Bliss (26 page)

Authors: Kathryn Littlewood

R
ose woke up in her bed with Leigh bouncing up and down next to her. She looked up and saw her mother and father and Ty and Sage staring down, worried. There was a wet towel on her forehead.

“What happened?” Rose whispered.

“You fainted, honey,” said Purdy, her face washed with concern. “You swooned like a Victorian woman in a melodrama.”

“Where is the Cookery Booke?” Rose panted, trying to sit up.

Albert gently pushed her shoulders back to the pillow. “Just rest, sweetheart,” he said. “The book is gone. She left us a
letter
in exchange.”

“What does it say?” Rose asked. She prayed it didn't mention her almost betrayal.

“We haven't read it yet. There was the matter of you collapsing on the floor, darling, and that took precedence.” Albert pulled a piece of scented off-white stationery from the little envelope Rose had spotted on the podium. He unfolded it, cleared his throat, and began to read aloud:

Dearest Fourth Cousin Purdy and Family
,

As I'm sure you've noticed by now, I have taken the Bliss Cookery Booke. I have not done this out of spite for you or any of your remarkable and lovely children, but because I felt that your claim to the book has expired. Ever since our great-great-great-grandfathers Filbert and Albatross had their little tiff, the Cookery Booke has filtered down through the generations on your side of the family, yet you have done nothing with it but squander its power by running popular local businesses in small, eccentric towns. As I believe I am better equipped to tap into the book's full economic and political potential, I took it
.

Please do not let whatever preconceptions you have about the Albatross genealogy worry you. I am not a nefarious creature like the rest of my family. I will use these recipes to help those who cannot help themselves by broadcasting them on what is sure to be my wildly successful cable T V cooking show. I'm sure you'll be doing the world a greater service by allowing me to share these priceless recipes rather than keeping them cooped up in your refrigerator and leaving your children with the overwhelming responsibility of guarding them
.

Look out for me on television!

Love and kisses
,

Aunt Lily

“And then she kissed the paper,” said Albert, turning the page around to reveal a lipstick imprint of Lily's mouth.

“That selfish, manipulative coward!” Purdy exclaimed, her hands balling into tiny fists. “That side of the family just spawned one bad seed after another.”

“I can't believe this,” Ty whined, folding his arms across his chest. “How are we supposed to run the bakery without that cookbook?”

“That's not even our biggest problem,” said Albert, rubbing his temples in tiny circles. “What if she decides to broadcast some of the more destructive recipes in that book? What if she unleashes the craziness of Albatross's Apocrypha onto America? We could have whole towns, whole cities overrun with chaos! The country could be ruined!”

Rose pulled the sheet over her head and groaned, then began to weep. “Mama,” she said. “Papa. I'm sorry I made such a mess. It's all because I wanted to show you that I could be a magical baker. So you'd respect me. I tried to do everything right. But I did everything wrong.”

Purdy pulled the sheet back from Rose's face and kissed her cheek. “Honey, we
do
respect you. You're the most clever and talented person in this family. We know we make a big deal about Ty being so handsome and Sage being funny and Leigh being adorable, and sometimes we leave you out of the mix, but the truth is that this family would fall apart without you.”

Albert nodded. Ty patted Rose's knee. Leigh nuzzled into Rose's cheek.

Sage bounced in place, a pained expression on his face. “Can we eat breakfast now?”

Rose couldn't help itâshe started to laugh. Harder than she had laughed all summer. Her parents loved and respected her. Deep down, she supposed she'd always known that. But sometimesâlike nowâit was important just to hear it.

“Of course we can, Sage,” Rose said, sitting up. “Of course we can.”

Downstairs in the kitchen, Sage saw the dozen or so biscuits in the garbage can. “Whoa, biscuits! Can we eat these?” he asked.

“No!” Rose shouted. “They were â¦ bad.”

Rose watched as Purdy fetched a carton of eggs from the refrigerator, Albert bounced Leigh up and down on his knee, and Ty and Sage swatted at one another in a fake karate fight. Purdy's hair was frizzed and wild, Albert's socks were long and dingy, Leigh's clean shirt already looked like she'd worn it eight days in a row, Ty was as vain as Ashley Knob, and Sage was all-around ridiculous.

Mrs. Carlson was right. They were a bizarre family.

And a family was something that Aunt Lily would never have, because she'd given hers up a long time ago. And that's why Lily was vulnerable: She was alone.

“Hey, guys,” Rose said, staring out at the tire tracks that Lily's motorcycle had left in the driveway.

“What,
mi hermana?
” Ty asked. The entire Bliss family turned to look at Rose. Her family would do anything for her. And she would do anything for them. She knew what she had to doâwith their help, of course.

“I'm going to get our cookbook back.”

“All in good time, dear. All in good time.” Purdy smacked her hands clean on a towel. “But first, you need something to eat. No one ever did anything great on an empty stomach.”

So Rose turned away from the door and joined her family at the kitchen table, where Purdy set down a plate of scrambled eggs. As Rose gobbled them up, she listened to her family talk and laugh over one another's stories, and even after Chip came in to open the shop, they all stayed glued to the table. It dawned on Rose, sitting there in that hot, cramped kitchen, that she was truly happy.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the following magicians:

Katherine Tegen, for believing in this novel and helping to bring it to life; Katie Bignell for all of her assistance; and everyone at HarperCollins Children's Books for pulling it all together, and for believing in the Bliss Family.

Alexandra Carillo-Vaccino, Cara Kilduff, Nora Salzman, Jordan Barbour, and Tony Rodriguez, for years of support, generosity, and laughter.

The folks at the finest bakery in the world, Les Ambassades, for their warm smiles and their addictive, perfect croissants.

My funny and brilliant mother and sister, both incredible writersânot many people get to be as genuinely proud of their family as I am of you.

JAG, whose constant support, kindness, and devotion have officially qualified me as the luckiest.

And finally, at the Inkhouse:

Michael Stearns for his wise editorial guidance and for giving me this incredible opportunity.

And Ted Malawer, whose ambition and talent always inspire me to push myself further, whose generosity has rescued me in so many ways, and whose jokes always make me laugh. You are a once-in-a-lifetime friend.

About the Author

KATHRYN LITTLEWOOD
is a writer, actress, comedienne, and bon vivant who lives in New York City, works often in Los Angeles, and has a sweet tooth for
pain de chocolat
and sweet novels for tween readers.

Visit
www.AuthorTracker.com
for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors and artists.

Credits

Copyright

Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Bliss

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

Bliss / Kathryn Littlewood.âst ed.

p. cm.

Summary: Twelve-year-old Rose Bliss wants to work magic in her family's bakery as her parents do, but when they are called away and Rose and her siblings are left in charge, the magic goes awry and a beautiful stranger tries to talk Rose into giving her the Bliss Cookery Booke.

ISBN 978-0-06-208423-1 (trade bdg.)

Edition Â© JANUARY 2012 ISBN 9780062084255

[1. Bakers and bakeriesâFiction. 2. MagicâFiction. 3. Brothers and sistersâFiction. 4. Books and readingâFiction.]

I. Title.

PZ7.L736472Bli 2012

2011019390

[Fic]âdc23

CIP

12 13 14 15 16 LP/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1