It was 1984 and Greta's party wasn't going so well. She'd invited her co-workers over and the fiesta was dying a slow excruciating death. After a particularly weird comment by Juan, there was an awkward silence that lasted nineteen painful minutes. They'd resorted to thumbing through the coffee table books.
Greta found herself repeatedly refilling her wine glass to dull the pain of a party gone bad. She'd drunk enough alcohol to be declared a public mess, but still Greta felt the sting of a failed party.
That was until there was a knock at the door...
Björn was only too quick to his feet, visibly excited by the prospect of something cutting through the monotony. Greta felt hurt by his obvious relief; but then, Björn was never one to hide his emotions well.
It was Greta's neighbor, Botilda. She'd come looking to borrow a cup of aniseed. Björn invited her in before she could utter another sentence.
Sensing the stilted discomfort in the room, Botilda turned on the tape cassette player. "Let's Hear It for the Boy" by Deneice Williams blasted from the speakers and she began to disrobe. It was an answer to a prayer. Greta felt a flicker of hope that all was not lost.
Within minutes, the worst party in history had become the greatest. Botilda, Juan, Björn, Greta, Henrik, and even shy Inga were making sweet glorious pancakes on the living room floor.
To this day, whenever Greta cooks pancakes she always adds a dash of aniseed to the batter in memory of that fateful visit from Botilda.