It was my turn to host the book club. I asked my sister to do a little baking for it, cheating I know, but I figured that if my guests knew what my baking was like, they would not complain if I bent the rules. My sister, Ally, elder than me by just two years, has always had a passion for surprising people. Her children are the lucky benefactors of her kindness these days, but I still remember my 13th birthday party, not for the embarrassing hair styles or the horrific 1980s fashion, but the surprise party that Ally organised for me.
We lived some miles from the school and my friends never really found their way to our house - it was a bus ride away. But this was nothing to Ally. She rounded them up after school and took them to a neighbours house, where they were stowed until I was lured away and they could be safely manoeuvred into my house to take up their positions.
And I was truly surprised, screams, tears, the works. My 13th birthday was the best of my childhood by a long-shot. How can you repay a sister for that?
This all came back to me when my sister arrived, just minutes before my book club guests, brandishing a tray of cakes and a smile. It was a particular smile she was wearing that day ... one that screams out with anticipation. When she unveiled the cakes, I was gob-smacked.
She had made ten little cupcakes, each with a book on top made of sugar icing. Each book was complete with cover and artwork from the original title. They were ten of my all-time favourite books: 'Wuthering Heights', 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Birdsong', 'The Book Thief' etc. She had done it again - winded me with her kindness, staggered me with her thoughtfulness. And while I was clearing up the empty wine glasses, and my friends were safely returning home, I thought of my sister and how I was ever going to repay her...
But do you know what, I think I've just made a start! xx
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