Scent Notes: A perfectly baked, impeccably decorated lemon chiffon cake full of fresh lemon juice, slightly bitter lemon zest, and a dab of lemon extract, frosted with a homemade whipped vanilla-and-lemon frosting that adds the perfect amount of sweetness. Fiona was busy this afternoon. Well, she was busy most afternoons, but this one was exceptionally full of tasks. So was the whole week, actually, now that she thought about it. She’d volunteered to host her best friend Amanda’s 35th birthday party. Actually, she had insisted that Amanda needed a big celebration, and had decided to take on all the tasks herself, insisting it wasn’t a bother. Turns out that it was, indeed, a bother. Between planning the menu, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, decorating, renting chairs and tables, she was exhausted. And who knew how expensive balloon bouquets had become?! But it was all going to be worth it when Amanda walked in the door. She walked down her mental checklist. The cake was finished late last night and was safely in the back of the fridge. It’s a lemon chiffon cake, and Fiona made sure to use Amanda’s late mother’s recipe. The nostalgia would make Amanda cry, but also, it made a damn delicious cake. Candles and a lighter were on the kitchen island. Drinks had been batch-made in advance, she just had to put out ice and glasses. Several dips were in the oven; chips were in bowls on the table with some other appetizers. At least she’d had the smart idea to make others bring food as well so she didn’t have to cook every single thing. Plates and napkins needed to be set out … after she gave the main bathroom a final once-over. “Okay, deep breaths,” she said to herself. “Soon it’ll be a party and we’ll all be having an excellent time.” Just as she finished cleaning the bathroom sink, her doorbell rang. It was slightly before when she had told her friends to arrive, and she answered the door still wearing her scrub gloves. Unfortunately, it was Susan, Amanda’s sweet-yet-nosy-and-overbearing neighbor who had wormed her way into a party invitation after “just overhearing” Amanda and Fiona planning on Amanda’s front porch a few weeks ago. Susan swanned in with multiple bags hanging off of each arm, a cake stand in her hands. Fiona quickly took off the gloves as Susan ran in and overloaded the kitchen island with all of her bags. “Sorry, darlin’, I know you said I didn’t need to bring anything, but I just couldn’t come empty-handed!” Fiona grimaced and tried to turn it into a smile. “Well, all help is appreciated,” Fiona answered, beginning to unload the unnecessary extra bags of chips, packages of plates, and … wait, that’s not just a cake stand. She brought a CAKE?! Susan must have read her mind (or just looked at her face) because at that moment she said, “Now I know you said you were making lemon chiffon, but I just hate to think of a birthday party without a cake, especially for a milestone birthday! You just don’t do that!” Fiona was stricken and confused. Susan kept babbling as she found a glass and poured herself a drink, and just when Fiona realized the mistake, people started to show up to actually help out. Fiona decided to ignore Susan, and picked up and put Susan’s cake into the pantry. Maybe they’ll need a second cake later anyway; the lemon chiffon cake tends to disappear quite quickly. But it wasn’t *the* birthday cake, so it could wait in the pantry, out of sight, and nearly out of Fiona’s mind. Thankfully, Fiona’s friends took over and Susan was now standing at the counter, having pounded her first drink, and was pouring a second. Fiona relaxed. The ice, plates, and cups had been put out. Everyone’s food looked delicious and fit, barely, between the tables and kitchen island once Susan’s bags had been moved out of the way. It was perfect. Fiona heard her phone ping, and it was Amanda letting her know she’d be there in about five minutes. “Amanda’s on her way!” Fiona announced, and everyone cheered. “Oh! My cake!” Susan said, apparently just realizing that her cake had been put away and not placed on display. “We aren’t having cake until later,” Fiona said calmly over the din, as Susan poured herself yet another drink. “And besides, I made lemon chiffon. It’s Amanda’s favorite.” Susan shook her head as she took a chug, a rather incredible feat. “Well darlin’ I know you said that, but like I said, it’s just not right! You can’t have that at a birthday! Besides, I got a great deal on my favorite box mix and it bakes up real nice, you’ll see! Let’s put my cake out for Fiona; she’ll love it.” Fiona seethed. “No, Susan, it’s fine. We’ll get mine out later.” “But SWEETHEART,” Susan practically screamed as she set down her now-empty glass. “You can’t have PIE for a birthday!” Fiona felt her temper boil over. “It’s a CAKE, Susan. Not a pie! Lemon chiffon CAKE, not lemon meringue PIE! I made it from SCRATCH using Amanda’s mom’s RECIPE, and that is what we will be SERVING THE BIRTHDAY GIRL. Alright?!” The party went silent. Susan began to stutter an apology when the doorbell rang. Fiona’s face immediately shifted back into a smile. “Speaking of: the birthday girl has arrived! Someone get the lemon chiffon out of the fridge.”
