The Family Recipe Contest

Every year, Simone's family held a small competition at their grandmother's birthday gathering. Whoever made her famous lemon cake closest to the original would win bragging rights for the year. Nobody had ever managed to get it exactly right, since their grandmother had never written the recipe down.

Setiap tahun, keluarga Simone mengadakan lomba kecil pada perayaan ulang tahun nenek mereka. Siapa pun yang membuat kue lemon terkenal buatan nenek yang paling mendekati aslinya akan memenangkan hak membanggakan diri selama setahun. Belum pernah ada yang berhasil membuatnya persis sama, sebab nenek mereka tidak pernah menuliskan resepnya.

This year, both Simone and her brother Jasper decided to enter. Each was convinced they remembered the recipe better than the other. Simone had watched their grandmother bake it dozens of times as a child. She trusted her memory of the smell and texture. Jasper, meanwhile, had found an old handwritten card in a kitchen drawer. It might have been an early draft of the recipe. Half the ingredients, though, were smudged beyond reading.

Tahun ini, Simone dan adiknya, Jasper, sama-sama memutuskan ikut serta. Masing-masing yakin ia mengingat resep itu lebih baik daripada yang lain. Simone sudah menyaksikan nenek mereka membuatnya puluhan kali sejak kecil. Ia memercayai ingatannya tentang aroma dan teksturnya. Sementara itu, Jasper menemukan sebuah kartu tulisan tangan tua di laci dapur. Mungkin itu draf awal resepnya. Namun separuh bahan-bahannya luntur hingga tak terbaca.

"That card could be from anyone," Simone teased him. "It might not even be Grandma's handwriting."

"Kartu itu bisa saja milik siapa pun," Simone menggodanya. "Mungkin itu bahkan bukan tulisan tangan Nenek."

"And your memory from when you were seven is definitely more reliable," Jasper shot back, grinning.

"Dan ingatanmu waktu umur tujuh tahun pasti jauh lebih bisa diandalkan," balas Jasper sambil nyengir.

On the morning of the party, both cakes sat cooling on the counter. They looked almost identical from the outside. Simone's version leaned slightly sweeter, with a thicker glaze she remembered from childhood. Jasper's was lighter and less sweet, closer to what the smudged card seemed to suggest.

Pada pagi hari pesta, kedua kue itu didinginkan di atas meja dapur. Dari luar keduanya tampak hampir identik. Kue Simone sedikit lebih manis, dengan lapisan gula yang lebih tebal seperti yang ia ingat dari masa kecil. Kue Jasper lebih ringan dan kurang manis, lebih mendekati apa yang tampaknya ditunjukkan kartu yang luntur itu.

Their grandmother, now eighty-two, tasted both slices slowly, closing her eyes each time. The room went quiet, waiting for her verdict.

Nenek mereka, yang kini berumur delapan puluh dua tahun, mencicipi kedua potong itu perlahan-lahan, memejamkan mata setiap kali. Ruangan menjadi hening, menunggu putusannya.

"Neither one is exactly right," she finally admitted, laughing at their disappointed faces. "But Simone's is closer. I always added a little extra lemon zest at the end, something I never told anyone."

"Tidak ada yang persis benar," akhirnya ia mengaku, tertawa melihat wajah kecewa mereka. "Tapi punya Simone lebih mendekati. Aku selalu menambahkan sedikit parutan kulit lemon di akhir, sesuatu yang tidak pernah kuberitahukan kepada siapa pun."

Jasper groaned dramatically, though he was clearly more amused than upset. "Next year, I'm getting that recipe out of you before the party, not after."

Jasper mengerang dengan dramatis, meskipun jelas ia lebih terhibur daripada kecewa. "Tahun depan, aku akan mengorek resep itu darimu sebelum pesta, bukan sesudahnya."

Their grandmother just smiled and reached for a second slice of Simone's cake. She refused to say another word about her secret.

Nenek mereka hanya tersenyum dan meraih potongan kedua dari kue Simone. Ia menolak berkata sepatah kata pun lagi tentang rahasianya.