33. Easter Eggs to Die For

There's an old saying that, "Too many cooks spoil the broth."  But what happens when there's too many eggs?

 

Marion rushed to get home before the kids burst through the back door, throwing their jackets and scarves on the floor, yelling, “What's to eat?” She forgot to get eggs on her regular grocery run and needed to dash out to get two dozen, one for each of her two crazy bunnies. Even her super organized neighbor, Jennifer, didn't have 24 extra eggs for her to borrow.

      At least she was ready when her husband, Tim, brought the kids home from the kids' movie at the Library.  Chris was first through the door. “We're home! Where's the eggs?” Tracy trailed in behind him, echoing him as a dutiful little sister. “Yeah! Yeah! We want eggs.” In first grade she looked up to third grader Chris and wanted to be like him.
      “There's a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table and I'll pour you some milk right away.”
      “Great, Mom. But what about the eggs?” Chris flung himself into a chair and grabbed the first cookie.
      “I have to boil them first. Otherwise they'll end up cracked and mushy.”
      Tim came in laughing. “I heard that. Remember the year the kids got up early and decided to color uncooked eggs. That took hours to clean up.”
      Tracy pouted. “We were little kids then. You can't blame us.”
      “I don't honey. It's just another funny family memory.” Tim ruffled her hair.
      Marion put the eggs in a large kettle of water over a high flame. Then she set out the old cups she saved for coloring, along with the coloring kit she got when they first went on sale. She did try to be organized.
      A few hours later, the eggs were cooked, cooled and ready for color. With lots of artistic flourishes and nothing spilled, the 24 eggs were dyed in all the colors available. Tracy used pinks and blues and baby animal decals. Chris liked vivid purple and red and drew his own monster faces. The decorated eggs went back into the 'frig until bedtime when the kids put them out for the Easter Bunny to hide when he (she?) brought the baskets.
      Easter morning, the kids jumped out of bed to find their Easter baskets. That was easy since they were large and stuck out of any hiding place. With the baskets discovered, it was time for the egg hunt. The kids each got a large plastic bowl to collect the eggs they found.
      Chris, a budding cynic, asked, “Why do we have to do the work of coloring the eggs for the bunny to hide?”
      Tim, trying to grab one of the chocolate eggs from Tracy's basket, said. “I guess the rabbit thought you'd have fun making them different colors. I heard you laughing as you put a mustache on the face you drew.”
      “Yeah, it was fun.” Tracy agreed and shoved her Dad's hand away.
      After searching the house until they couldn't find any more eggs, Chris carefully counted them to make sure none was missing. “Hey, there's something wrong.” he muttered. “I have 15 and Tracy has 10, but she should only have 9.”
      Tim counted them and then Marion counted them, but they always added up to 25.
      Tracy suggested, “Maybe the grocer man gave you an extra one.”
      Chris scoffed, “No, silly, because it wouldn't have fit in the egg carton.”
      Marion was worried. Could one of the 25 eggs been left over from last year? Good grief, what did it say about her housekeeping skills? And she didn't want anyone eating a year old egg.”
      What a mystery. Marion put the eggs in the 'frig until she decided what to do with them. They ate breakfast, dressed and went off to a crowded church. Marion's brain kept going back to the extra egg. What to do?
      Back at home, Marion was putting the ham in the oven, when the phone rang. It was her neighbor, Jennifer. “Hi, back from church and getting ready for dinner, I bet.”
      Marion tried to put a smile in her voice. “Yes, and Happy Easter to you.”
      “Did anything interesting happen this morning?” Jennifer asked.
      Marion's mind went blank. “No, nothing. What do you mean?”
      “Did the kids find all the eggs the Easter Rabbit hid from them?”
      Marion gasped, “There was an extra one. How did you know? I must be a terrible housekeeper.”
     “Don't worry. It was my little Easter surprise. Yesterday when Tim took the kids to the movie and you ran out to the grocery store, I hid one of our eggs in your house.”
     “But all the eggs were similar colors.”
     “Don't you remember we both bought the same coloring set.”
     Aha. Marion now knew who but she still didn't know why.
     Jennifer added, “You do know what tomorrow's date is, don't you? Today, Easter, may be March 31 but tomorrow is April lst. April Fool's Day.”
                                                           The End