NOVEL FROG Chapter Twelve
The cat must love cookies. Three batches of cookies later, I was missing over seven cookies across the board. I hadn’t touched one yet. He had gotten several varieties of cookies, each around two batches of twelve. So far, I had baked batches of snickerdoodles, double chocolate chunk, and old-fashioned peanut butter cookies. The peanut-butter ones I put on a cake stack with a glass covering over them.
“Should I make more?” I asked the cat.
“Yes, make a batch of the chocolate brownie ones, and shortbread.”
I blinked at his tone and paused what I was doing.
“Please.”
I gave him a nod then grabbed another baking sheet out of the drawer. Each time I went to grab one, another one sat there, and I was trying hard not to think about it. The same went for the silicon sheets that went on top of the metal pans. The cookie woman had been right, all I needed to do was space the balls of cookie dough out on the pan and pop them in the oven. It was magic.
Well, not magic like the cat’s magic, but magic anyhow. Though maybe baking was magic like the cat’s magic. I sipped my coffee and pulled the tub of cookie dough closer. It had round balls stacked next to each other covered by a layer of parchment paper, then another layer stacked on top of the first. One side I hadn’t touched, and it looked like little cylinders of dough. Per the tag it was a coffee shortbread cookie. The other was a buttery shortbread recipe. I went with the coffee one. I placed each cylinder two inches apart, then the metal tray went into the oven. This cookie took a little longer than the others at twenty minutes.
Next I grabbed the container for the brownie cookies. I did not know what a brownie cookie was. These weren’t balls or cylinders, instead thick batter covered the bottom of the container. It was the only cookie in the container. The direction said to scoop out 1/4 of a cup three inches apart. I shrugged and followed the directions but it made a mess. Chocolate batter got all over the place. The cat chuckled at my antics to get the batter on the pan. “Like you could do better,” I grumbled. If these turned out round, I would be shocked. I flung a finger at the cat sending a glob of the batter his way. He jumped back, and it missed him by a mile. He moved forward and sniffed it before licking it.
“It’s tasty.”
The smell of the coffee shortbread cookies filled the air. Slowly, I brought all the cooled cookies out to the front of the shop. A glass case at one point appeared next to the register, and I slid the metal trays inside. The peanut butter ones in the cake stand I set next to the register.
I checked the time, and we were doing okay. Still had thirty minutes before we would open the shop. “So cat, what is this book signing about?”
The cat said nothing, and I peeked around to find out where he was. My eyes narrowed at the crumbs on the counter. Another cookie was missing from one tray. “Cat, you can’t eat all the cookies!”
He didn’t respond, but I saw a flash of black up on the balcony across the way near all the plants. I rolled my eyes and made another flat white for myself. It had turned out superb earlier, and it went with the cookies pretty well. I must ignore the peanut butter cookies, I thought to myself.
The timer went off in the kitchen and I headed back in to get the next batch out of the oven. They needed to cool a bit before they went into the case. Time was ticking.
#
Okay, I failed. Three peanut butter cookies were gone from the stack and this time I couldn’t blame it on the cat. These cookies were just too good. The cookie chef should rake in millions for her cookies. I made a note to leave a review about how good they were. We had five minutes until the doors opened, though they were already unlocked. The cat was still nowhere to be seen, but I swear he was running around upstairs like he had the zoomies.
The bells on the door rattled, and a woman entered the store. She had on a bright red hat, a trench coat and a big red bag. She smiled as soon as her eyes landed on me. “This is such a cute little bookstore! I can’t believe this is the place.” Before I could reply she was twirling around the shop. “Look at the shelves!”
The shelves were rather nice in the deep wood, with a great finish. The stacks were dust free and filled with many books. I hadn’t had a chance to walk through them yet, though the setup was like when I first took the job.
“I’ll ditch my stuff over by the table then come get a cup of coffee before the masses ascend.” Again, I didn’t need to say a word as she approached the table and set the bag on the chair along with the coat and hat.
“Just so adorable,” she muttered as she approached the counter. “What do you recommend?”
“Today’s special is a hazelnut flat white, it goes great with any of the cookies we have for the signing,” I said.
“Oh, that sounds perfect.” The cat took that moment to jump up onto the counter. The woman jerked back. “You have a cat?!”
“Well, the shop is called Meow…”
She reached out and scratched him behind the ears.
“He has had a case of the zoomies this morning,” I added. I quickly made the drink for her and motioned to the cookies. “Do you want a cookie?”
“Just the drink for now,” she studied the offering. “Can you set aside one of those brownie cookies for me?”
“Sure, I’ll set one under the counter.”
The cat’s voice whispered in my mind. “You don’t need to charge her for any food or cookies. The first cookie will be free to everyone. After that the prices are in the register.”
I set her drink on the counter in one of the nice mugs. It was black with deep red roses on it. The leaves had flecks of gold in them. “Here you go…”
Once she turned away, the cat glared at me. “What are the zoomies?”
I giggled to myself but didn’t answer before the bell rang out as more people entered the store. This time it was three women, all clutching books to their chests. The author quickly made her way over to the table. Two of the women headed in that direction while the other headed to me.
“Welcome to Meow, our special today is a hazelnut flat white. Plus, we have a free cookie for attending the signing.”
“I’d love one of those peanut butter cookies, but can I get an Americano?”
“Sure,” I said as I grabbed a to-go cup to begin her coffee. “So, what’s the book about?” I motioned to the book she had set on the counter. The title was The Singing Waves, and it had gold filigree on the edges with a splash of water and a fish's tail.
She blushed and giggled. “No judgment please, but it’s a very spicy book about Sirens.”
I couldn’t help but lean in, “How spicy?”
“It starts in chapter four and just takes off from there. The main plot is about what happened to this chick at a beach, but she goes through a roll of guys. It is so good!”
I nodded and set her Americano on the counter. “I’ll have to check it out.”
“It’s hot,” she said as she took her coffee. It looked like she might be blushing ever so slightly.
The bells on the door rang again, and another two people entered. I rang up the Americano and before she could scan her card the door was opening yet again. From there, the pandemonium started.