Lost Along the Way(56)

“It’s got to be torturous for her,” Meg agreed. “Cara can’t sit still to save her life.”

“I think I’d like it,” Jane said, trying to make everyone laugh. “Assuming I had a butler to bring me things and a really big TV.”

“I don’t think she’d agree with you!” Meg said as she elbowed Jane in the side. “Can we go in? Are you sure you don’t mind if I take over your kitchen for a while?” She held up two huge shopping bags.

“Not at all. You girls are really great friends. She’s lucky to have you both.”

They smiled as they made their way into the kitchen and glanced into the family room at Cara lying on the couch with her leg in a massive brace. “She should sleep for another hour or so, so make yourself at home. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to see you when she wakes up.”

Cara’s mom went upstairs and left Meg and Jane to unload boxes of butter, a carton of eggs, and bags of flour, sugar, and chocolate chips onto the counter. Meg had packed an entire baker’s kit to bring over to Cara’s house, complete with wooden spoons, measuring cups, and in true Meg fashion, aprons for them to wear while they tried to bake Cara back to good health. Meg set up mixing bowls while Jane stared at the groceries they now had spread out all over the countertops.

“I don’t know how I let you talk me into this. I don’t like to cook,” Jane said as she held up a box of unsweetened chocolate. “Why is this chocolate unsweetened? Don’t we like the kind with sugar in it?”

“This isn’t cooking, it’s baking,” Meg corrected. “And we’re going to add our own sugar to sweeten it. That’s called baking chocolate.”

“The fact that I didn’t know that such a chocolate exists should prove to you that I am not the one to help you with this kind of stuff. Are you sure we can’t just go buy her a whole bunch of stuff from the bakery?”

“Come on! It’s fun. Besides, it’s for Cara. Don’t you want to help cheer her up? Anyone can buy her something from the store. We’re her best friends, so we’re going to bake for her. Don’t you think that’s nicer?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry; I think I’m just overwhelmed by all of this stuff. I don’t want to mess it up.”

“You won’t mess anything up. Just do what I tell you to do and it will smell amazing in here in twenty minutes.”

“Okay, Betty Crocker. I know better than to question your authority in the kitchen. What can I do to help?”

“I’m going to make her brownies. Where are the marshmallows I told you to bring?”

“Oh, shit,” Jane said. “I knew I forgot something!”

“You forgot the marshmallows? You had one job!” Meg cried, as if Jane were supposed to bail her out of jail and forgot to bring her checkbook instead of forgetting to pick up a bag of mini marshmallows.

“I’m sorry! I can go get some now. I’ll be back in twenty minutes. You just make the batter. Crisis averted,” Jane said, trying to keep calm. This was not a big deal in the slightest.

“Forget it. I’d rather you stay and help in case she wakes up. We’ll just make regular brownies. Maybe if I have time we can make some peanut butter cookies, too.”

“This is how you say ‘sorry you hurt your knee’? Peanut butter cookies and marshmallow-less brownies? I think I’d rather you guys buy me a sweater or something,” Jane said.

“Yes. This, and we are going to spend a lot of time at her house watching movies with her until we have to go back to school. She’s going to go crazy being forced to stay inactive. We need to help take her mind off it.”

“Okay. But if we decide to bake again at some point, can I put in a request for chocolate cupcakes?”

“Deal.”

The truth was, Cara didn’t just hurt her knee; she ripped two ligaments skiing with her new boyfriend from Bowdoin at his family’s house in Vermont over Christmas break and needed surgery. She had to wear a huge leg brace and was going to be laid up for a while, which would’ve been bad for anyone. For someone who couldn’t go more than two days without doing some kind of activity it was excruciating both physically and mentally.

“I feel so bad for her,” Meg said. “I mean, she’s going to be in a lot of pain for a while. I wish there was something more we could do for her, but making her baked goods is kind of all I can think of.”

“What exactly happened? Cara’s an amazing athlete, I can’t believe she took such a bad fall.”

“I know. I don’t really know any of the details. I just hope she’s not in too much pain.”

“They can give her pills for that. What’s really going to upset her is that she embarrassed herself in front of Reed’s family, too. I mean, did the ski patrol have to bring her down the mountain? Do you think she cried in front of him?”

“Oh, there’s no way she cried in front of him.”

“She ripped ligaments. I’ve seen professional basketball players cry on the court when that happens,” Jane said.

“They’re not as tough as Cara is,” Meg reminded her.

“You’re right.”

“You guys are very funny. I’d laugh if the painkillers hadn’t made me so groggy I can barely see straight,” Cara said, propping herself up on the couch. She winced a bit when she tried to shift her weight.