Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
E ssie had a quick breakfast of bran flakes with sliced banana and vanilla almond milk, then got ready and went off to church with her potato salad.
She stayed for the luncheon after the service, enjoying the fellowship.
So many people asked about Frank. She simply told them he’d gone to visit his daughter.
Once she got home, she changed into comfortable clothes, then, against her better judgment, hopped onto TikTok and checked Sophie’s channel.
There was one new video. It was short and set to a high-tempo pop song Essie didn’t know.
The video showed a montage of high-end designer store signs interspersed with Sophie smiling in her sunglasses, sipping a Starbucks cup, applying a designer lipstick, and carrying shopping bags from some of those stores.
The only caption read Retail Therapy in sparkly pink font.
Pretty innocuous, except…had Frank taken her shopping to try to smooth things over?
Essie didn’t love that. It felt like rewarding bad behavior. Or possibly a bribe. But Frank was a master negotiator. If he’d thought it was the right way to handle this situation, then Essie wasn’t going to question his decision.
The proof, however, would be in the pudding. Would Sophie really stop posting such mean things? Time would tell.
Essie had no doubt Liliana would be keeping an eye on things, too.
At least Frank would be home today. He’d texted her late last night to say he loved her, missed her, and what time he’d be in.
Essie decided to focus on that. She wanted to do something special to welcome him home.
He loved flan. He especially loved her flan.
It wasn’t the easiest thing to make but for him, she would do it. A labor of love.
She wanted him to know how much she’d missed him. She’d had fun with the girls, but she could do that with him home, too. And would, now that she’d made those connections. She couldn’t wait to tell him they’d become the reigning champs at trivia night.
Despite the fun she’d had, it had been strange to occupy this space without him. Somehow his absence made the house seem unnaturally quiet. In a small way, it reminded her of grieving Carlos.
Frank obviously wasn’t gone, but that sense of being alone had settled over her in an all too familiar way. Her new friends had helped so much.
She got her old wooden recipe box down and flipped through the cards, some stained, some tattered, some yellowed with age, until she found the one for flan. It was in her mother’s handwriting, copied from her mother’s recipe.
The flan would need time in the fridge to set up and chill properly, so Essie got to work right away.
As soon as the flan was in the oven, she’d sit and read her book club book. She only had a few chapters left and the next meeting was coming soon. She was already thinking of topics she might bring up and plot points she wanted to discuss, plus how she would write up the review she’d promised Cece.
Thinking about that was better than wondering how things had gone with Sophie. The shopping trip had to mean some kind of conclusion had been reached. She was sure Frank would tell her everything when he got home.
She got her oven temperature set, then took out all the ingredients.
The custard would be made first, then the caramel.
That was always the trickiest part because sometimes sugar had a mind of its own.
It was also the time she was most likely to burn herself.
Molten sugar was no joke. But it had to be done because the caramel went in the bottom of the pan before the custard. There was just no other way.
She made the custard in the blender. Her grandmother would have thought that was cheating, but it was the easiest method.
She added the eggs, egg yolks, salt, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla paste, which to her gave the richest vanilla flavor.
Once that was all in the pitcher, she pulsed it, careful not to overblend it and get too much froth.
The delicious scent of vanilla wafted up when she opened the lid. She dipped a finger in to taste it, then nodded, satisfied it was right.
There was some froth, but the custard would sit while she made the caramel, so most of the bubbles would pop by the time she was ready for it.
Next came the caramel. It was simple. Water, granulated sugar, and she liked to add a pinch of salt to bring the caramel to life.
She gave the pan a little shake, but didn’t stir the mix, just let it sit on the heat and do its thing.
Once the sugar was dissolved, it was just a matter of turning up the heat and bringing it to a boil until the syrup turned golden.
Then the heat went down until the gold darkened. As soon as that happened, it was done. The caramel got poured into the baking pan and swirled around to coat the bottom. Essie always wore oven mitts to do that because the heat went straight through the metal.
The caramel hardened fast, so there was no time to waste. She got it distributed evenly, then poured the custard in and covered the pan with foil. Next the pan went into a roasting dish, and the dish was filled with hot water from the kettle.
Finally, the whole thing went carefully into the oven.
It was such a relief when she got to that part with nothing spilled and no burns. She set the timer and went to sit down with a glass of iced tea to read. The next step of getting the pan out of the water bath wasn’t her favorite either. She’d be in oven mitts again for that.
The pan would sit on the counter for about half an hour, then into the fridge so it could cool and set up.
The very last act before serving it was to flip it over onto a serving plate. She laughed to herself. She doubted Frank had any idea how much effort that flan was, but he was more than worth it.
She said a quick prayer for his safety as he traveled, then focused on her book. It was absolutely a page turner. She stopped twice to make more notes for book club and her review.
When the oven timer went off, she blinked in surprise. The time had flown and she’d been lost in the story.
She got up to check the flan, using a pair of tongs to lift the edge of the foil, then grab the side of the pan and give it a little shake. Perfectly jiggly, just as it should be. She turned the oven off and set the tongs aside.
With both hands mitted up, she eased the oven rack out so that the water in the roasting pan didn’t spill. When it was far enough for her to get a grip on the flan pan, she took hold of the edges and lifted it, immediately transferring it to a waiting rack.
She exhaled. All of the hard stuff was done. She left the oven open and the roasting pan out to cool. The sooner she could get that cleaned up the better. She did not like mess.
Maybe that was why Sophie’s nonsense had bothered her so much. It was messy. Also nothing but lies and very disrespectful.
Sophie was free not to like Essie. There was no requirement for that. Essie had married Frank, not his children, but at the very least Sophie could acknowledge that her father had been lonely and was now happy.
But that child lived in a universe of one.
Essie disappeared into the pages of her book again, reaching the end just as the timer for the flan went off. She made sure the foil was secure, then set the flan in the fridge. The roasting pan was cool enough to touch, so she dumped the water in the sink, put it away, and closed the oven.
Pleased that Frank, who was due home in about an hour, would have a nice surprise waiting for him, she went back to her chair and jotted down her final thoughts about the book. It had been a wild ride, but she loved a thriller like that.
Paige had made a great choice. Essie couldn’t wait to see what she picked next.
When Frank arrived, Essie had just finished the rough draft of her review. She opened the front door and stood waiting, waving as he got out of the hired car. “Hi, honey.”
His smile warmed her. “Hi, baby.”
“How was your flight?”
He rolled his bag alongside as he came to the door. “It was fine. It’s really good to be home.”
“How did everything go with Sophie? Did you leave on good terms?” Essie closed the door behind him once he was in.
He let go of the bag’s handle and sighed, pulling her into his arms. “She’s a handful. It could have gone better, but we got there in the end.” He kissed Essie. “I’m glad to be back.”
“Same here.” She leaned into him. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
She tilted away from him so she could see his face. “So? How was it? What happened?”
“I gave Sophie two options. Stop the hateful posts and her allowance will continue.” He shook his head. “I know a woman of her age shouldn’t be getting an allowance, but I also told her she has a year to get a job and be self-sufficient.”
“Good for you.” She was proud of her husband.
“The other option was the allowance stops immediately, and she can do whatever she wants on social media. She took the money.” He smiled weakly. “No surprise there.”
“Thank you.”
“You never should have been subjected to that. I also told Sophie that another condition of her keeping her allowance is she has to apologize to you. I don’t know when that’s going to happen, but I told her it needed to be soon .
And this new boyfriend of hers, Ryan?” He rolled his eyes.
“He’s as delusional as she is about becoming an influencer. But whatever, it’s taken care of.”
That was above and beyond what she’d expected. She smiled up at him. “You’re a good man. The kind who deserves flan.”
His eyes lit up. “Does that mean?—”
“It’s in the fridge right now. Surprise!”
“You’re the best.” His grin took on a warmth that had been missing before. “And as it happens, you’re not the only one with a surprise.”
“What does that mean?”
He let go of her to reach into his bag. He presented her with a beautiful, gold-foiled box. “Sweets for the sweet. Sophie said they’re the best chocolates in Miami.”
Essie wasn’t sure what to make of that, but she smiled all the same. “Thank you so much. I might take these to book club to share with the girls.”
“That would be nice. But I have something else for you. Something I don’t think you’ll want to share.” He dug into his jacket’s interior pocket and pulled out a long, black velvet box. “A little present to say I’m sorry for Sophie’s behavior.”
She took it, opening it to reveal a stunning diamond bracelet. It took her breath away, but she got it right back. “Oh, Frank, you shouldn’t have. It’s gorgeous. I love it.”
“I love you .” He helped her get it out of the box and fastened it around her wrist.
“I love you, too.” She kissed him, long and hard. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know.”
“I’m glad you did, though.”
He laughed. “And I’m really glad you made flan.”