My Cardboard Balcony

As we added the cream cheese icing to the cupcakes, a sudden thought struck me full in the temples and caused my ears to ring with the intonation of panic. "Kristi." "What?" I inhaled. "We forgot the red food coloring." I half-expected her to equally freak out in a similar, frozen manner - all in the eyes, not the body. But instead she laughed and kissed me on the cheek. "That's okay, dear," she said. "We'll call them 'Just Velvet' cupcakes."