The Last Slice of Cake

Emmeline jumped out of bed as soon as she heard the shrill alarm sounding in her ears. Today was the day. The day that she would leave this town behind and all the memories that were buried within it. She had returned to her childhood home after her mother had passed. She had no feelings of sadness towards the death of her mother. She relished it. When she received the news, she had taken herself out to celebrate with a wine and expensive dinner. Her mother had left her the house and everything within its walls. Not because she loved her, only because she had no one else to leave it to. Her mother had always been a terrible parent, a terrible woman in general. A judgemental old cow that had made Emmeline’s childhood an entanglement of bad memories, tears and self-doubt.

The house was run down on the outside but picture perfect on the inside. Her mother Joy, an ironic name for such a monster, had believed women were born to run the house from the inside and all outside maintenance responsibility was the duty of a man. However, since Joy had been such a horror to deal with, she never could keep a man around very long.

Emmeline had decided to move back in and really try to make the most of the small-town living. The kind of small town where everybody knew everybody’s business. Even if they didn’t know the facts, a story would be created to fulfill the need for gossip. The silly old women in this town had nothing better to do than judge the lives of everyone else around them and try to convince anyone who would listen, not to mention themselves, that they were the most successful. The most important.

That is why today was so important. Not only was Emmeline leaving this town for good, she was also going to make sure she left with a bang. The small ladies’ group that essentially ran the town, had been her mother’s friends. They didn’t wait very long before they started asserting their dominance by putting her down.

On the first day of her arrival back to town, she had received a visit from a couple of the ladies who had invited her to their weekly meeting that night. She had obliged, despite being extremely exhausted from her long drive from the city. She was instructed that every person was required to bring a plate of something delicious and a bottle of alcohol. She had only had an hour’s notice and so she had pulled a bottle of gin from her mother’s liquor cabinet and purchased a small cake from the tiny bakery in the centre of town on her way to the meet up.

She had walked into the room and faced ten different versions of her mother. Each woman wearing an elegant outfit with perfectly matched shoes and accessories. Jewels were dripping from ears, necks and wrists, each trying to outdo each other. They sat together, pinkies in the air while drinking their wine. Emmeline had thought that was a coffee or tea thing, pretentious all the same. They had chided her for bringing gin to their gathering. None of the ladies drank gin, like she was supposed to know. The cake was dismissed immediately upon entry to the room. That bakery had been banned by the ladies. The woman who owned it was not of money they said, therefore not worthy to be in their presence and certainly not good enough to purchase goods from. ‘Can’t you cook dear?’ The question was innocent enough but the judgemental tone was scathing.

The problem with women like this, including her mother, was that they could dismiss you and shatter your confidence in a matter of seconds with their eloquent voices that sounded like raspy honey, but laced with poison. Their words intended to hurt you but they did it in such a fashion, if they were to be accused of their judgmental behaviour, they could feign hurt. An open mouth, a quick hand on the heart and a pained, “Oh darling, I didn’t mean to offend you. You know I would never intentionally do that!”

The women had only invited her because she knew she had money. Her mother really had been the wealthiest of the town. The land upon which her old house sat was the largest privately owned property. She had never done anything with it but it was worth a pretty penny. The family that owned that land had the biggest stake in town.

Today was important. Emmeline was prepared for her final ladies meet. She had organised a buyer very quickly. She had only a few conditions but the buyer was happy to meet them. She thought she would be here longer but a week was all she had in her. The meet up started at eleven o’clock which meant she only had a few hours to prepare. She was going to command the respect of the women. She had a bottle of extremely expensive wine, chilled and ready to go. A stunning and new floor length gown with matching jewellery which rivalled anything she had seen those old bags wearing. Most importantly, a home baked, exquisite chocolate cake that she had poured her heart, sweat and tears into the night before. She had pored over recipes for hours. The one she found was a guaranteed showstopper. Although it pained Emmeline to admit it, she needed their approval. She needed the women to tell her that she looked beautiful, that the wine she had brought was an excellent choice and the cake she had tirelessly baked, was the best damn cake they had ever eaten. It would be the approval she had never received from her old bat of a mother. It was hard to admit to herself but hearing it from her mother’s ‘friends’ would be just as good as if hearing it from her mother for the first time in her life. She could leave this town happy then, and never look back. It would kill a tiny bit of the resentment she held in her heart for the lack of fundamental parenting she had never received as a child. Emmeline longed for the slightest slice of acceptance before starting her life afresh.

The greatest amount of planning had gone into the day and here it finally was. She had made a call to the self-proclaimed leader of the group and borrowed a serving plate. Mildred had dropped it to her house the previous day. Of course Emmeline’s mother had beautiful serving plates but she had told Mildred that none of them did her magnificent cake any justice. Mildred had taken this as a chance to compare her high level of style with Emmeline’s mother’s. It pained her to listen to it but she needed the plate. She’d be gone from this desolate town forever once she had dropped of her cake and alcohol. A few words of praise and acceptance and she’d be on her way. The icing was finished, specially crafted by her. She was dressed. Her car was packed and she was ready to go.

***

Emmeline pulled into the meeting spot. Her cake was truly glorious. She was so proud of her creation. There was not one inkling of doubt within her that the old bats wouldn’t be impressed. She had perfectly constructed the size of it so that each woman would have one slice. She would go without. She didn’t really eat cake and had told the ladies this at the last meet up. She was the last to arrive, this was planned. She swanned into the room and each woman turned to look at her as she made her grand entrance. The response was everything she had hoped for. The women immediately started fawning over her. ‘Emmeline, you look stunning!’ ‘Oh Emmeline, your dress is divine!’ ‘This is my favourite wine!’ More importantly, ‘Emmeline! That cake!’ ‘It’s an art piece!’ ‘I cannot wait to try a piece of that!’ ‘That must’ve taken you hours!’ Emmeline breathed in and let every compliment wash over her without saying a word. She closed her eyes and imagined these words coming from her mother. The void in her heart that longed for acceptance started to fill. It was worth every second of planning she did.

‘It was just something I whipped up,’ she said back to the women. ‘Today is my last day here and I wanted to show you all how much you mean to me and how glad I am that my mother had such wonderful friends like you. Please do me a favour and have a piece of the cake. I’m dying to know if it tastes as good as it looks and I value your opinions so much.’ The women seemed more than pleased to accommodate. She made a point to thank Mildred for the use of her intricately designed serving plate. Mildred looked pleased with herself.

Emmeline carefully placed the cake on the sweets table and cut each woman a slice. Every crumb of that cake was accounted for. ‘None for me, thank you dear,’ said Fay from the back of the group. Emmeline whipped around with such force she almost strained her neck. Her eyes narrowed in on Fay, feeling a wave of fury wash over her. She forced herself to stay calm. ‘Please Fay. I made this cake to be shared with my mother’s friends. I wanted all of you to have a piece as a tribute to my mother.’ Emmeline made her face look sad, as if she cared about the fact her mother had died. Emmeline knew Fay couldn’t say no and she reluctantly agreed. ‘Alright Emmeline, if it’s for your mother, I suppose I have no choice.’ Each woman was handed a plate with a tiny gold fork. They began to eat. Emmeline gleefully watched each woman as they elegantly consumed their cake. She lapped up the compliments. They loved it. The best chocolate cake they had ever had. She watched them all until every crumb was gone. It was like the perfect ending to a movie. These women were not her mother but it was the closest thing she could get. She took the empty plates from the women one by one as they finished their slice.

It was time for her to go. Every memory would be burned from her existence the second she drove over the threshold of this godforsaken town. One more stop before the beginning of her new life. The toxin in the icing started working before she had even walked out the door. Every one of these women would be dead before they even had a chance to think about what was happening. The plan had always been for this to be her mother’s ending but the old bitch had been able to disappoint her one last time by dying unexpectedly.

She got in her car and drove to the bakery. Fiona the baker, was waiting outside for her. Emmeline threw her the keys to her home. ‘Remember the deal Fiona. I gave you the keys at seven this morning and left town. I couldn’t handle the grief of losing my mother and needed to leave. They’re all gone. You own this town now.’ Fiona nodded, a tiny smile forming on her face. She was rich now and the women that had made her life hell and almost put her out of business were forever gone.

Emmeline got in her car and tore out of the small parking lot. As she drove past the sign farewelling her from the town she smiled. She hoped that the police would blame Mildred for the death of the women. The cake was on her plate after all. Or maybe they’d deduce it was a suicide pact. It didn’t matter, Emmeline’s new life was starting now and she couldn’t be more at peace.