Cowboy Cookies
Rosalind swept the last of the dust into her dustpan and walked to the trashcan nestled in the corner of the kitchen. She sighed happily and looked around her tidy space. She was finally finished unpacking and cleaning her new home. It was a spacious two-story with a basement situated in the quiet town of Hakone, just outside Tokyo. The land wasn’t easy to get but so worth it once construction on her new home was finished.
She stood musing to herself for a moment, not many of her neighbors have bothered to visit or introduce themselves to her yet, though she’d be remiss not to notice the curious stares she and her house got every time she was out. She tucked the broom and pan away in a closet and began to set out various sized mixing bowls and measuring cups. Being a good southern girl, she knew nothing eased tensions like food. If her neighbors wouldn’t come to her, she thought with a smirk, she would just have to come to them with peace offerings of cookies.
She grabbed the light blue floral tin from off a nearby shelf. All her family’s recipes were contained within it, lovingly hand written in Rosalind’s neat script. She opened the tin and thumbed through the cards labeled as desserts until she saw a recipe that never failed to please. “Aha! Cowboy cookies! A little bit of home to gift to my new neighbors.” She said to herself as she plucked the card out and set the tin back upon the shelf and set to work collecting the ingredients. “Sweet coconut flakes, pecans, oats, chocolate chips…” She checked off her mental list.
With all the ingredients out she took out her phone, setting her music app to shuffle as she got back to business. Her recipe always made a ton of cookies so she knew she’d be here for a while. With her hands on her hips she cast one last look over her arrangement of ingredients and measuring cups. “Alright let’s do this, Roz.” She said to herself, giving a little pep talk before diving in.
Several hours later, she was finished at last. Rosalind wiped the sweat from her brow with a spare rag. The oven sure makes it hot in here after a while. She gathered the boxes of sweet morsels and carefully layered them into a large basket she bought when she moved here. I thought I’d be using this basket for picnics but I guess this works too. She giggled to herself and went to change out of her flour covered clothes.
Back in her room, she stripped and opened her large walk in closet. A cursory glance around and a quick think about what she was in the mood to wear and she knew what to grab. She picked a pair of lace edged shorts and slipped them on before grabbing a sweetheart tube top with a nice ruffle along the top. She put it on, pulling out her long golden curls before adjusting ‘the girls’. Add a pair of white cork wedges and she was ready to go. She checked herself out in the mirror, giving herself a wink before sauntering back to the kitchen, grabbing her basket, and leaving out the front door.
“Kon'nichiwa, hajimemashite! Watashinonamaeha rozarindodesu, watashi wa anata no atarashī rinjindesu. Watashi wa anata no tame ni korera o yakimashita.” (“Hello, nice to meet you! My name is Rosalind, I'm your new neighbor. I baked these for you.”) Rosalind cheerfully said to neighbor after neighbor, handing out her goodies. Most of her neighbors gave her a polite, yet confused look before accepting the box of cookies and welcoming her. By the time she finished passing out the boxes she had learned a few of her neighbors names and earned a sore cheek from holding her smile for so long.
As she approached her front gate set in the low stone wall surrounding her property, her phone began buzzing in her back pocket. She took it out and looked at the number scrolling on the screen. An unfamiliar Japanese number? Have I even given this number to anyone? After another ring she decided to hit answer. “Hello, Kon'nichiwa?”
“Is this Rosalind Anderson?” A male voice asked. He was american with a slight New York accent, he sounded almost familiar but Rosalind couldn’t quite place the voice.
“Um, yes it is, may I ask who’s asking?” She set her hand on the iron gate in front of her, casting an unsure glance to her home.
“Andi! How the hell are ya! Do you remember me?”
Rosalind furrowed her brow. Remember him? Let’s see… She wracked her brain for a moment before one name jumped out at her. “S-Speciale?”
“Ring-a-ding-ding! Hey Andi, heard from a little birdy you moved out to my neck of the woods.”
“Speciale!” She shouted excitedly into the phone. “Wait a sec, it’s been six freaking years how do you know my number? How did you know I moved to Japan? How--”
“Woah now, easy on the rapid fire! You know I’d never lose your number Andi. Listen I wanna catch up and I may have an opportunity to discuss with you. Could mean big cash if you catch my drift.”
Rosalind glanced around quickly to make sure she was alone on the street as she hurried through the gate and across her yard. “You know I’m retired, I’m trying to stay away from that life man. But if you really want to catch up we can, just none of that talk.”
“Someone’s on the straight and narrow huh? Weeeell, we’ll see how long that lasts.” He chuckled into the phone, making her frown as she entered her home. “But it really has been ages I wanna see you, are you free?”
Was she free? She bit her lip, thinking it over before sighing lightly, “Yeah, I’m free now if you want to come over and hang for a few.”
“Sweet! Text me the address, I’ll be right over.” There was a click as he disconnected. “Guess I should touch up my makeup and clean the kitchen again before he gets here,” She said to herself as she typed away at the screen, saving his number under ‘Special A.ss <3’ before texting her address. She giggled to herself before tucking away her phone and heading off to get ready.
