Summaries
The Fruitcake Special
Anna, a chemist working for Amos Cosmetics, puts a
piece of fruitcake in a perfume mix as an experiment.
She is surprised when her boss, Mr Amos, takes a
sudden unexpected interest in her and invites her to
dinner. At home, Anna’s mother and Aunt Mimi
question her about when she will find a husband
and tease her about Armstrong, the boy who used
to deliver pizza. Anna ignores them and surprises
them with the news of her date. At the restaurant,
Mr Amos takes little notice of Anna, and even seems
embarrassed that he has asked her out, but things
rapidly change when Anna applies some more of the
new perfume — the fruitcake special. Not only
Mr Amos, but also one of the waiters becomes deeply
attracted to her. In the midst of the ensuing chaos,
Mr Amos’s girlfriend, Sabina, arrives, and shortly after
a fight breaks out. Anna makes a quick exit.
Anna, diplomatically, takes the next day off work and
visits her Aunt Mimi who bought the cake. Her aunt
tells her the woman who made it has died, but this
woman never had problems finding husbands — seven
in total. On returning to work, Anna is summoned
to Mr Amos’s office. Sabina is also there, and is rude
towards Anna. In revenge, Anna pours the remainder
of the fruitcake special over Sabina and walks out of
her job.
Shortly after this, we learn that Anna has a new job at
the factory where they make Intrigue. One day, she is
trying to make fruitcake, when there is a knock at the
door. It is Armstrong, who now owns his own pizza
company. Now that he is successful, he feels he can
ask Anna out and she realises that he is really very
nice.
The Real Aunt Molly
Aunt Molly is a sweet-natured, cheerful woman whose
sole interest in life is her home. After being widowed,
she becomes less cheerful, and concentrates her time
and energy on bringing up her twin sons, Winston and
Clement. The narrator, cousin Rufus, observes the
changes in her. As the twins grow into teenagers, they
become restless with the household routine, and decide
to organise something exciting for their mother’s 39th
birthday: a visit to a television studio to see one of
her favourite shows live. The twins organise a trip to
see Maxwell Marvel, an expert hypnotist. Aunt Molly
goes along with the idea to please her sons.
At the end of the show, Marvel asks for a final
volunteer. The twins propose their mother, and ask
Marvel to make her more decisive and self-confident.
She is hypnotised easily, but no sooner has Maxwell
finished than he collapses on stage. Aunt Molly
confidently organises medical aid. Back home, the
change in Aunt Molly is marked. She develops
a whole range of new interests, reads avidly and
paints. The twins and Rufus find the new Aunt Molly
very different but very likeable. Finally Aunt Molly
announces she is leaving for a holiday in Greece with
a professor. Meanwhile, Grandpa has received a letter
with a tape recording from the now deceased Marvel,
which would undo the hypnotic suggestion. With their
Aunt now departed to Greece, the twins and Rufus are
left with the dilemma — whether to tell Aunt Molly or
not.
Brains
Gina, a research scientist studying for her Ph.D., has
been developing a drug that increases intelligence.
She is summoned to her boss’s office in New York to
report on her findings. She is questioned by
Mr Dimitri about her work with Max the monkey,
who now has the intelligence of an eight-year-old
human. He is curious to learn whether the drug could
be used on humans. Anna admits this is possible, but
she is taken aback when Mr Dimitri orders her to
cease her research in this field. He explains that Gina’s
research findings could be challenged as people might
accuse her of taking the drug. Gina is offered work
and funding in a different field and accepts.
Meanwhile, we learn the real reasons for Mr Dimitri’s
objections to Gina’s research work; a drug that raised
intelligence would be bad for business, since intelligent
customers would be much more discriminating about