The kitchen in the Walha’s household smelled of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger. The kitchen counter was a little bit of a mess. There was some flour, spices and sugar on it. Renee just finished mixing the batter and was pouring the batter in the cake pan. As she was handing the pan to her dad, the first-time baker could not be prouder of herself. Renee was going to be able to say she made the cake when she gave it to Luke.

This cake was going to be a gift to Luke. This gesture of making amends for picking on the boy had to be from her. She did not want the cake to just be given by her, Renee wanted it to be from her. The cake was coming from Renee’s heart so she also wanted it to come from her hands.

Alfredo “Al” Walha could not be prouder of his daughter as he put the cake pan in the oven. His daughter insisted that she made the cake. Other than putting the cake in and out of the oven Renee was doing the rest. She measured the ingredients, mixed and pour them in the pan and would ice the cake after it was baked.

As soon as the cake was in the oven, Renee set the timer for 45 minutes. Then she went over to start cleaning the counter. Al motioned his daughter to join him. Cleaning the counter could wait, making this Father-Daughter bonding moment into a family memory was more important. Then the father and daughter walked together and sat at the kitchen table together with Renee’s mom, Meg Walha as the cake baked. As he walked over, Al was so proud of his wife who was just sitting back, sipping her coffee and enjoying watching the moment.

Meg found watching this father daughter interaction baking together sweeter than the molasses in the batter. The love of Al’s life knew that the moment was more special because it was only them, father and daughter. She was going to have enough of those special childhood moments with Renee that she did not need to add herself in to this one. Meg was going to have her fair share through make-up sessions with Renee, buying her first bra, helping her solve algebra problems, and teaching her how to drive and how to shoot free throws. Lastly, the mom was proud of her daughter for wanting to make the cake. She was also proud of her husband for skipping his golf game to help with the cake.

As the cake was cooking, the family talked. The only thing which was warmer than the oven was when Renee said this cake was going to be the best gift ever because it came from the heart. Al and Meg got a fuzzy feeling inside. The loving parents knew that they were doing a great job raising their child.

***********

Vroom Vroom Vroom was the sound filling the Thayil’s front yard. Matt was playing with his Matchbox Cars as his parents, Romesh and Shanthi, pretended to do some gardening. In reality, those two were more involved watching and enjoying their son being a child than watching out for newly sprouted weeds. Fulfilling his need for speed by moving the toy cars as fast as he could, was enough to bring happiness to Matt. This care-free moment needed to be soaked up because the age of their son’s innocence was beginning to come to an end.

The coming of adolescence, the next age, came last night. After coming home from school Matt asked his mom why do people lie. The question had to be of the utmost importance as Matt always asked questions when both of his parents were around. He wanted to hear what their answers would be.

Shanthi asked her son why is it that he was asking the question. More information was needed before the loving mother could give her inquisitive son a good answer. Matt told his mom about what happened to Luke at school. There was not a single interruption in the story. Shanthi listened before talking. Even when Matt brought up that Lori was right about Luke liking to wear dresses there was silence coming from Matt’s audience of one. Shanthi wanted to hear as much as possible before she passed judgement on her son.

After the tale was done, Shanthi soaked in the information. The mother needed to think before she talked. The answer needed to be in the Goldilocks Zone, neither too simple nor too complex. A smile came on her face. The smile made Matt start to pay even more attention to his mom. That smile was a sign an answer was coming.

Shanthi said “Sometimes someone wanting something, blinds themself from seeing what is right and wrong. Lori let her desires win over doing the right thing.”

“I will never do that Mom. I want to do the right thing. I want to be good.”

Hugging her son Shanthi said “I know Matt.”

Even with the first sign of the Age of Innocence being over for her son, Shanthi did not correct Matt. Her son can still think in absolutes. Both she and her husband would be there to teach him about the infinite colors between black and white when the time was right. Now the time was for Matt to think he can achieve his goals instead of always striving towards them.

The goal Matt was working on, having his Matchbox car go as fast as possible was suddenly interrupted by a ring ring. Matt looked up to see what caught his attention. The distraction was a bike’s bell followed by a greeting by his classmate, Renee Walha. She was riding up his street with a box in her bike’s basket on her way to give her gift to Luke. Right behind her were her mom and dad.

When Matt made eye contact, he waved to her. Renee smiled back, she liked riding her bike but was not good enough to steer it one handed yet. Seeing his classmate on his street changed his goal. Now the goal was about keeping his word. Matt quickly pushed himself off the ground and rushed to his parents. He told them he wanted to ride his bike now, so as to join his friend Renee. Those two said yes at the same time. They knew the Walhas from school functions. Al and Meg were responsible parents and would keep an eye on Matt. They had done the same with Renee when her parents had to leave her out of their sight for a couple of minutes.

Romesh pulled out his cell phone to text them. The message was that Matt was joining them. Al would text him back when they got where they were going, then Romesh and Shanthi would join them. It would be nice to catch up with the Wahlas.

Matt took his time putting on his helmet. Sometimes the fastest way to achieve a goal was making sure each step towards it was done correctly. Then Matt jumped on his bike and started to pedal as fast as his little legs allowed him. The wind was blowing in his face as Matt started on his new goal of catching up to Renee.

***********

A fate worse than being grounded was being able to go out and having nowhere to go. This was Luke’s Saturday. His best friend Blake told him at the end of school yesterday, that they were not going to play together today. The only option left was spending time with Lori. He and his sister were the only two kids in their age range on their block. He was still mad at his sister about yesterday, so he did not want anything to do with her. If this had been any other day having no friends to play with, Luke would just have ridden his bike on the block. Not today though, riding alone was not appealing to Luke.

Then there was an unexpected knock on the door. It had to be from a kid as the knock was too light to be from an adult. Luke was hoping that Blake changed his mind about them hanging out. Luke’s best friend was upset at him and the little boy did not know why. Maybe Blake was not mad anymore and came over.

Alice opened the door and saw Renee with a box alongside Matt. Regretfully she told the visitors that Lori was grounded today. Alice assumed that those two were there to see Lori. After all, when the mother and daughter were alone, Lori would tell tales about how the kids really did not like Luke. Alice was fine with this false narrative. Not everyone could be popular like she was as a kid or her daughter was now.

The saying “Perception is reality” is not true. Perception is the driving factor behind how people interacted to reality, but does not magically change what is true. The further away a person’s perception was to reality, the more out of touch their reaction would be. The more mental gymnastics would be done in a person’s mind to have their perception and reality match. On learning they were there for Luke, Alice rectified her perception with reality by thinking Renee and Matt had pity for her son instead of them being his friends.

Renee’s face recoiled upon hearing that Luke’s mom thought she was here to see Lori. Luke’s sister was the last person she wanted to see. Lori had not been nice at all yesterday. Even after their teacher explain why it was wrong, Lori still was not nice. Mistakes are how people learn, but the Brat Princess did not learn from hers.

Matt on the other hand did not held his tongue about the assumption and corrected her assumption when saying “Ms. Zahn, we are not here to see Lori. We are here to see Luke. Renee was nice enough to make a cake for Luke to say sorry. I came along when I saw her riding up on her bike. I wanted to see if Luke would like to play.”

Renee then said “The cake is from us.” She knew that Matt would have wanted to be part of the giving of this restitution. If she had asked, the boy next to her would have jumped at the chance to help. His heart was behind giving the gift so her friend also deserved some of the credit.

This lie made Matt look even better. The lie also made Matt feel better. He would have done something special for Luke if he had been asked or had thought of it. He knew that lying was wrong, but also knew that Renee was not doing anything bad. Matt felt that Renee was just saying what she knew would have happened if she had asked him. He knew he was going to have to remedy this with his parents later.

Luke was so happy to see his bike riding buddies standing on the other side of the door. Being around them, made him feel better about himself. Also, now he had something to do. The fate worse than being grounded was averted. This Saturday was going to be as bright as the May sky behind Renee and Matt.

Once the two visitors were in the home, Lori was not happy. She did her best at alienating Luke from his classmates and now he had more friends. Then, they also brought a gift to make Luke better. To Lori, them just being nice to her brother was more than he deserved. He was only a background player and people should pay him no mind.

At least some good came from life not following her script. Lori was going to get a piece of that spice cake. That spice cake was one of the most delicious piece of cake she ever had.
Renee’s parents would always bring one to the school’s bake sales. Lori would make sure that her mom or dad bought her a slice.

Alice suggested that the guests come along with Luke. Lori interjected herself in line for cake and told her mom she would eat her slice in her room. Alice seeing her daughter was getting upset about the situation, wanted to make the Brat Princess feel better. Lori being grounded and losing her television and Gameboy was enough of a punishment in her eyes. Giving that slice of cake was not a problem to Alice. Her son should not mind that Lori got something sweet to brighten up her day.

Luke quickly said no to Lori having a little treat. It was his cake and he did not want to share any of it with his sister. She was mean to him and he wanted to make sure his sister knew he would not take it. Luke saw Lori getting a slice, as his sister being rewarded for bad behavior.

Alice just ignored her son’s wishes. Giving Lori a slice was no big deal. She started to slice up the cake. Luke told his mom to make sure she gave herself the end piece. The end slice of cake was the best to Alice. The change of the consistency from crusty to moist was the reason.

Fred saw this situation as a way to start the peace process between the twins. He asked Luke if it was fine if Lori had a piece of cake with them. The compromise would have his children both eating a nice treat together. Having cake together was the kid’s version of adults having a drink together. It was a good time which made people enjoy the company of whoever they were with.

The suggestion was good. Everyone should have agreed with Fred. This was not so. Lori said no. There was not going to be a compromise from her. When it came to Luke, there was no middle ground for Lori. She should not have to even try to accommodate her desires with Luke’s. Lori wanted the cake without being around her brother and that was how it would be. Fred’s daughter was going to have her cake and eat it to.

Alice knew how to stop this situation was escalating. She thanked Luke for the end slice and said she would have it later. To make sure Luke did not know what was going on Alice added that she was just not hungry now. The polite decline was nothing out of the normal. Luke knew that adults were a little weird about sweets, that they also had to be hungry to eat them.

Lori stopped her protest right after hearing her mom. That statement along with the look Alice gave Lori placated her. Lori knew what was going on. After Luke left the house her mom was just going to give Lori a slice of cake. The best part was that Alice picked having cake with her instead of Luke. At least her mom knew how things should be. People wanting to be around her instead of her brother.

As the three friends ate the cake. They were talking about going to ride their bikes after eating their treat. The chatter gave Fred and Lori two different ideas. Fred’s was to take Luke and his friends to the Lincoln Way Bike Park. Fred called Matt’s dad to ask him if it was fine if Matt went and Alice called Renee’s mom to do the same and also thank them for the cake.

To Lori, the idea was not nice. Going to that bike park without her was not fair. She hated to hear that her brother was going to have something fun to talk about which did not involve her. She wanted to make sure that Luke did not enjoy his day out that much after he got home. When Luke said it would be nice to have another small piece of cake after dinner gave Lori an idea, drop the cake.

After the kids were done, Fred packed them in the van to take them to the park. Alice was sitting in the living room as they left. The time to start operation cake drop was upon Lori. Lori told her mom she would get the slices. The newest attack in the War of the Twins was almost foiled right after launch. Alice was going to supervise her daughter. Lori quickly got her offense back on track by stating she was almost 8 and could handle it herself.

A crash came from the kitchen. Alice cursed herself. She should have watched over Lori as she was getting the cake. Then a shrill came from the kitchen. This sound of Lori crying made Alice think the worse. That her daughter got hurt. The brisk walk became a run.

The secret of great acting is a simple one, have the audience willing to suspend disbelief. How this suspension comes about does not matter. Lori was a great actress to her mother because of Alice’s faith in her daughter. Lori was the apple in Alice’s eyes. She was the golden child who always got the benefit of the doubt.

It was showtime. The spotlight was on Lori as Alice came in and asked her daughter if she was fine. The tears flowing down Lori’s cheeks were as fake as the words which were coming out of her mouth. These tears drew attention away from the cake and plate on the ground. The words kept the attention.

“Mom, I was trying to be extra careful. I know Luke is going to think I did this on purpose. He does not like me. I was just joking around with him yesterday and he got me in trouble. Now, I will be in more trouble for doing nothing. I should have listened to you. I’m sorry mommy, we will leave the two pieces of cake for Luke and Daddy.”

Alice was so happy hearing Lori was fine. Lori’s little soliloquy helped Alice figure out what to say about the cake being thrown away. Alice would lie and take the blame. After all, the cake dropping was not Lori’s fault, but her own. A parent should be watching over their child when they are attempting something outside of their expertise. Neither Fred nor Luke needed to know the truth. Lori would get punished and Luke would hold the accident against his sister. Lori has learned her lesson, so no need for any more bad consequences to happen to her daughter. Being grounded and not going to the bike park today was more than enough of a punishment. Lastly, Lori was truly sorry, she was making restitution by wanting to make sure Luke got her piece of cake.

“My baby girl, you will be having that cake. You did nothing wrong. I should have come out in the kitchen with you to supervise. I will tell Luke that I dropped it. He already had a slice. Thinking of your brother when he does not think of you, makes me proud of you Lori. Don’t tell your dad, but after we finish the cake, I will let you play your Gameboy.”

Operation Cake Drop was a success. Scoring the objective of denying Luke another slice of his cake was sweeter than the treat Lori was sharing with her mom. Being allowed to play her Gameboy was just an unexpected gain. Lori would wait until Monday at school to share that fact with Luke. Her brother needed to know Lori could and would get what she wanted without repercussion. To make sure Luke did not start a counter offensive.

***********

The Sellar’s was a normal family, with normal issues and normal goals and desires. They wanted what was best for their son, Blake. Him acting up at school was not what was best for him. They knew he was a seven year old boy and would get into a little trouble. The latest call from the school was a little worrying for the parents. Jack and Lucy were trying to instill loyalty and empathy into their son. Him joking about what happened to Luke was bad enough. Friends do not treat friends in that manner. But when Blake would not apologize for teasing his best friend that was a line which their son should have never crossed.

As expected Blake was grounded for the weekend. This timeout from being able to go out was supposed to be used to ponder his misdeeds. Instead, Blake blamed others. Luke for not staying with the others kids when they were picking on him. All of his classmates who did apologize to Luke. They sold out. Those kids were not sorry, they just wanted to have recess.

Blake was stewing in his room when his mom came in. At her side was his classmate, Mike Patton. Mike’s mom, Gina must have stopped over and now Blake’s mom was going to pawn that boy off on him. Blake did not want to see him. He was one of the turncoats which said sorry to Luke.

Lucy suggested that Mike and Blake play together in his room. Blake was going to use this to his advantage. Having to play with Mike would grant him an early release from his jail. Sounding sad, Blake said “I would like to play with Mike, but I can’t.”

Not mentioning why was smart. Stating he was grounded would have been overplaying his hand. Being too strong in showing his motive would have made his mom just force him to play in his room with Mike. Blake needed his mom to come up with the idea of the pardon on her own if he wanted freedom. “Blake, how about if you two play on the swings in our backyard.”

The two of them played in the backyard, and by the end Blake was so happy that Mike came over. The role of being Blake’s best friend was quickly filled by Mike. The boy was more than happy to agree with anything that Blake said. Hearing yet another kid agreeing with him, made Blake know he was right about Luke. That Luke was being too sensitive.

See, Mike was a pleaser, a yes boy who would grow up to be a yes man. One day Mike would grow out of being a yes man, but that was not for years to come. Now Mike just wanted to be accepted and the easy way was by just agreeing with others. He had found someone who needed to be agreed with, so they meshed well.

As they were swinging, Blake’s hopes of Luke regretting not taking the harmless teasing by him were getting higher. This was from Mike feeding Blake’s ego. Mike was the choir which Blake was preaching to. Having affirmation he was right, gave Blake a new found energy. Each swing went a little higher from the strength which came from this energy. Blake knew that Mike would be able to help him make sure Luke knew his place. That Luke would never dare get Blake in trouble again. The time on the swing was when Blake realized he was on the wrong side of the War of the Twins. Now was time for him to align with the righteous side, Lori’s.

**************

The Lincoln Way Bike Park was located on Route 30 next to the Braddock Trail. Luke, Matt and Renee were all excited about going to the park. The stories about the park made it sound like a biker’s paradise. Going there was going to be a treat. As Luke’s father pulled into the parking lot, his three passengers knew the unexpected day out was going to surpass their expectations. The park was even grander than the stories.

The Lincoln Way Bike Park was not always such a great destination for a day out. The bike park was originally an entrance and rest stop for hikers and bike riders of the trail. Just part of the journey to a destination instead of being the destination with many different journeys in it. Then the county government put a couple of bike ramps. These ramps were so kids would be occupied as their parents rested before getting back on the trail. The ramps made the stop popular with the local kids. The increase of usage made the county officials want to invest more into the bike park. The little rest area was now a safe place for the kids of the surrounding areas to get exercise and play.

The first expansion came in the form of a halfpipe. This new addition had the unexpected result of bringing in skaters also. This increase of kids using the newly christened Lincoln Way Bike Park caused someone to be like Steve Windwood, see a chance and take it. The new entrepreneur saw a business opportunity and opened a little shop. His store sold mostly snacks, and drinks at first. Then he added skateboard wheels along with other skating accessories. The increase in usage led to another expansion of the bike park within the park. This time, a couple of rails and two BMX race courses and a street course were added.

As the kids put on their safety equipment Fred got their bikes off the racks. Their chaperone was more than happy for them to spend the day enjoying themselves in a healthy manner. Luke deserved to have a good time with all that happened to him the last two days. Renee and Matt deserved to have a good time for the good deed they did. Also, Fred needed more of a cooling down period. The embers of anger at his wife’s actions were still a little hot. He knew talking with her about her treatment of their kids would be as useful as using a phillips head screwdriver on a standard screw, and also as frustrating.

Fred was soaking in the warmth of the sun as he watched the warmth and kindliness with which those three treated each other. As Luke and his friends rode around to get a feel of the ground, they kept looking over at the beginners BMX course. They were intrigued watching the other kids ride the course. The lure of going up those dirt hills and then down them was strong, so strong, it drew all three of them to the entrance.

Then they read the warning sign about the course. Renee was disappointed since bikes with gears were not allowed on the course. She did not want to hold her friends back from enjoying themselves and said, “You two ride the course. Meet me at the benches when you are done.”

What Matt said and did next made the warmth of the growing friendship between those three even warmer than the sun. Matt got off his bike and said “Renee, we will take turns. You use my bike for the first run with Luke.”

Luke joined in the stoking the fires of friendship. He wanted to make sure that those two got a special ride together. The first and last time someone does something were usually the most memorable and somehow Luke knew that. The boy was making sure everyone’s bond grew stronger. Luke said. “Then after Matt and I, you take my bike, Renee. You two will have the last ride together.”

As Fred watch his son and Renee going around the BMX track, he was joined by Renee’s parents. Al and Meg decided that the day was too glorious to spend doing nothing special at home. Their daughter being at the bike park gave them a reason to go and enjoy the spring day. Seeing their daughter taking on the BMX course made them feel blessed. The timing was perfect to catch the highlight of the day, Renee handling that bike on the track. Seeing Renee having this new experience made Meg happy but she wanted a quick chat with Fred first. Meg brought her bike to do a quick 10 mile ride on the trail.

Right behind those two was Romesh. He just wanted to watch his son. Matt was a little introverted when not at home. The father was happy that his son was opening up to being around others. Romesh, being the only child of Indian descent growing up in a sleepy upstate New York village, knew how hard being different was to a child. Matt never saw anyone who looked like him other than at home. Being lost in the moment would help Matt learn that the extra pigment in his skin did not make him any different than someone who has red hair. Romesh believed Matt being able to be himself would help his son better understand life. Matt would not be pensive and need everything to be black and white.

Romesh wife’s, Shanthi, stayed at home to enjoy doing some serious gardening. She wanted to make sure that her tomato plants grew as good as they did last year. They made a great base for her pasta sauce and her husband’s curry sauce. Plus after being in the garden she got time alone to enjoy one of her guilty pleasures, Bollywood films. She watched them with her husband, but doing so alone made it so Shanthi did not have to be around when her husband indulged in his guilty pleasures, watching The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.

The parents showing up made the trip to the bike park last longer than planned. The three men lost track of time as they drank their coffee and had a nice bullshitting session. Meg’s 10 mile trek on the trail turned into a 25 mile one. For this ride to be worth taking Meg needed to push herself and she did. When the cyclist hit the five mile mark she knew she had much more in her.

When the excursion to the park was finally over, the three kids made plans to meet at the local playground the day after. They wanted to spend more time together. As they went to their cars, Luke and his friends were so looking forward to the following day. Riding bikes was fun, but it was going to be so much better talking about today at the bike park. The stories from today would be repeated over and over again.

Renee and Matt left with their respective parents. On the way home Matt asked his dad about Renee’s lie. Romesh wanted to make sure his son understood the answer but at the same time did not want to talk down to him. Romesh answer was that Renee knew that given the chance Matt would help. To Renee that was good enough for Matt to get credit. Romesh also stressed the only way the thought counted was if there was no chance of it being wrong. The father did not want his son to start to use “its the thought which counts” as a reason not to do the right thing.

************

Giggling was filling the house when Luke and Fred got home. The sound of joy coming from his sister told Luke something was just not right. Lori was fully animated instead of being in full sulking mode. Being grounded and not having her Gameboy should have made Lori withdrawn. The best attitude Lori should have had was neutral.

Lori was cheeky instead of withdrawn because she was getting her way. Going out or having access to her Gameboy was nice, but what she really wanted was to make sure Luke knew his role. Her getting one over him was better than if she went to the bike park with him and those two losers. So getting three made her day great. Lori had some of Luke’s cake without him around, her mom picked having cake with her over him, her brother was not going to get another slice of that delicious cake and lastly she had rubbing playing the Gameboy in.

Flirting that she got out of her dad’s unfair punishment would have to wait until Monday. The anticipation would make tomorrow bearable. Lori would spend her day just envisioning the smug look on her face at the bus stop when she mentioned about picking up a winged goblin, a new monster on the Yo-Gi-Mon game. Luke would know she was playing the game this weekend because she had asked him how to capture one on Thursday.

Luke found out what was going on around here after the family finished supper. He asked his mom if she would like to have a slice of cake with him. The boy thought now would be a great time to have that slice of cake with his mom. He could then tell her all about his day.

Alice answered her son request by saying sorry she had dropped the cake when she was putting it away. The cover story was flimsy. The cake had already been put away and Luke knew that. Even if Luke believed his mom, Lori’s shameless smile had a force of a gust of wind from a hurricane to make sure Luke knew the truth. Lori not only had a slice of cake with her mom she also was the one who dropped it.

Luke quickly became withdrawn and excused himself from the table. Fred asked if something was wrong. Luke lied and said he was tired from riding his bike all day. The truth was Alice’s son was hurt. Knowing the truth was just a reminder that Lori was his mom's favorite. That cake was his. His mom should have made sure nothing happened to the cake. His mom was supposed to have that cake with him, not Lori. Luke needed that bonding time with his mom. That time sharing a treat, would have helped him feel better about the petticoat punishment. Instead, his mom, once again put Lori’s wants over Luke’s needs. Luke left for his room knowing he was just part of the chorus in the musical which was Lori and Alice’s relationship.