It hurts to see Mom is so biased against the Gastronomic Society. Can’t she see that the cash prize and the attention the winner gets from the cooking community would have been a tremendous help to Salt? Grandma knew this. Had they accepted her, we’d be safe now, not so reliant on one catering job that’s already taking a toll on Mom. The dark circles under her eyes are even more prominent now.

The interviewer ends the segment with an announcement that this year they’re opening up to nonmembers for a brand-new contest format. A family cooking contest. There’s a minimum of two contestants per entry, encouraging couples, parents, and siblings to join. I nearly choke, because the contest is on the twenty-third. The day before the deadline Deals Deals gave us. It feels like one last chance to make a difference against the supermarket.

“It’s a scam,” Mom says right away. “They want to include everyone, but in the end, do you think one of us would win? I bet they’ve already picked one of their students. It would look bad for them if they lost to one of us.”

I launch Mom a pleading look. Because this is it. The best shield possible against Deals Deals!

“Shouldn’t we at least give the contest a try?” I beg. “Let’s send in an application!”

Dona Clara and Isabel look expectantly from me to Mom.

“Your grandmother must have filled your head with nonsense dreams about the Gastronomic Society. She was an amazing baker, and they didn’t even accept her as a student. You see how it’s all rigged? We’d be better off trying the lottery. The probability of winning would be higher,” she says, making a point of turning the TV off like it’s her final say in this.

Mom will never listen to me. Call me foolish for being a dreamer like Grandma, but what’s so wrong with at least trying? Maybe the contest is rigged. Maybe it’s a scam. But we won’t know if we don’t give it a try.

A sunflower under Great-grandma Elisa’s recipe falls at my feet, and I get goose bumps up and down my arms.

A sign.

What if this is Grandma telling us that we should go for it?

“If we win, it would show Deals Deals once and for all that they can’t mess with us,” I plead with Mom one last time. “The cooking world would rally behind us. The Gastronomic Society would never let a supermarket chain get to the winner of their cooking contest. And even if we don’t win, there’s all this TV attention during the contest. We could start speaking up about the situation in the neighborhood!”

Mom raises a hand to stop me. “We? If we win? There’s no ‘we’ here. You don’t bake.”