Can't Wait to Get to Heaven

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. “No, I didn’t make it, mine don’t turn out near that good.”

“Where did it come from?”

Elner looked at her and smiled. “Honey, if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Did you buy it at a bakery?”

“No, it’s homemade all right, a friend of mine made it.”

“That’s too bad. I was hoping I could get the recipe from you…she sure loved that cake.”

“Oh, I’d be happy to give it to you. Just give me your address and I’ll send it to you. I have the recipe in the Neighbor Dorothy cookbook at home…. Oh, and here’s a tip: make sure to always check your oven and make sure it’s preheated to the right temperature. Dorothy told me that was the secret to a good moist cake.”

La Shawnda quickly jotted down her name and address on a piece of paper and handed it to Elner.

“I sure appreciate it, Mrs. Shimfissle.” Then La Shawnda looked over at the door and whispered, “And I sure would appreciate it if you didn’t tell anybody about me taking that cake home the other night, or I could lose my job. They’re just looking for excuses to fire people around here.”

“Ahh, I see. Well, no, I promise I won’t mention it. But tell your mother I said I’m glad she’s feeling better, OK?”

As La Shawnda said good-bye, a nurse wearing rubber gloves and pushing a tray came in and said with a big smile, “Good morning, Mrs. Shimfissle,” and from her smile Elner knew she was in for something she wasn’t going to like.