A Pinch of Magic

by Kiki Thorpe

  “These are gigantic!” said Dulcie, flying over to examine a sheet cake pan. She thought for a minute. “They’re perfect!”

  “What’s perfect?” said Mia, who had finally made her way downstairs.

  “Fly with you, Mia,” Dulcie said. “I found these big cake pans. Why don’t we make a couple of sheet cakes? That way we can get the most slices.”

  Mia eyed the long pans nervously. “I guess I was imagining something, well, smaller. I’ve never baked anything but cookies, you know.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll help you,” Dulcie said.

  Mia nodded. “I want your help. But I also want to win fair and square. I have to do the baking.”

  Dulcie agreed. “The best part of baking is seeing your own creation. I’ll stay out of the way.” She settled herself on top of the blender, where she could oversee everything—and call out instructions.

  “First, melt some butter!” Dulcie instructed.

  Mia looked around uncertainly.

  “Stove. Pan. Butter. Go!” Dulcie explained.

  Mia pulled out the butter and a saucepan and got to work.

  “Yes, that’s good, keep stirring. Lovely! Now, take a pastry brush and cover the bottom and the sides of the pans with a thin coating of butter.”

  Mia looked up. “What’s a pastry brush?”

  “No pastry brush?” Dulcie said.

  “I have a new paintbrush I haven’t used yet,” offered Gabby from her perch at the counter.

  “Perfect!” said Dulcie with a sigh of relief.

  After the paintbrush was washed and dried, Mia went to work. Dulcie watched. “Remember, I said a thin coating,” she called out. “That’s much too thick. Here, let me show you.”

  Dulcie flew down to the counter. She grabbed the paintbrush and managed to dip it in the saucepan. But when she hoisted the large brush, heavy with melted butter, over her shoulder, she lost her balance.

  “Oh … oh … oh …,” she cried as she skidded from one end of the slippery surface to the other on her bottom. When she stood up, butter dripped from her dress.

  Mia laughed. “Well, that’s one way to butter a pan.”

  “Ha ha,” said Dulcie. “Keep buttering. Thinly. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Upstairs in the dollhouse, Dulcie opened her little suitcase. She changed her clothes quickly, then flew back to the kitchen. Next, she taught Mia how to measure dry ingredients exactly, by leveling off the top of her measuring cups and spoons with the straight edge of a butter knife.

  “You need to be very precise when you bake,” she informed her.

  Mia laughed. “No need to remind me.”

  Mia began combining the precisely measured dry ingredients in a bowl: flour, baking powder, salt, sugar. “A little more gently,” said Dulcie, as a cloud of flour dust filled the air.

  Mia coughed. “Sorry,” she said, and started creaming the butter and sugar with the mixer.

  Dulcie flew over to admire the hand mixer. “What a marvelous invention!” she said.

  Then Mia unscrewed the top of the vanilla extract. “No, we need almond, not vanilla,” Dulcie said, darting forward. It was so hard to just sit and watch. She wanted to bake!

  But she soon discovered that while she could hold an empty measuring spoon, lifting one filled with liquid was not quite so easy.

  “Whoa … whoa … whoa!” she shouted, trying to balance the heavy spoon.

  Gabby jumped up to help, but she was too late. The spoonful of extract poured onto Dulcie’s head and all over the counter.

  Silently, Mia tore a strip of paper towel and handed it to Dulcie. “See you in a bit,” she called as Dulcie flew back upstairs for a second outfit change.

  “Now for the challenging part,” Dulcie said when she returned.

  Mia wiped her brow. “This all seems pretty challenging to me,” she said.

  “We need to add just the egg whites. They’ll make the batter light and airy. So we’ve got to separate the yolks from the whites,” said Dulcie.

  Mia held up an egg. Dulcie’s eyes went round.

  “Oh my!” she said. “We use hummingbird eggs in Pixie Hollow. I’m glad you’re handling this one.”

  Mia cracked the egg and poured it into her hand, allowing the white to slip through her fingers as instructed. But then the egg yolk broke and seeped into the white. It happened two more times. Dulcie wrung her hands. She didn’t want to run out of eggs!

  “Let’s try it one more time,” she said. “Fourth time’s the charm!”

  Mia’s gaze fell on the utensil holder on the counter. Her eyes lit up and she grabbed a slotted spoon, gently cracking an egg over it. The egg white slipped through the slots into the bowl while the yolk stayed on top of the spoon.

  “That was a good idea, Mia,” said Dulcie. “You’re really catching on.”

  “Thanks.” Mia beamed.

  “Now you need to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form,” explained Dulcie. “Your mixer should make short work of it!”

  Mia turned on the hand mixer. “It’s working!” she said, lifting the beaters to show Dulcie. Unfortunately, she didn’t remember to turn it off first. Dulcie was covered with frothy egg whites.

  “Sorry, Dulcie,” she said.

  “No problem,” said Dulcie, wiping her eyes. She stayed to instruct Mia how to fold the egg whites into the cake mixture. Then she headed back upstairs to change one more time.

  In her dollhouse bedroom, Dulcie looked in her suitcase and discovered that she was out of clean clothes. But then she remembered Rosetta telling her about Mia’s shoe boxes of doll clothes. Dulcie easily found them in Mia’s closet. Inside each box were piles of outfits, perfectly fairy sized. But which one would she choose?

  When Dulcie returned downstairs, Mia was busy pouring the sweet batter into the prepared pans. Dulcie landed beside the toaster and struck a pose.

  “Wow!” Gabby said, clapping.

  “What do you think, Mia?” Dulcie asked.

  Mia turned and burst out laughing. Dulcie was wearing a fringed vest, jean skirt, and boots with spurs. A lasso was wrapped around her waist and a tiny hat sat on her head.

  “What’s so funny?” Dulcie asked.

  “Nothing!” said Mia, stifling a giggle. “You look great in a cowboy hat, Dulcie.”

  Dulcie checked her reflection in the side of the toaster. She straightened her hat. “I do, don’t I?” she said.

  Mia slid the pans into the oven. She set the timer. While the cakes baked, the kitchen filled with the delicious aroma of almonds.

  Mia and Gabby sat down at the kitchen table and played a game of Go Fish as they waited for the cakes to be done. Dulcie flew from one sister’s shoulder to the other’s to check out their hands.

  “If I were you, I would—” she started to say to Gabby.

  “Dulcie, that’s cheating!” Mia protested.

  “Oops!” said Dulcie.

  “Something smells good!” said Mrs. Vasquez as she passed through the kitchen on her way outside.

  Ding! Mia, Dulcie, and Gabby all jumped up, eager to see how Mia’s creation had turned out this time.

  Mia opened the oven door and stepped back from the heat.

  “Grab some oven mitts and slide out the rack,” Dulcie instructed. “Now take a dried pine needle and stick it in the middle of the cake.”

  Mia gave her a look. “I think I’ll try a toothpick,” she said. She grabbed a toothpick from the counter and stuck it into one of the cakes. It came out clean.

  Dulcie declared that the golden-brown cakes were perfect. Mrs. Vasquez came back into the kitchen and took a look.

  “You did this all by yourself, Mia?” she asked in surprise. “I am so impressed! I had no idea we had such a talented baker in the family.” She fanned herself. “It’s hot in here, isn’t it? How about I turn on the sprinkler in the backyard? You two could put on your suits and cool off.”

  She didn’t need to ask twice. Mia and Gabby went to their rooms an
d changed into their swimsuits. As they ran through the sprinklers, Dulcie the Cowgirl watched from a nearby tree branch. Her eyes wandered around the yard.

  Something was bothering her about the cakes. It felt as if something was missing.

  Mia ran over, her hair soaked. “So I think we should make the raspberry filling today and then frost the cakes first thing in the morning,” she said.

  “All right,” said Dulcie absentmindedly.

  “I only wish we had some candied pansies,” said Mia. “Then it would be exactly like your recipe.” She shrugged. “Oh well.”

  Mia ran back to the sprinkler, and Dulcie sat up. That’s what was missing! The finishing touch!

  Just on the other side of the Vasquezes’ fence Dulcie found what she was looking for—a beautiful bunch of pansies. After several trips back and forth between the yards, she had quite a pile to show Mia. Excited, she flew over to get the girls.

  “Mia! Gabby! I found the best cake toppers!” Dulcie cried. “Come and see!”

  Mia wrapped a beach towel around her waist and followed Dulcie to the side of the house. Gabby was right behind her.

  “Pansies!” Dulcie exclaimed. “Just like you wanted!”

  Mia stared at the pile of flowers. “Where did you get these?” she asked.

  “Oh, from a nearby garden patch,” Dulcie replied, waving her hand toward the fence.

  “Over the fence?” Gabby asked.

  “Yes!” said Dulcie. “Aren’t they beautiful?”

  Mia groaned. “Mrs. Peavy is going to kill me!”

  “Mrs. Who?” asked Dulcie.

  “Mrs. Peavy,” answered Gabby. “She lives next door. She’s really grumpy.”

  “What should I do?” Mia muttered. “Play dumb? Or apologize?”

  Dulcie was confused. Didn’t flowers belong to everyone?

  She watched as Mia ran into the house and came back out wearing a sundress. “I’m going to apologize,” Mia told them. She marched off to her neighbor’s house.

  Dulcie and Gabby followed. When no one answered the doorbell, they went through the side gate and found Mrs. Peavy standing in her garden, frowning at her patch of pansies. Instead of a bounty of smiling yellow and purple faces, there were just stems.

  Not so long ago, Mia had accidentally trampled a few of Mrs. Peavy’s flowers and found herself stuck weeding the woman’s overgrown backyard. Then Rosetta had used her fairy magic to transform it into a well-tended garden. Now Mrs. Peavy thought that Mia had the greenest thumb in town.

  “Well, hello, Mia,” she said.

  Mia gulped. “Hi, Mrs. Peavy.”

  “Someone picked all of my pansies!” said Mrs. Peavy. “Who would do such a thing?”

  “Oh, Mrs. Peavy, I’m so sorry,” Mia said. “A friend is visiting me from, um, a foreign land. She didn’t realize you can’t pick flowers from other people’s gardens. She’s the one who took your pansies.”

  Mrs. Peavy narrowed her eyes. “That’s unacceptable, Mia,” she said.

  This was not going well at all.

  Dulcie lighted on Mia’s shoulder. “Tell her they’re for the block party!” she whispered in her ear.

  “Well, um, we were planning to candy them and put them on slices of cake for the bake sale at the block party tomorrow,” explained Mia. “You know, for the Davis family.”

  “I don’t care what they’re for. It’s stealing, plain and simple. I have half a mind to …” Mrs. Peavy waved her hand. “Just go. It’s too late now, they’re already picked. There’s nothing you can do.”

  “I—I’m sorry, Mrs. Peavy,” Mia stammered.

  She let herself out the gate. Dulcie and Gabby hurried after her.

  “I’d fly backward if I could,” Dulcie said.

  Mia wanted to look stern. But she couldn’t stay mad at the earnest-looking fairy in the cowgirl outfit. “I know, pardner, I know.”

  At Mia’s house, everything was falling into place. The cakes had cooled and slipped easily from the pans. They sat on wire racks on the counter, golden and moist. The raspberry filling was delicious. It would be spread between cake layers in the morning. Then the cakes would be iced and cut into slices.

  All four girls had made the candied pansies together that afternoon. Dulcie had watched with pride as Mia expertly separated the egg whites with her slotted spoon trick. Kate had beaten the egg whites and added some water. Then she, Mia, and Lainey had painted the flowers with the mixture.

  “Now it’s time to add the sugar!” said Dulcie.

  Gabby carefully sprinkled each flower with superfine sugar.

  “They’re beautiful,” said Mia.

  Dulcie stood at the end of the counter, admiring their work. “Every recipe needs a pinch of magic,” she said to Mia.

  That night, when it was time for bed, Dulcie pulled on her nightgown and settled under the covers. Mia crawled into her own bed. Almost immediately, her breathing became deep and steady.

  How can she fall asleep so quickly? Dulcie wondered as she tossed and turned.

  Then her mind landed on slicing the cakes. Sliced pieces didn’t seem special enough. What could she do to make them unique?

  Dulcie slipped out from under the covers and flew downstairs to the quiet kitchen. As she paced the countertop, thinking, she spied a half-open drawer and peeked inside. There they were—the cookie cutters she had admired earlier. She studied several—a rabbit, a man with a beard and a funny hat, a pumpkin. She selected a small circle and a star.

  Will Mia like this idea? she asked herself. Of course she will!

  Dulcie went straight to work. Placing the round cookie cutter on the first sheet cake, she pressed down, cutting out a perfect circle. She did this over and over until she had dozens of cutout cake circles. With the star-shaped cookie cutter, she did the same to the second cake. Then she coated the top of each circle with raspberry filling. Last, she stacked the stars on top.

  When she was done, she flew up and looked down on her creations. Dozens of miniature cakes. They looked elegant. And delicious. And positively magical.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Bubbles staring at her from his tank. He was waving a fin at her. She landed on the counter next to his bowl.

  “Perfect, right?” she asked him. “You can tell me the truth, Fish.”

  Fish …

  … mushroom …

  … Lily, Dulcie thought.

  She had managed to push the accident out of her mind during her visit to the mainland. But now her worries came flooding back. Did Lily have a new house yet? Had the fairies run out of baked goods? She felt an urge to return to Pixie Hollow at once.

  She would miss the block party. But all Mia would have to do in the morning was frost the little cakes and top them with the flowers.

  Dulcie smiled. So simple! Her work here was done. She flew back upstairs.

  Balancing a pen on her shoulder, she wrote a quick note and left it on her neatly made bed. She found her clothes by the window. They’d been washed and hung out to dry on a line of string, held in place by paperclips. Now she understood why Gabby had been looking for paperclips earlier.

  Dulcie changed, packed, and then snapped her clamshell suitcase closed. She hovered over Mia’s ear.

  “Good luck tomorrow,” she whispered. “Hope you like the cakes.”

  Mia turned over in her sleep.

  Dulcie picked up her suitcase and flew to Gabby’s room. “Thanks for washing my clothes,” she whispered in the little girl’s ear.

  Then Dulcie headed to the closet. As soon as she entered, she felt a warm breeze. The smell of orange blossoms and clover filled the air. She closed her eyes and smiled. There was nothing like returning home.

  “Rise and shine, Dulcie!” said Mia.

  There was no answer.

  “Up and at ’em,” she called. “We have cakes to frost!”

  Still no answer.

  Mia walked over to the dollhouse and peered into Dulcie’s bedroom. The room was spotless, as i
f no one had ever stayed there. She looked closely. A piece of paper the size of a postage stamp was sitting on the pillow.

  Mia plucked it up and laid it in her hand. The writing was so tiny! She rummaged around in her desk drawer until she found a magnifying glass. She held it up to the note and read:

  Dear Mia,

  I have to go back to Pixie Hollow and make sure Lily is doing okay. I hope you like what I did with the cakes! Good luck.

  Love, Dulcie

  Mia got a funny feeling in her stomach. What about their plan? The one that involved Dulcie being there to guide her every step of the way? And what had Dulcie done with the cakes?

  Mia padded downstairs. Her parents sat at the kitchen table drinking their morning coffee.

  “You must have been up late last night, mija,” her father said, looking up from the newspaper. “But your little cakes look great.”

  “Such a lovely idea,” added her mother. “But it’s going to be a lot of work frosting them. I wish we could help, but we have to be at the block party in fifteen minutes!”

  Little cakes? What were her parents talking about? Mia looked over at the kitchen counter and gasped.

  There sat row after row of tiny cakes. Mia saw the two cookie cutters sitting on the counter and realized what Dulcie had done.

  The cakes were very cute. But there were so many of them! Without Dulcie’s help, how could she get them finished in time?

  And how did you even make frosting? Mia grabbed a cookbook and frantically flipped through the pages. But each recipe was more complicated than the last. She needed one that didn’t require ten steps. Or more eggs to separate. Or a candy thermometer. What was a candy thermometer, anyway?

  Mia groaned and slammed the cookbook shut, just as Gabby wandered into the kitchen. “How am I ever going to do this?”

  “Do what?” asked Gabby.

  Mia explained her problem.

  “I’ll help,” said Gabby. “And you know Kate and Lainey will, too.”

  So Mia made two emergency calls. All she had to say was “I need help.”