Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 83368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Herschel looked around as though they were all crazy, and then his gaze caught Mila’s, where she saw the twinkle of amusement. He played right along. Turning to the camera, he said, “Not everyone takes the sweet dessert treat known as a s’more seriously. But I urge you to do so. Using physics and the laws of thermodynamics, we can avoid such disasters as the flaming marshmallow that’s hard inside and charred on the outside, chocolate that’s brittle and doesn’t melt, and—perhaps saddest of all—the marshmallow that slips right off the skewer because it’s been overheated and the inside lacks the structural integrity to hold itself on the stick.”
Beside him, Archer was hamming it up like crazy. He was imitating every move, and then he called, “Cut.”
Everyone stared at him. “I’m a method actor. I can’t play you without a moustache.”
“Where are you going to get a moustache now?” Erin asked him.
Running into the house, he said, “I’m a resourceful actor. I’ll think of something.”
Deciding that something very exciting was going on, Buster bounded into the house with him, barking.
“Mom!” Arch yelled. “Where’s your knitting box?”
With a shake of her head, Betsy went inside, and within five minutes Archer returned. He might have the services of the finest hair and makeup people in the world at his disposal, but tonight, he walked out with pieces of black wool taped above his lip. When he talked, the bits of wool fluttered around his mouth.
It was the most ridiculous thing Mila had ever seen, but by some effort of will, she managed to keep a straight face as Archer strode up to stand beside Herschel and said, “Now I’m ready.”
Nick yelled, “Herschel Goes to Space and Comes Back. Take two.”
As Herschel made the s’more, he talked about the relatively low heat needed to break down the gelatin in the marshmallow so that the air pockets would expand, making it larger and softer as it warmed. Then he explained how the heat would break the bonds linking the fructose and glucose molecules to sugar, developing more nuanced flavors. Finally, he talked about something called the Maillard reaction, which apparently was a chemical process that happened when certain amino acids came up against each other, causing the outside of the marshmallow to brown and giving it its characteristic toasty flavor. It was hard to keep a straight face, especially when Archer insisted on making his own s’more.
Her brother pulled out every big word he knew, rolling the word thermodynamics around in his mouth as though it were a big wad of chewing gum. But at the end of it, he was able to present Herschel with a pretty good-looking s’more.
Very seriously, Herschel inspected it before biting into it, and then he said to Archer, “That’s not bad.”
Archer whipped round to face the camera and said, “It’s not rocket science.”
Now the pent-up laughter they’d all been holding in burst out. While Nick yelled, “And that’s a wrap,” Hersch and Arch were patting each other on the back, and Mila and Erin were doubled over with giggles.
Howie wiped tears of laughter from his eyes and said, “Somebody better make me another s’more. I’ve definitely burned off the calories from the first one.”
In the middle of the craziness and laughter, Mila felt slightly lightheaded at how well Herschel fit in with her family. Then Archer said, bits of black wool still flapping on his upper lip, “I guess the women melt all over you like this chocolate on a s’more.”
Hersch paused and turned to look right at Mila. “I only want one woman.”
Archer probably hadn’t caught the moment, because he was still studying his s’more. He said, “You know, if you ever wanted to give up the astronaut gig, you could open a stall at the farmers’ market.”
Tessa came up beside Mila and said gently, but with a tinge of excitement, “Arch and I were talking earlier. There’s plenty of room for Hersch at the wedding if you’d like to invite him.”
Mila stared at her. This was a huge deal. They’d worked so hard to keep the wedding small and private. “Are you sure?”
Tessa whispered, “Arch likes him. I like him. And he really fits in. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of Herschel Greenfield.”
She knew that Tessa had meant to make Mila feel better and perhaps to signal both her and Arch’s approval of Hersch as a potential… what? Boyfriend? Partner? Husband? The whole idea was freaking her out. Instead of feeling warm and fuzzy, she felt slightly panicked.
After tea and coffee and listening to Howie explain all the sneaky moves he’d pulled to get everything ready and brought into the house for the wedding without raising suspicion, Mila whispered to Hersch that they needed to get going.
They said their good-byes, and all the women hugged Hersch, and the men slapped him on the back. It was like he’d always been part of her family.