us compete against professionals?" Ginger wails as she plunks another five-pound bag of flour on the counter. She's the youngest and she's been passionate about baking for as long as I can remember. While Noel and I were content to play with an Easy-Bake oven, Ginger was whipping up real cupcakes in Mom's real oven and packing them in boxes she'd repurposed by writing ‘Ginger's Bake Shop’ across the sides. She tied them closed with a never-ending assortment of old ribbons she'd collected. From everywhere. You know how some grandmas collect all the used bows at Christmas to be reused? That was Ginger. When she was twelve.
"You're a professional too," I point out. She does all the baking for a local inn but her dream is to open her own bakery. Here in Reindeer Falls, of course.
"It's hardly the same! He's a jackal!" Ginger huffs. "I wonder if he's using a Ceylon cinnamon," she mutters to herself while digging frantically through her spice rack. At least I assume she's muttering to herself. She can't possibly think Noel or I have a clue about varieties of cinnamon. "Subtle but refined. Haha! I'm onto you, jackal."
"Who's a jackal?" Noel questions. "Keller James?"
Now is probably not the time to bring it up but I've always liked his show Brunch, Biscuits & Tea. Also, we got to meet him during the taping of the first three episodes of The Great Gingerbread Bake-Off and he seemed like a nice guy.
"Yes. Him! Urgh!"
"Who says ‘jackal’ as a swear word?" Noel asks, as she takes her plate to the dishwasher before joining me at the kitchen table.
"It's a nicer way of saying ‘jackass,’" Ginger explains, but I think it's an unnecessary explanation because Noel rolls her eyes at me while muttering, "Go on with your bad self, G." Then Ginger turns her attention to me as she pulls out a chair and sits across from me. "What on earth are you doing?"
I've got an assortment of cardboard pieces, tape, glue, markers, pictures cut from magazines along with a pile of individually wrapped chocolates spread across the table. "Remaking my Advent calendar because Nick is stealing an entire week of Christmas from me."
"You get that Christmas is just the one day, right?" Noel asks.
"I'm gonna tell Mom you said that. Someone's getting coal in her stocking this year," I tease while tossing an empty candy wrapper at her head.
"Anyway," Noel says slowly, staring at my calendar as if I'm unhinged. "Are you coming down with the flu? Running a fever?" Noel is the oldest. She's not real impressed with baking or homemade craft projects.
"I wish, then I wouldn't have to go on this trip with Nick," I grumble as Noel continues to stare at the mess on the table while Ginger has a conversation with herself about the temperature of butter. "It's a custom Advent calendar," I explain. "For every day in December that I have to see Nick I get a treat."
"Uh-huh," Noel murmurs, her face unimpressed.
"As you can see"—I gesture toward my hodgepodge of a calendar—"doors nine through thirteen don't exist because I was supposed to have a glorious Nick-free week, but now that I'm stuck going to Germany with him I've got to add those dates back to the calendar." This Nick reward system is really nice. I'd consider expanding it to the rest of the year but I don't think eating a chocolate for every day he annoys me would be good for my waistline.
"I think you should just sleep with him and get it over with," Ginger announces from her place at the kitchen counter. I turn red and Noel smirks.
"You're my new favorite sister," Noel tells Ginger, grinning from ear to ear.
"Hey!" I hate it when they gang up on me, which they always do. I'm the middle sister, it comes with the territory.
"Let's fill doors nine through thirteen with condoms," Noel suggests.
"Yeah! Get a room with your hot boss already." Ginger giggles while attacking a slab of gingerbread with a rolling pin.
"It's not like that!" I protest. "It's strictly professional. I don't like him. He doesn't like me. There's no liking!"
"It's sooooo like that." This from Noel.
"Well, what about Ginger and Keller James? They need to get a room too. Everyone knows it."
"Hey! This isn't about me! We're making fun of you right now," Ginger says.
"I don't even know how the two of you made it through the first three gingerbread eliminations. You were both so busy eye-fucking each other I'm