The Cheesecake

Short Story Day 139 of 365

She came to visit her son in the Texas panhandle and brought along her famous cheesecake recipe. ‘Best in the world,’ she’d say. ‘All from scratch.’ If she made it once, she made it two dozen times before.

Mrs. Wilcox didn’t make many things from scratch as she got older, but she made an exception with cheesecake.

Fresh ingredients, rich in everything, delicious for all.

Her son had bought everything she requested, including the cheesecake pan.

Mrs. Wilcox spent all afternoon working on her masterpiece and when it was time for supper with a house full of friends, she couldn’t be prouder. The meal was finished, and she beamed with joy as she presented the cheesecake for her son’s friends.

One by one, she served slices of the pale yellow cheesecake to the guests. The strawberries on the side was optional.

And one by one the guests complimented her on it but put it down after the first and second bites.

She bit into her slice and immediately knew this wasn’t the cheesecake she was famous for.

Not even close.

Apologizing profusely for the disaster that was her cheesecake, she sat in silence as others broke out a board game.

Her son looked over at his mother, and while she was disappointed that the cheesecake didn’t turn out well, she wasn’t devastated. He could see she was going through her mind the actions that afternoon as she prepared the dessert.

Just before the guests actually started the game, she burst out laughing, laughing so hard the tears were streaming down her face. The others, obviously, had not been let in on Mrs. Wilcox’s punchline.

“I’m sorry about the dessert tonight,” she said, “but I think – no, I know – why it was a disaster.” She continued her fit of laughter.

“Pretty simple really, I forgot to add the sugar.”