Mrs. Patterson Returned with a Strawberry Cake

Lyrics

[Intro]
After twenty-one days of silence.
After the empty third pew.
The knock on the door was not a summons.
It was an offering.

[Verse 1]
She held it out on a mismatched china platter.
A strawberry cake, two layers, leaning slightly to the west.
The frosting was pink, and shiny in the low afternoon light.
In loopy, careful letters, it said...
For The Twins.

[Verse 2]
She cut the first slice with a steady hand.
My fork touched a plate with a faded blue flower.
A small chip, right at the edge.
The air smelled of baked sugar and the sea.
The shadow of my glass was long on the pine table.

[Chorus]
And the only sound was the fork against the plate.
Sweeter than the frosting.
An unspoken treaty.
And then, a cough.
But this time, it was kind.

[Verse 3]
Victoria sponge, a fine, consistent crumb.
The berries were halved, their juice bleeding into the icing.
An inefficient, but effective, method of communication.
No words were required.
The gesture was the complete text.

[Chorus]
And the only sound was the fork against the plate.
Sweeter than the frosting.
An unspoken treaty.
And then, a cough.
But this time, it was kind.

[Bridge]
The dictionary she sent back could not define this.
The Royal Mail could not deliver it.
It had to be baked in a wood-fired stove...
...carried by hand across the yard.
An apology made of flour and sugar and time.

[Outro]
It was warm.
The data was clear.
We ate in respectful silence.