Errand Father to Daughter Solo

August 7th, 2020
Morning

Lea woke up to the sound of her parents calling her. Brown eyes would blink open, confused as to what might've been going on on a Friday. And in summer when there was no reason to wake up early. It couldn't have been her friends- they generally had play dates later in the day, after lunch. She groggily slipped out of bed, padding over to her door.

"One sec!" She called, voice laced with the grogginess of having just woke up. The girl was quick to change into everyday clothes, finding herself a t-shirt and a skirt. She wouldn't bother with her hair, allowing it to cascade down her back in a curly mess. Lastly, she'd open up her curtains, turning her face away as the light began to shine through. With that done, the girl would walk out of her room, bare feet on polished wood as Lea walked over to her parents. They were in the kitchen, at the table, both of them wearing a bemused smile. For what reason, the eleven year old didn't know.

"What?" She demanded, eyes still half-closed. They would exchange a glance, allowing the moment to elongate before the child glared at them. "What is it?" Their happy smiles were helping the girl with her minimal patience, already wanting to know what had resulted in her waking up earlier than normal.

"You got an owl." Her mother stated, watching the girl expectantly.

"A- what now?"

"An owl- with a letter. From someone at Hogwarts-"

"No. Whatever it is, please no." Lea didn't want to get in an argument with her parents this early, but she felt no reason to do anything for Hogwarts. Plus, they already had sent her her letter saying that she was invited and whatever supplies she needed. No other letters should've been necessary.

"Lea, it's from someone on the staff. The Keeper of Keys and Grounds? He just wants you to bake something. It's a nice thing to do," her mother noted gently.

"But I don't wanna," the girl pouted, brushing a strand of hair off to the side. It was finally then that her father spoke.

"It's a nice thing to do. Plus, I can help. I still have some time before I go to work. It can be a group project." The smile would appear once more on her father's face, followed by a wink. And while the girl didn't want anything to do with Hogwarts, she also didn't get to bake with her dad all that often. So Lea would offer a meek nod, walking over to wrap her arms around her dad.

"Alright kiddo," he laughed, "let's find a recipe then." He would stand up, gently freeing himself of his daughter's hug. The girl would trail after him as he rummaged through their shelf of cooking books. It wouldn't take him long to find one, hand trailing the edge of the pages until he found the number he was looking for. A quick movement and the book revealed the recipe of choice: dulce de leche sandwich cookies.

"I figured they would probably be the easiest to transport without getting destroyed," he noted, realizing that this might've seemed rather simple to the young girl. But then again, it wasn't often that Lea had tried baking- perhaps easier recipes were the way to go without just having her dad do it for her. Brown-haired would bounce around as she nodded, quickly taking the book to glance at the instructions.

"Alright, we need a half a cup of butter- room temperature, a can of dulce de leche, half a cup of sugar- no wait, more! Brown sugar as well, an egg, some salt, baking soda, and flour." The measurements would be lost as she continued, realizing that they weren't all that useful quite yet as she and her father scampered around the kitchen to get out all the ingredients. They had been placed in the order of their calling, looking rather well organized. Lea know, though, that the kitchen would likely look like a mess after this.

An hour later would only result in the butter finally being at room temperature and creamed together with some dulce de leche. The meaning of creamed was lost on the eleven year old, but her father was there to help- quickly turning off the mixer when it started to look like too much. The sugar would be dumped in next, a little of the brown sugar missing as the girl took one of the crumbles and let it dissolve on her tongue. A quick break to wash hands, then the pair continued on to add the one egg, then the salt, baking soda, and flour.

"It actually looks like cookies now!" The girl exclaimed, pointing at the newly made dough. Her father would let out a small chuckle, quickly glancing back at the recipe. "Just roll spoonfuls in sugar and it should be good to go in the oven," he declared, handing her a spoon once the girl had come back from washing her hands once more.

The cookies had finished, the two having created a new system as the cookies cooled. Lea would spread the dulce de leche on the cookie and sandwich it together while her dad would put them in a container to allow for travel. A few cookies went missing during the process, the girl giggling as her father pretended not to notice.

"See? That wasn't so bad."

"I guess not- but now I just want 'em all."

Word Count: 921 words
Recipe found here