ManyWriters

I hurried to the hotel on my beat-up electric scooter, eager to tell my wife that our coffee shop was finally about to land its first big order.
As I pushed open the door to the banquet hall, I froze in shock.
A ragdoll cat was rolling around on the cake I had stayed up all night to make.
My wife walked over, stepping on cake crumbs strewn across the floor. Without even glancing at me, she fastened a platinum collar around the cat's neck, then moved close to adjust that man's tie.
I looked down at my flour-covered work uniform, then at the cheap plastic pendant hanging from my daughter's neck.
So this was the "high-end market" she had been talking about. It was never about our coffee shop.
Ten years of marriage, shattered at a pet party.

The Aftertaste is Not Gone

The screen shows Melody gently grooming Tangerine.


Sunlight filters through the curtains, gilding them with a golden edge, as if we've returned to the time when Orange was still with us.


"Look, their posture is exactly the same as Orange's used to be," Meadow says, pulling out an old photograph for comparison.


I smile and pat her head. "Yeah, they're both so gentle."


Serenity pokes her head out from the kitchen. "Meadow, come check out this coffee mousse cake!"


"Wow! It's beautiful!" Meadow exclaims as she runs over. "Mom, your skills have improved again!"


Indeed, Meadow now naturally calls her 'mom'.


This hard-earned familial bond is something we all cherish dearly.


The cake is adorned with our special coffee latte art, which Serenity learned bit by bit.


From her initial fumbling attempts to her current mastery, she's put in an effort that's hard for most people to imagine.


Chapter 10