Subterfudge Read Free Page A

the oven. He carved the turkey, and this time it was too dry. Gosh, I can’t catch a break! Not cooked enough, then cooked too much , Ashley thought. But they heaped their plates high and ate more than their fill that evening anyway.
    When they crawled into bed that night, they were so stuffed they fell sound asleep right away, their arms around each other, legs intertwined.

Chapter Three
    Ashley strolled down the baking aisle at the grocery store. She reached for the box of brownies with the best picture on the front.
    Even though her first attempt at cooking had been a horrific bust, she was not going down without a fight. Ashley wanted to create something yummy today. She was determined.
    Reading the back of the box, she thought, Brownies don’t look that complicated. She looked at the list of ingredients and added everything from it to her cart.
    On the way home, Ashley checked a voice message Roger had left saying he would be home late. Good, plenty of time to bake the brownies.
    At home, Ashley set the groceries out on the counter then cleaned up. She read the box’s instructions, and turned on the oven to preheat. After finding a bowl and a big spoon, she got to work mixing the ingredients. Only a few bits of eggshell fell into the batter. Pretty sure I fished out most of them .
    She coated the pan with cooking spray.
    I’m starting to feel like a real chef! She grinned.
    After pouring the batter into the pan, she popped it in the oven. I’m making brownies. All by myself. She bopped around the kitchen, humming as she danced about.
    While the brownies baked, Ashley went into the bedroom to check her emails.
    Click, click went the mouse. She cleared spam from her inbox. The apartment filled with the powerful aroma of chocolate. Ashley smiled to herself. When Roger came home he would be so proud of her. He loved sweets. He would be so thrilled that she was taking care of his gastronomical needs, he would take her into his arms, kiss her and want to spend the entire evening pleasuring her. Her mind wandered.
    Wait! What is that smell ?
    Her nostrils were assaulted by a crisp, burning odour.
    Burning… Oh no!
    What about the timer? Oh crap! She’d forgotten to set a timer!
    Ashley sprinted to the kitchen and threw open the oven door. Damn! Those brownies were way too dark for their own good.
    She had to get them out. Fast.
    She touched the pan with her fingers. Y-y-ouch!
    Plunging her scalded finger into her mouth, she tried to think.
    Oh, double crap! She had forgotten to buy oven mitts again today. Ugh! I am so stupid. Where are the towels I used last night? Think, think, think.
    She ran around until she found them.
    With the towels wrapped around her hands, she reached in and grabbed the pan of scorched brownies then set them down. The hot pan sizzled and hissed at her as it hit the sink’s wet surface.
    “Damn!” Tears of frustration rolled down her cheeks.
    She grabbed some air freshener out of the pantry. Spppptttt! Sppppptttt! Spppppttttt! The smell of cinnamon apple over burnt chocolate left an odd bouquet in her wake. Setting down the aerosol can, Ashley wiped her eyes. She quickly snatched her coat and purse off the couch, and headed out of the door.
    * * * *
    An hour later, Ashley fumbled with the key to her mailbox in the basement of the apartment building. She balanced a box from the bakery with one hand as she attempted to retrieve her mail with the other.
    “Hey, girl! What are you up to?” The voice belonged to her eternally effervescent neighbour, Lance.
    “Not much. Just picking up my mail…” She tucked a stack of envelopes and catalogues under her left arm, clutching the newly purchased baked goods in her right.
    “What’s in the box?” Lance pointed to it, eyebrows raised.
    “Oh, brownies. Roger wants me to learn to cook, and today I burnt some brownies. So I bought these…hoping he won’t know the difference.” She shrugged.
    “Is that what I smelt earlier?”
    She nodded