'David, I really think . . .' I began.
But at that moment our waiter made another
appearance. He was playing a guitar and singing 'O Sole, Mio' to me at the top of his voice. Well, he did say he wouldn't talk loudly - I didn't say anything about singing loudly. I must remember next time.
As for Sabina, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the sight of two men both saying how much they loved me at the same time — and while she was there.
So she hit David in the face.
The waiter sang even louder than before. David hit him on the chin. As I moved away from the table, a fight developed between Sabina, David, the singing waiter and several more waiters who were trying to calm things down.
Soon the place was a loud, confused mess of cake, pieces of lobster, pools of wine and bits of broken guitar.
Time to go, I thought.
I ran downstairs and caught a taxi home. Thank goodness the taxi driver was a woman!
When I got home, Aunt Mimi had gone and Momma was asleep - she never could stay awake when she was excited. I had some quiet moments to think about what had happened. Why had my perfume had such an effect on men who would not normally take any notice of me? Nothing had been put in that was any different. Nothing, that is, except Aunt Mimi's fruitcake.
What a fruitcake!
Then I had a thought. What if I, as a chemist, could find out what it was in that fruitcake that caused men to go
mad with love? People would pay a lot to know a thing like that. I could make a lot of money! There was no reason, come to think of it, why I should let Amos Cosmetics know about it. After all, it wasn't their fruitcake. But I couldn't do a thing unless I knew what was in the cake -and only Aunt Mimi knew that.
I decided to miss work the next day — I would say I had a cold or something. I also wanted to avoid David Amos who might still be affected by the fruitcake special, or the fight that had followed.
Aunt Mimi lived in a nice little apartment on the other side of town. I had gone out before Momma got up. I didn't want to be questioned about my 'new young man'. It took an hour to get there on the bus.
When at last I arrived Aunt Mimi gave me a warm welcome. Soon we were sitting in her kitchen, talking about this and that. We both knew what Aunt Mimi was going to ask me about in the end, so neither of us minded talking about other things first. Aunt Mimi was good company when she wasn't talking about husbands.
I mentioned the fruitcake.
Anna,' said Aunt Mimi, 'I've known you since you were born and you've never baked a cake in your life. Now you want to know how to bake a fruitcake. What's going on?'
'Nothing, Aunt Mimi, I just thought the cake was delicious and wondered if I could bake one too. There's no harm in that, is there?' Of course, I was lying. We both knew it.
'So,' Aunt Mimi said. 'This new man of yours - he wants you to bake him a cake. Who does he think you are, his mother? Just what were you two doing last
night, having a cookery class?'
'Oh, please, Aunt Mimi,' I begged. 'I really need to know. I promise that as soon as you tell me I'll tell you everything about last night.'
Aunt Mimi was interested. 'Everything?'
'Everything,' I said. 'No secrets.'
Aunt Mimi smiled. 'Well, my dear, I hate to tell you this but I didn't make the cake. I bought it.'
'You bought it?' I said, unable to hide the surprise in my voice. 'Where did you buy it?'
'From a little place in the market, the open-air one that takes place twice a week in the park. There's an old lady there who said she used to bake them for her husbands. She had seven of them, would you believe? And they all ate her fruitcakes.'
Somehow I wasn't surprised that she had had seven husbands. Not with those fruitcakes.
'Did she say what she put in them?' I asked, hopefully.
'Only that she put in a "special something" that she grew herself,' said Aunt Mimi. 'She wouldn't say what. She told me that she only baked that kind of cake a few times. As a matter of fact, she knew that I was thinking about finding a husband for you. I don't know how she knew but she did.
Anyway, this woman who made the cake told me to give it to you and your problems would be over. I didn't believe what she said, but I used to buy the fruitcakes because they were delicious.'
I noticed that Aunt Mimi was talking about this old lady as if she wasn't around any more. I feared the worst. Was she dead?
'Can we see this old lady to ask her about it?' I asked.
Aunt Mimi looked at me sadly. 'I'm afraid she died last week - I went to her funeral. They say she was over a hundred years old. There were a lot of strangers there, not from around here, all speaking in some kind of strange way. They seemed to think she was important, though nobody ever took much notice of her around here.'
'Except you, Aunt Mimi,' I said.
Aunt Mimi smiled. 'Well, you know how I can't mind my own business.' I knew.
'Speaking of which,' she said, moving closer to me, 'it's your turn.' 'My turn?' I asked.
'To tell me everything that happened last night,' she said.
And so I did. Everything, just as I had promised. I don't know whether Aunt Mimi believed me or not, but if she didn't she never let it show.
She's not a bad old lady, my Aunt Mimi. Not when you get to know her.
I n the end I had two days off work. I said I'd been sick and in a way I was: I wouldn't feel well until I knew the truth about the fruitcake. I knew that there was little chance of discovering what actually went into it. I would have to work it out from the small amount I had left in the bottle. I had used up more than I thought the other night.
But I was not sure that I wanted to make my fortune
from the old woman's secret. Perhaps it was only right that the secret should lie buried with her.
' David ผมคิดว่า ... การ ' เริ่มแต่ตอนที่ เราเสิร์ฟทำอีกลักษณะที่ปรากฏ เขาเล่นกีต้าร์ และร้องเพลง 'O แต่เพียงผู้เดียว Mio' กับผมที่เสียงของเขา ดี เขาไม่ได้บอกว่า เขาจะไม่พูดดัง - ฉันไม่ได้พูดอะไรเกี่ยวกับการร้องเพลงดัง ผมต้องจำได้ว่า ครั้งต่อไปสำหรับซาบีนา เธอไม่รู้ว่าจะหัวเราะ หรือร้องไห้ในสายตาของผู้ชายทั้งสองทั้งสองพูดว่า พวกเขารักผมในเวลาเดียวกันและใน ขณะที่เธอมีดังนั้น เธอตี David ในหน้าเสิร์ฟสังจะดังขึ้นกว่าเดิม David ตีเขาบนคาง เป็นฉันถูกย้ายจากตาราง การต่อสู้พัฒนาระหว่างซาบีนา David เสิร์ฟร้องและบริกรมากหลายคนพยายามสงบสิ่งทันที ถูกระเบียบดัง สับสนของเค้ก ชิ้นส่วนของกุ้ง ประเภทของไวน์และบิตของกีตาร์หักเวลาที่จะไป ฉันคิดว่าฉันวิ่งลงบันได และจับแท็กซี่บ้าน ขอบคุณ พระเจ้า คนขับรถแท็กซี่ถูกผู้หญิงเมื่อผมหน้าแรก ฟมิมิป้าก็หายไป และมีการหลับ - แม่ของเธอไม่อาจยังคงทำงานอยู่เมื่อเธอตื่นเต้น มีบางช่วงเวลาที่เงียบคิดอะไรเกิดขึ้น น้ำหอมของฉันเคยมีลักษณะพิเศษดังกล่าวในคนปกติไม่ใช้ประกาศใด ๆ ของฉันทำไม ไม่มีการใส่ในที่แตกต่างกันได้ ไม่มีอะไร คือ ยกเว้น fruitcake Aunt ฟมิมิอะไรเป็น fruitcakeแล้ว ผมคิด ถ้า เป็นนักเคมี สามารถค้นหาสิ่งที่มันเป็นที่ fruitcake ที่เกิดจากมนุษย์ไปmad with love? People would pay a lot to know a thing like that. I could make a lot of money! There was no reason, come to think of it, why I should let Amos Cosmetics know about it. After all, it wasn't their fruitcake. But I couldn't do a thing unless I knew what was in the cake -and only Aunt Mimi knew that.I decided to miss work the next day — I would say I had a cold or something. I also wanted to avoid David Amos who might still be affected by the fruitcake special, or the fight that had followed.Aunt Mimi lived in a nice little apartment on the other side of town. I had gone out before Momma got up. I didn't want to be questioned about my 'new young man'. It took an hour to get there on the bus.When at last I arrived Aunt Mimi gave me a warm welcome. Soon we were sitting in her kitchen, talking about this and that. We both knew what Aunt Mimi was going to ask me about in the end, so neither of us minded talking about other things first. Aunt Mimi was good company when she wasn't talking about husbands.I mentioned the fruitcake.Anna,' said Aunt Mimi, 'I've known you since you were born and you've never baked a cake in your life. Now you want to know how to bake a fruitcake. What's going on?''Nothing, Aunt Mimi, I just thought the cake was delicious and wondered if I could bake one too. There's no harm in that, is there?' Of course, I was lying. We both knew it.'So,' Aunt Mimi said. 'This new man of yours - he wants you to bake him a cake. Who does he think you are, his mother? Just what were you two doing last กลางคืน มีคลาสสอนทำอาหาร?''โอ้ กรุณา Aunt ฟมิมิ ฉันขอร้อง ' ฉันต้องการทราบ ผมสัญญาว่า ทันทีที่คุณบอก ฉันจะบอกคุณทุกอย่างเกี่ยวกับเมื่อคืนนี้ 'ป้าฟมิมิได้สนใจ 'ทุกสิ่ง''ทุกอย่าง ฉันกล่าว 'ความลับไม่'ฟมิมิป้ายิ้ม ' ดี รักของฉัน ฉันเกลียดคุณบอกนี้ แต่ฉันไม่ได้ทำเค้ก ฉันซื้อมันด้วย '"ซื้อมาแล้วหรือไม่' ฉันกล่าว ไม่สามารถซ่อนความประหลาดใจในเสียงของฉัน 'ที่ซื้อได้หรือไม่'' จากน้อยในตลาด หนึ่งเปิดโล่งที่ใช้เวลาทำสองสัปดาห์ในสวน เป็นหญิงมีผู้กล่าวว่า เธอใช้อบให้สำหรับสามีของเธอ ได้ เธอมีเจ็ดของพวกเขา คุณจะเชื่อหรือไม่ และพวกเขาทั้งหมดกิน fruitcakes ของเธอ.'อย่างใด ฉันไม่ประหลาดใจว่า เธอเคยมีสามี 7 ไม่ มี fruitcakes เหล่านั้น'ไม่ได้เธอบอกว่า เธอใส่ใน' ถาม หวัง' เท่านั้นที่เธอวางไว้ใน "พิเศษสิ่ง" ว่า เธอเติบโตตัวเอง ว่า Aunt ฟมิมิ ' เธอไม่พูดอะไร เธอบอกว่า เธอเท่านั้นอบแบบเค้กกี่ครั้ง ว่าแท้ที่จริง เธอรู้ว่า ฉันคิดเกี่ยวกับการหาสามีคุณ ไม่รู้ว่าเธอรู้ แต่เธอไม่ได้อย่างไรก็ตาม ผู้หญิงคนนี้ที่ทำเค้กที่บอกให้คุณและปัญหาของคุณ จะผ่าน ผมไม่เชื่อว่าเธอพูด แต่เคยซื้อ fruitcakes เพราะอร่อย 'สังเกตเห็นว่า ป้าฟมิมิพูดถึงเลดี้เก่านี้ว่าเธอไม่ได้รอบต่อไป ฉันกลัวร้าย ถูกเธอตาย'Can we see this old lady to ask her about it?' I asked.Aunt Mimi looked at me sadly. 'I'm afraid she died last week - I went to her funeral. They say she was over a hundred years old. There were a lot of strangers there, not from around here, all speaking in some kind of strange way. They seemed to think she was important, though nobody ever took much notice of her around here.''Except you, Aunt Mimi,' I said.Aunt Mimi smiled. 'Well, you know how I can't mind my own business.' I knew.'Speaking of which,' she said, moving closer to me, 'it's your turn.' 'My turn?' I asked.'To tell me everything that happened last night,' she said.And so I did. Everything, just as I had promised. I don't know whether Aunt Mimi believed me or not, but if she didn't she never let it show.She's not a bad old lady, my Aunt Mimi. Not when you get to know her.I n the end I had two days off work. I said I'd been sick and in a way I was: I wouldn't feel well until I knew the truth about the fruitcake. I knew that there was little chance of discovering what actually went into it. I would have to work it out from the small amount I had left in the bottle. I had used up more than I thought the other night.But I was not sure that I wanted to make my fortunefrom the old woman's secret. Perhaps it was only right that the secret should lie buried with her.
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