him with a smile. Angela had gotten her grandmother's exact physiques, though her mother also looked like that. 

"Nana, doesn't like being addressed formally. She'd think she's too old." Angela told Zayden with a wide smile. She didn't feel like she was talking to a bodyguard, she felt like she was talking to a friend and she wiped the thought away, immediately. 

"Yes," Zayden struggled to find the right one. Nana would look too close and informal while Mila... Well, he did address a few oldies with their first name. "Yes Mila." Mila smiled.

"Alright then, sweeties. Let's enter the kitchen and bake some cakes!" Mila got up and pulled Angela up too, looking at the man who didn't stand up. "You too, of course." She told Zayden and he blinked before he stood up as well.

The pair of three entered inside the kitchen. Zayden stood by the side, offering help the two women needed. Angela and Mila readied the ingredients; two cups of flour, a cup of granulated sugar, two teaspoons of baking powder, a teaspoon of salt, half cup of unsalted softened butter, two teaspoons of beet red food colouring, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and finally, a cup of buttermilk.

"Okay!" Mila breathed out. "We've readied all the ingredients, time to bake, sweeties." She went to the coat hanger present in the kitchen and retrieved out two aprons, only two aprons were hung on it. "Hm..." She pursed her lips and gave one to Angela and the other to Zayden. 

Zayden looked at the piece of material, she didn't think he was going to bake with them, did she? "You wear it, Mila. I don't need it." He said in the calmest voice possible. 

"Oh you silly man," Mila chuckled. "Of course, you do. You are going to bake with Angela." Even Angela was surprised at Mila's words. "I'm just going to direct you two on how to do it."

"Ah..." Angela bit her lips and turned to Zayden, but seeing as he didn't have any problems with it and only put on his apron, she turned back to her Nana. "Let's start then. What should we do first?" Angela had never baked cake, personally, she had only offered helped to her grandmother. 

"Get the bowl," Zayden got the bowl and placed on the kitchen island where the other instruments and ingredients for baking the velvet cake were placed, "Munchkin, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt." Angela did exactly as told. She poured in the ingredients into the bowl and whisked it, both Nana and Zayden staring at her hand movement. "You, son. Get another larger bowl." Zayden went back to the bowl rack and got another bowl. A bigger one than he had previously brought. "Cream the butter." Angela hand's were still busy working on the other bowl, so Zayden did it. He had baked with his mother so he knew how to cream the butter. After making sure it was light and fluffy, he added one egg at a time and whisked with another whisk.