Basket of Cupcakes

The Inn bustled with guests laughing over the light-hearted conversation. The candlelight painted the wooden interior in a golden glow.

Creeping rose vines of deep reds served as curtains. Wafts of bread baking and buttery cheese permeated thru the air from the kitchen.

A burly man shouts out that they had some big guests in today and that the staff needed to double up on the catering. A little girl showed them to their rooms upstairs and asked that they be down for supper when the crickets started to sing. Victoria saw to it that she inspected all the kids’ rooms. This did not please Kiki. Geordie got to share a room with Ethan, which caused him to hyperventilate. He didn’t have many friends and Ethan fell in the category that definitely did not include sinusy, mousy boys like him.

Kiki was paired with Ada and Victoria with Claire. Ben appreciated that he could have a room for himself.

Supper was spent mostly in silence. Everyone was too tired processing the day. Claire seemed to miss home dearly and clung onto Ethan as her only link to family. Geordie and Ada wondered how worried their parents were. Kiki had her dad with her, her only family, so she was definitely not homesick. She was the only one picturing meeting her mum and taking her back home with her.

She played out the various possibilities in her imagination. The cuppies and Yori were given a table of their own and were served deep-fried worms on a bed of spinach to their delight and to the others revulsion. Ella was well known and the Inn-Keeper knew that her kind did not particularly enjoy worms or bugs as a whole for supper.

Which left them with pigeon eggs and baked bread for supper.

Up in their rooms, Claire thought about what Ethan had said about her being very rude to Kiki. She always wanted her cousin Ethan to be proud of her so that really made Claire think.

She decided to pay Kiki a visit.

In Kiki’s room, Ada was busy talking about all the different new species of insects she’d noticed today. She had become chattier here and Kiki was enjoying all her descriptions. They were interrupted by a knock on the door and in walked Claire.

“Hi, can I maybe talk to you Kiki?” Asked Claire.

“Do I really need to talk to you? I am enjoying my time with Ada, thank you.” Spat Kiki with vehemence in her tone.

“Oh please, I won’t be too long.” Begged Claire. Ada decided to make some excuse to take a walk in the gardens to escape the awkwardness.

“Well what do you want?” snapped Kiki.

“I realize I was rude earlier and I would like to apologize.” Said Claire.

“Rude earlier?

Don’t you mean every single time you see me? You make fun of my home, of me, of my work, of what I wear. What’s it to you what I do anyway? Just because you have everything does not mean you can simply make those that don’t feel terrible!” Kiki yelled.

“I have everything?” rebuffed Claire.

“Yes, I have a mum and dad I never see and have to make do with the love I get from their wallet instead. Like I don’t know they buy me stuff just to keep me at peace with them going on their adventures while I sit at home is a very big house and a nanny! You’re the one with EVERYTHING. Both your mum and dad were at concerts and when your mum went away your dad was there. Mine wasn’t.

I hate that you get to be loved and I don’t. I should hate that I am here in the first place yet it’s the closest I’ve come to a family holiday.”

Kiki stared at Claire blankly. She would never have thought in a million years that Claire would have thought she had everything. Claire continued.

“You have friends that like you. My friends are there because I have the things they want.

To get my friends to agree with me, I have given a host of things they want. You climb trees and roll in the garden, I get shouted at lest I ruin my designer dress or prissy shoes. And while we’re at it, Victoria is a simply marvellous person and you are always ugly to her. So there.

I’ve said all I needed. Goodbye.”

At that Claire stormed out and Yori flew in. He, of course, was at the door the entire time and didn’t see anything wrong in staying and listening to the entire argument. Privacy was not a word Yori was accustomed to.

The entire lot of them fell into a deep dreamless sleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. Such comfort cannot be precisely described in words, it was a feeling of utter bliss but you’d have to be there to know. It was as though the room seemed to absorb all stress.