A Duck In Her Pond » Comfort and Whimsy

Comfort and Whimsy 16

Blond Duck — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 09:00:59 +0000

Ignoring the gasps and cries around her, Carolina extracted her head from the cake. Carefully wiping icing from her eyes and nose, she glanced up eagerly through frosting covered lashes. “Well? Anything?”

The other diners stared expectantly at Carolina’s grandmother. Lifting her chin, she scowled. “What did you expect, that I would burst into song and dance? Ridiculous. Now, Carolina, look at what you’ve done. You’ve ruined a perfectly good cake. And your dress! It’s covered in buttercream icing.”

Tears pricked at Carolina’s icing laden eyes as her grandmother continued to rant, her gray silk suit covered arms folded neatly and sternly over one another.

“This is absurd, Carolina. You’ve ruined a perfectly good birthday cake. At 18, you should know better than that. We should have stayed in Comfort, where we’ve been dining for the past 12 years. Whimsy is nothing but a frivolous, outlandish, ludicrous”–

“Oh, Evette?” Hibiscus interrupted sweetly. “Evette, dear?”

Carolina’s grandmother whirled around, exasperation etched in her stern cheeks. “Hibiscus Honeycutt, can’t you see I’m in the middle of”– She sputtered and coughed as a large chunk of cake and icing splattered across her face.

Doubling over with laughter, Hibiscus howled and pointed as the other diners burst into shocked giggles. “I’m sorry, Evette, but you should have seen your expression…” She collapsed into a fresh set of giggles, tears running down her cheeks.

Scooping cake and icing out of her eyes, Evette glared at Hibiscus, rolling around on the floor and howling like a hyena. Without a word, she carefully sliced an enormous wedge of cake. Wearing a wide grin, she silently stepped over Hibiscus, bent down and shoved it onto her face. Hibiscus coughed and sputtered between giggles as chunks of cake and icing tumbled into her mouth and up her nose. Sitting up, she licked a finger and grinned.

“Food fight!” Carolina shouted, grabbing a handful of cake and flinging it at her grandmother. As if on cue, dozens of cakes and buckets of ice cream rose in the center of each table scattered around whimsy, and icing began to squirt in buttercream and cream cheese streams from the fountain. Shrieking and laughing, all the other ladies grabbed handfuls of cake and scoops of ice cream and began to fling it at one another. The frog band continued to play on bravely, ducking wayward wads of raspberry ice cream and wedges of chocolate cake tumbling through the air.

“This is fun!” the little girl shouted, shoving a mixture of bubblegum ice cream and peanut butter cake in her mother’s hair.

“I haven’t had this much fun in ages!” the nosy woman shouted, so intent on firing scoop after scoop of ice cream she didn’t notice the woman in the fur stole sneaking up behind her with two handfuls of chocolate cake and icing.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” another woman shouted as a cold scoop of ice cream slithered down her shirt. Squirming and leaping, she shrieked as her nearly deaf companion looked on calmly and yelled, “It’s in your shirt, not your hair you goober!”

“I know that!” the first woman bellowed.

The nearly deaf woman shrugged. “Well, if you want to wear it as a hat…” Lifting a platter of banana cake, she piled it on her friend’s head and burst out laughing.

Carolina, who by this time looked as if she had been in a pastry war zone, cackled as she slammed Josh in the face with a well-aimed scoop of butter pecan ice cream. Flinging another piece of cake at her grandmother, she shouted, “This is a birthday party!”

“Quite right!” Hibiscus shouted, howling as Josh dumped a bucket of ice cream down the back of her shirt. “And a delicious one, as well!”

Evette gasped with laughter, wiping icing from her cheeks. “I haven’t had this much fun in years. I should have come back to Whimsy a long time ago. I always wanted to, but…”

“You did? You never told me!” Carolina gasped, pausing with a fistful of cake in each hand. “I thought you hated Whimsy.”

Her grandmother shrugged and gave her a sheepish smile. “I guess it was really just fear. As you get older, it gets harder and harder to let go. There’s always responsibilities and chores and things to do…Adults really are quite boring.”

Carolina grinned and leaped into her grandmother’s arms for a hug, smearing cake all over her back. “Which is why I plan never to grow up.”

“As you shouldn’t,” Hibiscus agreed, dumping a bucket of ice cream over both their heads. Ignoring their shocked howls, she continued, “And as nice as Comfort is, everyone needs a good deal of whimsy in their life. After all, is life worth living without it?”

“That reminds me,” Evette said causally as she shoved a plate of cake on top of Hibsicus’ hat, which now looked like the inside of a bakery trash bin, “Have you been out of Whimsy in 18 years?”

“No,” Hibiscus shuddered. “It seems far too dull out there for me.”

Evette opened her mouth, then shrugged and popped a chunk of cake in her mouth. “Maybe it is,” she said with a shrug, licking her fingers. “Maybe it is.”

“I wonder why you two are still separate,” Josh mused, digging in a nearly empty bucket of popcorn ice cream. Sucking down another bite, he waved his spoon at them. “I would have thought you would have morphed back together or something.”

“No way,” Hibiscus shuddered. “I’m much too fanciful for her.”

“And I’m much too practical for her,” Evette agreed, brushing some fondue off her grey silk sleeve.

“Maybe you’re meant to balance each other out, like yin and yang,” Carolina suggested, reaching for another handful of cake to fling at Josh.

“Who knows?” Evette smiled. “I’m just having fun, just as one should at a birthday. And I have you to thank for that, dear.”

Winking at Carolina, she handed her granddaughter a piece of cake with a single lit candle. “Happy birthday, dear. I hope all your wishes came true.”

“Thanks, Grandmother.” Carolina closed her eyes and thought for a moment. Pursing her lips, she blew out the candle.

Then she slammed her face into the plate of cake. Just in case.

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Next week we start with some new Halloween stories for Halloween month! Stay tuned!

Comfort and Whimsy 15

Blond Duck — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 09:00:02 +0000

For previous editions, go here.

Pouting, Hibiscus folded her arms. “What idea?”

Carolina shook her head, a tiny smile on her lips. “Follow me.” Winding around the screen, she stepped back into the main part of Whimsy with her grandmother and Hibiscus trailing behind her. As soon as she appeared, many of the other diners clapped their hands and cheered.

“You won hide and seek!” the older woman in the fur stole cried.

“You won! You won!” the little girl shouted, leaping up and wrapping her arms around her. “Can we play again? And can I be on your team?”

“Now honey, it’s her birthday party,” her mother admonished her, giving Carolina an embarrassed smile. “And she’s 18 today. I doubt she wanted to play hide and seek.”

“Hoot and peek?” the older woman with poor hearing cried, who had been attempting to eavesdrop.

“Hide and seek!” her companion corrected, her cheeks flaming.

“I’m not a geek!” the woman roared. Shaking her head, her companion buried her face in her hands.

“So where did you hide?” the nosy woman asked, eager to steal her spot for the next round. “Josh looked for ages for you!”

“I knew where she was the whole time,” Josh sniffed, his eyes darting about as though daring someone to argue with him.

“Then why didn’t you find her first?” the nosy woman challenged.

“It was her birthday,” Josh protested. “I was being nice.”

The nosy diner sniffed and crossed her arms. “Liar.”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Someone put them in time out!” the little girl shrieked.

A loud whistle pierced the air and everyone turned in Carolina’s direction. Her cheeks pink and her eyes glowing, she eyed the other diners around the room. “As it’s my birthday and my party, I have a better idea.”

“Yes, let her tell her idea.” Hibiscus rubbed her hands together and licked her lips. “Then we can have cake.”

“Is that all you think about?” Carolina’s grandmother snarled.

“Have you seen the cake?” Hibiscus countered.

“Actually, we are going to eat cake,” Carolina interrupted. “Because I’m going to use my birthday wish when I’m blowing out my candles to get your sense of whimsy back.”

“What?” her grandmother cried, horrified.

“What?” Hibiscus cried, equally horrified.

“What?” several of the diners cried, confused.

Josh shook his head and laid a hand on Carolina’s arm. “Carolina, you can’t do that in Whimsy.”

She turned to him, narrowing her eyes. “Why not? It’s my birthday.”

Josh squirmed under her glare. “True, but things are different here in Whimsy. In Whimsy, you don’t just blow out your candles to get your birthday wish. You have to earn your wish.”

“You have to earn your wish?” Carolina raised her eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

“This would have never happened if we stayed in Comfort,” Carolina’s grandmother muttered.

“It would have never happened if you hadn’t been late to your granddaughter’s birthday,” Hibiscus corrected.

“Oh so this is my fault now?” Carolina’s grandmother snapped.

“The truth hurts,” Hibiscus snapped. She eyed the cake and drooled. “Can we we eat now?”

“How do I earn my birthday wish?” Carolina asked, rubbing her head. All the bickering made her forehead feel like an ax had been wedged between her eyebrows.

Josh bit his lip and looked at his feet. “You have to show your appreciation for the cake.”

Carolina cocked her head. “Like cooing over it or telling it how pretty it is?”

Josh shrugged. “I don’t know. Every cake is different. The more outlandish and whimsical the cake, the more whimsical and outlandish the appreciation. I’ve seen people compose sonnets and songs, have a parade in honor of the cake, do a dance for it….one man even asked his cake to marry him.”

“I’m not marrying a cake,” Carolina informed him.

“I would,” Hibiscus muttered, licking her lips. “And then I’d go to jail for murder because I’d eat every heavenly bite.”

“You don’t have to marry the cake,” Josh reminded her. “You just have to show your appreciation in the most outlandish and whimsical way possible. Something completely out of character for you.”

“And then I’ll earn my wish?” Carolina asked.

Josh nodded. “Though I wouldn’t advise wasting it on trying to get your grandmother’s sense of whimsy back. I’d ask for something more tangiable, like a ring or something.”

“Or a pony,” the little girl added hopefully, tugging on Carolina’s hand. “One with pink ribbons in her tail!”

“Or a handsome boyfriend,” the nosy woman added suggestively, raising her eyebrows. She loved any hint of gossip. “Maybe that Italian boy you saw?”

“What is she wishing for?” the hard of hearing woman bellowed. “A macaw?”

Her friend, rather than try to answer, simply buried her face in her hands.

“Carolina, Josh is right,” her grandmother said crisply. “Not only do I not only want you to waste your wish on me, I simply don’t want to deal with something so exasperating. I enjoy being practical and efficient.”

“Dull, dull, dull,” Hibiscus muttered, twirling the cake slicer around on one finger. She winked at Carolina. “Ready when you are, darling. I got my piece picked out and I’m just waiting to cut.”

With everyone eyes on her, Carolina kneeled at the table in front of the gorgeous cake. Her eyes traveled over the frosting, taking in all the layers and careful details. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

And then she stuck her face into the center of the cake with a loud smack.

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! We have a week of whimsy ahead!

Comfort and Whimsy 14

Blond Duck — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 09:00:12 +0000

For previous editions, go here.

“What?” Carolina looked back and forth between her grandmother and Hibiscus. “Is this true?”

“Yes,” Hibiscus replied as her grandmother burst out, “No!”

“Well, which is it?” Carolina asked, nervously plucking the straps of her pink dress. “Yes or no?”

“Yes,” Hibiscus repeated firmly, elbowing her grandmother.

“No,” scowled her grandmother, elbowing Hibiscus back. “I mean…well, technically she’s correct.”

“Technically?” Carolina shook her head. “What does technically mean?”

“Technically!” A tiny blue bird popped out of the plant behind Carolina’s head. Jumping, she turned and shrieked. “Technically,” the bird repeated. “Define: technically. Based on precise facts, according to the exact meaning.” Bowing his head, the tiny blue bird flapped its wings and disappeared into the dark recesses of the plant.

Carolina looked helplessly at Hibiscus, who was giggling and snorting behind her hand. “That’s the Word Bird,” she explained through snorts. “Not only will he appear at any moment to give you the word you’re searching for, but he’ll define any word you’re confused about. He swallowed the dictionary and thesaurus once by mistake and he’s been a walking treasure trove of information.”

“Ridiculous,” Carolina’s grandmother muttered.

“How did he swallow the dictionary and thesaurus by mistake?” Carolina asked, her eyes wide. “He’s such a tiny bird.”

“Well, it happened one night after he hung out with the hummingbirds and the atrium and drank too much of their wine…” Carolina’s grandmother gave her a pointed look and Hibiscus coughed. “Let’s just say he had pretty bad heartburn for a long time.”

Carolina glanced at the tree longingly. As much as she wanted to test the Word Bird’s knowledge, she knew it would have to wait. “So you two are really the same person? What happened?”

Carolina’s grandmother scowled and crossed her arms. “I came to meet my grandmother, just as you meet me. We used to meet every day for lunch in Comfort. And then one day, on my 16th birthday, I got the wild idea I wanted to go to Whimsy. My grandmother was furious and wouldn’t accompany me, so I went alone.”

“Sounds familiar,” Carolina said wryly. “Then what?”

“I came to Whimsy and ordered the Menu Surprise.” Her grandmother shook her head, shuddering. “I was whisked from adventure to adventure–I barely got to eat my lunch. And then at the end, I was served an enormous cake, a ridiculous amount for one girl.”

“It was delicious.” Hibiscus licked her lips and smiled fondly.

“Anyway,” Carolina’s grandmother continued, glaring at Hibiscus, “I sat there for hours, trying to decide what to do with this cake.”

“Why didn’t you just eat a slice and take the rest home?” Carolina asked. “That would be the sensible thing to do.”

“Nothing is sensible in Whimsy,” Hibiscus answered cheerfully. “That’s part of the charm. She either had to eat the whole cake or none at all.”

“The whole cake?” Carolina exclaimed.

“Yes.” Carolina’s grandmother closed her eyes and shuddered. “The calories…the sugar…”

“The frosting….the deliciousness…the buttercream.” Hibiscus drooled into her collar, wiping her chin artlessly.

“So I did the worst possible thing I could do.” Carolina’s grandmother winced. “I took a bite, then spit it out at the last minute. Suddenly, there was this great flash of light. And then I was staring at this fool!”

Hibiscus looked up from patting the drool dry on her neck with a wicked grin. “Hola.”

“So I ran out screaming, and haven’t been back to Whimsy since. Until now. When I heard you were in here…” Her grandmother’s steely dark eyes softened. “I feared the worst. Carolina, dear, I was so scared….”

Carolina twirled a strand of her golden hair around her finger thoughtfully, chewing on her lip. “So that’s why you’re so serious all the time. Your sense of joy and whimsy has been gone for decades.”

“Precisely.” Hibiscus grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “That’s why she’s so boring and dull.”

“I’m not boring and dull!” Carolina’s grandmother howled, her wrinkled cheeks reddening. “I’m stately and refined! Elegant and regal!”

“Dull, dreary, boring….” Hisbiscus’ eyes twinkled. “Any more, Word Bird?”

The tiny blue bird flew out of the bush, making Carolina jump for a second time.

“Boring!” it shrieked. “Define: boring! Uninteresting, mindless, unexciting, lackluster, humdrum, uninspiring, wearisome.” Nodding rapidly, the bird beat its wings and disappeared into the bush.

“My point precisely.” Hibiscus stretched. “Now dear, the choice is up to you. Do you want to go with your boring old grandmother and spend the rest of your life eating chicken nuggets”–

“–Chicken tenders,” Carolina interrupted.

“–Or do you want to finish your party and have some of that cake? That tasty, delicious cake.” Hibiscus’ eyes glazed over and she began to drool into the other side of her collar.

“Carolina, come on. Let’s go before this ridiculous woman puts any more terrifying ideas in your head. We can have a proper birthday lunch, I promise.” Carolina’s grandmother reached for her hand. Carolina hesitated, fingering the edge of her pink gown. Stepping back, she shook her head definitely.

“No. I’ve got a better idea.”

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! We have a week of whimsy coming up!

Comfort and Whimsy 13

Blond Duck — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:00:59 +0000

For previous editions, go here.

Gasping, Carolina whirled around, her hand flying to her collarbone. Once she recognized the stately figure in front of her, she sighed with relief. “Grandmother, you scared me. Oh, Grandmother!” She flung her arms around her grandmother’s neck. “You’re here! You’re really here!” She beamed. “My birthday wish came true after all!” Glancing around the cafe, she gave a silent thanks to the powers of Whimsy.

Standing stiffly in the circle of her granddaughter’s arms, her grandmother plucked at Carolina’s sleeve, as if to lift the offending hug away. “Yes, dear, I am. You, however, are not where you should be. However did you wind up in Whimsy?” Her nose wrinkled and her voice grew nasal, as if the very word was so vile one could barely speak it without the pungent repulsiveness overcoming them.

Carolina laughed, impervious to her Grandmother’s disapproving expression. “Well, I was sitting in the front lobby waiting for you with Evelyn and Josh, and I just got curious…” She cocked her head. “Where were you, anyway? You’ve never been late to lunch.”

Her grandmother’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I had an urgent business matter that could not be delayed.”

“Oh.” Carolina lowered her eyes, her voice flat. Disappointment lay heavy in her belly, like a cheap ice cream on a hot day.

“Ah, I see.” Her grandmother shook her head. “You thought I was off planning a surprise party or buying you a car or something for your birthday.”

Carolina flushed. “Oh no! Nothing that big or extravagant. I just thought…” She trailed off, embarrassed. “I thought maybe, in some tiny way, you might be thinking about me,” she finished in a small voice.

Her grandmother’s eyes softened, but her voice remained stern. “Carolina, you know my motto. Work first, discipline second, play later.” She patted Carolina’s cheek. “Now, let’s get you out of this horrid place.”

“Horrid?” Carolina glanced around, eying the crystal chandeliers, the jaunty pink wallpaper, the clear fountain where the frog band continued to play on, the unoccupied lilly pads bouncing in rhythm to the beat. “But there’s nothing horrid about Whimsy. Besides, we can’t leave. We’re in the middle of my birthday party.”

“A birthday party?” Carolina’s grandmother raised her eyebrows. “But dear, your parents are throwing you a perfectly lovely party tonight.”

“A dinner party,” Carolina spat, her wrinkled nose looking very much like her grandmother’s had a few moments ago. “A dinner party with people I don’t know and their stuck up kids and food I don’t like. Do you want to know the real reason I came to Whimsy, Grandmother?”

She paused, her cheeks growing red and her eyes glittering. “Because I realized for nearly 12 years, since I was six, I’ve been eating the same lunch every day. I’ve been dressing in the same private school uniform and wearing my hair the way everyone says I should. Everything has been safe and comfortable and well, dull. And I wanted to do something grand, something special for my 18th birthday.”

She raised her chin definitely. “And even though I’ll probably go back to my chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese and peanut butter cookies in Comfort tomorrow, at least for one day, one day I was brave enough to come to Whimsy.” She crossed her arms and stared at her grandmother.

Carolina’s grandmother stood very still, as if she was afraid any sudden movement would send Carolina running. Slowly she reached out and took her arm. “It’s worse than I thought,” she whispered, her eyes wide as she glanced around. “We must get you away from here, dear. We must hurry, before it’s too late.”

“Leave Whimsy?” Carolina’s voice rose. “In the middle of my birthday party?”

“Please don’t argue with me, Carolina!” her grandmother snapped, her fingers closing around Carolina’s thin wrist like a vice. “We must hurry! We must get you out of here before this dreadful Whimsy steals you forever!”

Carolina ripped her wrist away, rubbing the long red streaks where her grandmother’s fingers had been with her hand. “What are you talking about? Grandmother, you’re scaring me!”

“There you are!” Bounding over like a half-crazed rabbit, Hibiscus Honeycutt beamed and flung her arm around Carolina’s shoulder. “I’m amazed Josh couldn’t find you dear! What a great spot for hide and seek!” She looked up and her grin grew wider. “Well, well, well. You came back. After you swore you never would.”

“It seems I had to,” Carolina’s grandmother snapped, her elegant face growing ugly with anger. “You and this dreadful place lured Carolina inside, like a butterfly into a Venus flytrap!”

“Oh, please.” Hibiscus Honeycutt snorted, her arm tightening around Carolina’s shoulders. “She wanted to come. Unlike you, she has a sense of whimsy.”

“Don’t say that.” Her grandmother’s gaze tightened. “Carolina, we’re leaving. Now.”

“But it’s her birthday party,” Hibiscus protested. “Surely you wouldn’t make her leave her own party? After her only birthday wish came true?”

Ignoring her, Carolina’s grandmother turned to her confused granddaughter. “Carolina, did you eat anything here?”

“A bite of tuna salad,” Carolina replied. “I forgot to eat the rest of my lunch…And we haven’t even tried the cake yet. Oh the cake! Hibiscus, we must cut the cake!”

“It’s delicious,” Hibiscus Honeycutt mumbled, brushing a crumb from the corner of her mouth. “So I hear,” she amended, glancing around guiltily.

“Then it’s not too late.” Carolina’s grandmother’s shoulders fell, as though the relief at the news poured out through her fingertips. “We must hurry. Come on, Carolina! We must leave now!”

“Grandmother, I don’t understand,” Carolina protested, twisting out of her Grandmother’s grasping fingertips. “What scares you so much about Whimsy? It’s the most wonderful place in the world.”

“You mean you didn’t tell her?” Hibiscus whirled around, chortling. “Oh that’s rich. That’s too rich.”

“Tell me what?” Carolina demanded, as her grandmother hid her gaze. “Grandmother, what? What’s going on?”

Carolina’s grandmother pressed her lips together, refusing to answer. After a moment of tense silence, Hibiscus sighed. “You see Carolina, your grandmother and I aren’t just friends. Well, you could say we’re two halves of a whole. Yin and yang. Black and white.”

“I don’t understand.” Carolina shook her head.

“I am she and she is me,” Hibiscus replied. “In other words, we’re the same person. Well, we were. Once upon a time.”

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! We have a week full of whimsy coming up!