“I’ll do it,” Charlene says, and Rosie hands her a box, which she puts in one of Rosie’s now empty bags.

“And I’ll do Vera’s till she gets here. And also Tracy’s.” I put an empty bag on the chair I’m saving for Vera, and another one between Charlene and me. “Who will do Alice’s?”

Rosie says, “I will. I have room here for her bag.” And she puts one of the boxes into the empty bag.

Allie stands up to get more wine. There isn’t a pause so much as a reshuffling.

“Bring me some red, will you?” calls Jeannie.

I stand up and get a fresh bottle of white and bring in the red and place them on the coffee table. I know that there’s a time after each of us tells our story and distributes the cookies when we go to the bathroom, get more to eat, talk and joke as the evening wears on. I feel the quiet cell phone on my hip and check my watch. I pull it out to see if I have somehow missed a call or if there is a message. Nada. No calls. No messages. I sink a little and refocus on the warm faces of the women laughing and talking. I pour myself more red wine and take some peanut brittle. I check on Sissy, but she’s talking with Laurie, Taylor, and Allie. Allie says something, probably one of her double-entendre jokes that are absolutely obscene, and Taylor and Sissy burst out laughing. Just like I thought, Sissy is fine. Fits in with all these women. And then I think of my grandson about to be born and hope he fits in, too.

“Hey, Juliet, you’re next.”

LEAVENING AGENTS

I never used to understand the chemistry of baking. Practical science wasn’t taught in my high school chemistry class, so I simply followed recipes, vaguely aware that I needed to add substances in order for the dough to turn into a bakery product. But baking soda, baking powder, and cream of tartar provide the magic for cookies to puff up in the oven. I’m comfortable improvising the amounts of spices and other ingredients I add when I’m cooking, but I never extemporize the chemistry of baking. Here’s how they work:

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. The ancient Egyptians found natural deposits of it and used it as soap. Today it’s used as an antacid, a tooth-whitening agent, to freshen the aroma of your refrigerator, and as a rug deodorizer if you sprinkle it on before vacuuming. When combined with moisture and an acidic ingredient—like yogurt, chocolate, lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, or honey—bubbles of carbon dioxide form that expand with heat. The reaction starts as soon as the ingredients are mixed, so you need to bake recipes leavened only with soda immediately, or they’ll fall flat!