Harry explained it all and then said, “There was no way to tell which book it fell out of, so all we had to go on was the name Emma, until after we opened the envelope.”
“Gram sometimes used old envelopes as bookmarks. I guess that’s what she did with this one and forgot there was something in it.”
“I’m glad we found it for you,” Harry said.
“Thank you, but it wasn’t really lost because I didn’t know she had written it down. It’s a wonderful surprise.”
“I remembered hearing you talk about your grandmother’s recipes, how she had them in her head and didn’t write them all down. And I was sure you would want this,” Bertie said.
There were tears in Janet’s eyes as she looked up at them. “Oh yes! I am putting together a collection of Gram’s oldest recipes and this is the most important one. I can’t thank you enough. What can I get you? What’s your favourite baked goods?”
“Multi-grain bread,” Bertie replied.
“Molasses-raisin buns,” Harry said, “though I’ll be eager to try the molasses bread when it’s made too.”
Both women laughed as Janet bagged the items and passed them over the counter. Harry and Bertie both expressed their thanks.
“One question,” Harry said. “If the recipe was meant for you, why wasn’t it addressed to you?”
“It was,” Janet said. “My full name is Emmaline Janet and Gram always called me Emma.”
As they left the bakery, Harry already had one hand into a large bag of buns. He considered he was well paid for helping to solve such a simple thing.
“This has been interesting… and fun,” Bertie said as they walked across the parking lot.
Harry chewed and swallowed slowly. Where was she going with this?
“I’d like to volunteer my help anytime you need research done, or perhaps to keep the office open when you go fishing.”
He shot her a puzzled look.
“I saw your ‘Gone fishing’ sign,” she said. “All I’m saying is that if you ever need a little help, I’d be happy to give you a hand.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” he said, but he was thinking that it would never happen.
