Winter Cake

It's mid-February and Zoe is turning thirteen. Her auburn hair is the same, her “embarrassing” freckles still in place and yet she’s not your little girl anymore. She sneers, pouts, rolls her eyes and takes more selfies than Kim Kardashian.
She still loves cake like she always has, but now keeps it secret, because OMG, all that fat! Zoe also still hates vegetables, especially carrots.
“You like your cake?” you ask.
She nods, giving you one of those radiant smiles that have become so rare recently, and suddenly you don’t have the heart to tell her that it’s carrot cake.