prospect.
âAbsolutely. You can start by spraying that disposable roaster on the counter with Pam.â
Tracey frowned. âAll we have is the other stuff. Mrs. Evans was out of Pam when Grandma McCann took us to the Red Owl.â
âThatâs okay. Any nonstick cooking spray will do.â
Tracey went to the cupboard next to the stovetop and took down a can of spray. She carried it to the counter and sprayed the inside of the disposable roaster that Hannah had brought with her.
âIs this going to get heavy?â Tracey asked, returning the spray to the cupboard.
âNot too heavy, but it still might be a good idea to support the bottom by setting it on a cookie sheet.â She turned to Andrea. âDo you have an old cookie sheet we can use?â
âI think so,â Andrea said, but she didnât make a move to find one. Hannah got the feeling that her younger sister wasnât really sure where any cooking utensils or supplies were kept in her own kitchen.
âIâll get it,â Tracey said, walking over to the oven and pulling out the drawer under it to reveal a stack of cookie sheets. âDo you want me to preheat the oven while Iâm here?â
âGood idea. Set it for three hundred degrees,â Hannahtold her. âAnd once you slip the cookie sheet under the roaster, I want you to go wash your hands. Itâs summer cold season, so make sure you soap them for at least twenty seconds.â
âTwenty seconds,â Tracey repeated. âI know how to tell when twenty seconds are up without using a clock.â
âYou do?â Andrea sounded surprised at that revelation.
âGrandma McCann taught me. All you have to do is say,
one hundred one, one hundred two, one hundred three
, all the way up to one hundred twenty. It takes twenty seconds to say it that way.â
âThereâs another way to do it, too,â Hannah told her. âJanice Cox told me what she does down at Kiddie Ko-rner. Some of her kids canât count as far as twenty, so she tells them to sing
Happy Birthday
all the way through twice.â
âIâll have to tell Karen about that,â Tracey said, naming her best friend. She washed her hands, mouthing the words to the birthday song, and then turned back to Hannah. âWhat next, Aunt Hannah?â
âGet out a one-cup measure, and put nine cups of cereal in the roaster. You can use some from each box.â
Hannah and Andrea watched as Tracey carefully measured out the cereal. When sheâd transferred nine cups to the roaster, she stepped back and turned to Hannah. âIâm ready for my next assignment.â
âI want you to measure out one cup of slivered almonds. Theyâre the nuts in that plastic bag on the counter. I think thereâs one cup in the bag, but youâd better check to make sure.â
Tracey carefully measured out the almonds. âThereâs just a little over one cup, Aunt Hannah. Shall I put them all in the roaster?â
âPut them all in. More nuts will be fine. And then mix everything up with those clean hands of yours.â Hannah waited until Tracey was busy and then she turned to Andrea. âWhat did they offer him this time?â she asked in a soft voice.
Andrea watched as Tracey dipped her hands in the roaster and began to mix up the cereal and nuts with her fingers. Then she replied, keeping her voice low. âAnother ten thousand a year if he accepts by the end of the month. Thatâs a lot of money on top of everything else theyâve offered.â
âIâm done,â Tracey said, stepping back from the roaster and turning to Hannah. âWhat should I do next?â
âGo find a quarter-cup measure.â Hannah waited until Tracey had gone to search in the cabinet where Andrea had stored her measuring cups, and then she asked her sister another question. âYou said there were other
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