“No problem,” replied Lucy, as the doorbell chimed again. “Will you girls grab a couple of chairs from the kitchen?”

“Sure, Lucy,” said Sue. “We’ll set out the cream and sugar, too.”

Lucy was beginning to get a headache, but she smiled brightly as she opened the door to admit Willie and Bonnie. “Thanks for coming, go right on in to the dining room,” she told them, keeping the door open for Rachel and Frankie. She pointed them in the right direction and then dashed into the kitchen for the doggie treats, which she added to the array of baked goods on the dining table. “All present and accounted for,” she announced, taking the last empty chair, next to Mimi.

“Then I’ll call the meeting to order,” said Chris, producing a gavel and tapping the table.

“Hey, who made you chairperson?” demanded Sue. “Pam’s in charge of the Hat and Mitten Fund.”

Pam shrugged. “It’s fine with me. Chris can be President Pro Tempore.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” demanded Mimi. Her tone was a tad too aggressive and put off the other women, who seemed to avoid acknowledging her question.

“Temporarily,” said Rachel, always a champion of the underdog. “For this matter only. The bake sale.”

“Well why didn’t she say that?” grumbled Mimi, glancing resentfully around the table.

“Moving right along,” said Chris, briskly tapping the table again, “I propose we each introduce our products. Don’t forget to include a brief synopsis of the recipe including expense and level of difficulty. By way of example, I’ll begin.” Chris produced a square tin from her briefcase, which Lucy was beginning to think must have the same magic properties as Mary Poppins’s carpet bag, and pried it open. “These are my Kitchen Sink Cookies. They’re a version of a peanut butter cookie with the addition of raisins, a few chocolate chips and nuts.”

Across the table, Pam grimaced at Lucy as if she knew her healthy peanut butter cookies were doomed.

“The main virtue of this recipe,” continued Chris, “is that it’s easy to make and the recipe makes a lot of cookies. They do contain butter and white sugar, but those ingredients are offset by the peanut butter, raisins, and nuts, which make them a relatively healthy treat. As I mentioned, the amount of chocolate chips is really quite small but they have a big impact.”

She passed the plate and everyone took a cookie, bit into it, and chewed.

“Mmm,” said Lucy. “How do we score them?”

“One to five,” said Chris. “Rachel, would you collect the papers and add up the scores?” When Rachel agreed she pulled a calculator out of her briefcase and slid it across the table to her.