Cannot Wait to Get to Heaven - Fannie Flagg [92]
“Just now. Did you have much pain today, Momma?”
“Not too bad.”
“Look what I have for you.”
The old lady looked over and saw the piece of cake and said, “Oh, doesn’t that look good. And it smells good too!”
The next morning the alarm went off as usual at four AM and La Shawnda forced herself to get up and get ready for another day. After she dressed and went to the kitchen, she got the surprise of her life. The light was on and her mother was standing at the stove cooking. “Momma,” she said, “what are you doing up?”
Her mother said, “I just woke up, and I felt so much better this morning I thought I’d get up and do you some eggs.”
“Have you taken your medicine?”
“No, not yet. I had me the bestest dream last night. I dreamed I looked down and saw hundreds of little tiny golden hands rubbing all over me, and it felt so good, when I woke up I felt tingly all over. I tell you, honey, I think that cake must have cheered me up. I’ve been sick so long I forgot how good homemade cake is. I think it done woke up my taste buds. I’ve been thinking about making us some good old corn bread. What would you think about that?”
“Corn bread?”
“Yes. Maybe you could find some collards or turnip greens, or maybe some butter beans. Wouldn’t that just hit the spot?”
The Recipe
7:20 AM
Three days after finding the cake, La Shawnda was on the bus headed for work, and was amazed at how much her mother’s health had improved. Last night her mother had even fixed that pan of corn bread! She made up her mind to find the lady who the robe had belonged to, and tell her just how much her mother had loved that cake, and how it had cheered her up so. She might even see if she could get the recipe.
At around seven-twenty AM on Thursday she knocked on the door to Elner’s room and saw that the white-haired lady was sitting up and awake.
“Mrs. Shimfissle? May I come in?”
“Sure,” said Elner, “come on.”
“How you feeling today?”
“Just fine, thank you,” said Elner, looking to see if the woman had a needle in her hand.
“Mrs. Shimfissle…you don’t know me, but I’m the one who packed up your personal effects.”
“My what, honey?”
“Your robe and house shoes.”
“Oh, yes. I was hoping somebody had done that. I was wondering what happened to them.”
“I gave them to your niece the night you came in.”
Elner’s face fell, and she said, “Uh-oh. There goes my robe. Norma has just been itching to sling it out for years. Oh well. That’s what I get for not minding her, I guess.”
La Shawnda came closer to the bed and said, “Mrs. Shimfissle, on Monday night when I was folding up your robe, I found a piece of cake in your pocket.”
Elner’s eyes lit up. “Oh, good. I was hoping it made it back.”
“Yes, ma’am.” La Shawnda looked around to see if anyone was coming in. “I was supposed to throw it out, but I didn’t.”
“You didn’t?” said a hopeful Elner, who was happy to think she might get it back. She could stand another piece of Dorothy’s cake right now.
“I hope you don’t mind, I took it home to my mother. She grew up way out in the country, and I thought a piece of homemade cake would cheer her up.”
“Oh. I see.” Elner was somewhat disappointed but said, “Well, bless her heart. I grew up in the country too, so I know just how she feels, and if they weren’t going to let me have it, I’m glad she got to enjoy it.”
“Oh, she did, because the next morning she felt better than she has for a long time.”
“It was good cake, all right.”
“I wanted to ask you where you got it. Did you make it?”
Elner laughed.