“Thank you,” William said, appreciating the compliment.
Once the pan was heated, William took a spoonful of batter and placed it in. He
used a tablespoon and the pancake was the width of an aluminum can.
“Wait!” Casey shouted. “That's way too small. I'd have to eat one hundred of
those.”
As the tiny pancake bubbled, William poured four more tablespoons of batter over it
as fast as he could.
“You can’t just do that!” Casey gasped, eyes wide with mock outrage.
“Think of it like the pancake is pregnant,” William said with a smile.
“I can’t eat a mama pancake knowing the baby’s still inside,” Casey said, clutching
her chest in mock despair.
William flipped the pancake, revealing the tiny one nestled inside the larger one.
The smaller pancake had been cooking longer than the freshly added batter, creating
a distinct contrast.
“That one is yours,” Casey told him.
After switching to a larger spoon to scoop the batter into the pan, the rest of the
pancakes turned out much better. Enough batter remained for one or two more, but
Casey declared, “I think we have enough. Six each!”
William turned off the burner. Casey grabbed two plates out of the cupboard and
William placed six pancakes on each plate, remembering to put the pregnant pancake
on his. He handed Casey her plate and she led them to the dining room.
The dining room table felt huge to William. There were so many chairs. Casey placed
her plate at the farthest end of the table. As William moved to set his plate to
her right, she stopped him.
“No, you know better,” Casey said, pointing to the seat at the opposite end of the