Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
VIOLET
Today’s the day. It seems like it was so far away from when I set the opening date for the bakery. But now that it’s here, it seems like only an hour has passed since I set the date. I spent all day yesterday baking away. With Liv and Haley’s help, we got everything prepared and ready to open.
“How are you feeling?” Ez questions. I jump, startled as he walks into the bathroom and stands behind me.
He had some work to do at his shop this morning before coming to the opening.
I look up at his reflection in the mirror. “So nervous. I can’t even put my mascara on without getting it on my eyelids with how shaky my hands are.”
I’ve been so nervous since last night. I barely got any sleep because I kept rerunning everything through my mind to make sure I missed nothing. And now something is eating at my stomach with how twisted it feels.
“Everything will be great,” he confirms, running his hands up and down my arms.
“Is this how you felt when you opened your shop?” I ask, cleaning off the mascara on my eyelids with a Q-tip.
He rubs his hand through his hair with a questionable smirk on his face. “Ugh.”
My brow draws in deep from his expression.
“I didn’t have an opening like you are having. So I can see why you’re a little more nervous.”
I swivel in my rolling vanity chair so I can face him. “Really? What kind of opening did you have? Or do mechanic shops not do something like that?”
He leans his hip against the counter. “I guess some do. I’m not sure. I just opened, and got to work.”
My heart sinks thinking about him going through this alone.
I know he had his family, but at the time his friends were his family too.
Or should have been. Even stupid ass Rya.
I still can’t believe she is so self-centered she didn’t even realize how busy he had become.
Or even support him in his dreams. It’s one thing for a friend not to, but your spouse should be there to cheer you on, not bring you down.
“I’m really sorry no one was there for you.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “It’s okay. It was my decision not to tell anyone.”
“But there were reasons behind your making that decision. It makes me feel bad that your friendships got to a place like that to not want to include them.”
No one talks much about how hard it is to lose a friend.
A friend who felt like more of a sibling than anything.
A friend that knows everything about you and one you would go to for everything.
It’s so common to talk about a breakup or divorce and the hurt and mourning process that comes with it.
But never a friendship. Sometimes it feels like I hurt more from losing Rya than my husband.
And sometimes I mourn my friendship I had with Zayn rather than our marriage.
It’s not just about those two people I miss but more the person I was around them and the people they were around me before everything happened.
But was it even who they truly were? There is so much back-and-forth confusion that comes with it.
Was it something I did? Was I the common denominator?
It feels like the ache of losing them is settling within me like a deep scar.
I see it on the surface, but I can’t feel it anymore.
Ez wraps an arm around my shoulders. I lean into him and rest my head against him. “Let’s not talk about the past. Today is all about you.”
I lift my head to meet his gaze, a small smile pulling at my lips. The calm that only comes from having him beside me replaces the nerves that had been running through my mind.
Ezra drives us both to the bakery. The sun is out, the sky is clear blue, and a huge group of people are standing around the front door.
Violet balloons are swaying softly around.
There is one parking spot open right in front of the door that Ezra pulls into.
No doubt someone held it open for me. Then I notice a purple ribbon taped to both sides of the door.
I scan over the crowd of people, and I’m at a loss for words when I spot my parents. My mouth parts open as I slide out of his truck and head straight for them. They both pull me into a hug, and tears fill my eyes.
“I thought you wouldn’t have been able to make it, being clear across the world and all,” I say in between both of their chests.
“We wouldn’t have missed this,” Mom says.
“Plus, we had a little birdie help us get here in time,” Dad says.
I raise my head, locking eyes with my dad, who’s staring straight ahead. I look over my shoulder to see who he’s staring at. It’s Ezra. He’s standing there hugging his parents while I hug mine.
It’s crazy how much more this man has done for me in a short amount of time than Zayn ever did in all our years married.
“We’re so proud of you, honey,” Mom says.
Just as I release my hug from my parents, I spot my grandma next to her childhood best friend.
I always looked up to those two and thought that would be Rya and me.
Growing old together. Watching each other in every step of our lives until we’re old and wrinkly.
It’s crazy how much can change in a blink of an eye.
“Hi, Grandma,” I say, wrapping my arms around her, sniffing her tried and true Gloria Vanderbilt perfume.
She kisses me on the cheek. “Hi, sweetie.” I’m about to release our hug when she adds, “Your mom told me about that husband of yours. He’s lucky I’m old or I would’ve kicked his ass.”
I snort a laugh. “I would have loved to see that.”
A soft touch on my shoulder makes me turn around. “Hi, Haley.” I wrap my arms around her. “You have done so much already. You didn’t need to decorate the outside.”
She releases me. “I didn’t. That man of yours did,” she says, eyeing behind me.
“Really?”
She nods her head. “Yup.”
Before I can even process what else he’s done, Ashley comes to my side with a wide smile. “Hey, congratulations.”
“Thank you for coming,” I say over her shoulder as I give her a hug.
“Of course. I wouldn’t have missed this.”
After making my rounds greeting everyone and meeting a few new faces, Ezra steps up beside me, a grin tugging at his lips as he hands me the biggest pair of scissors I’ve ever seen.
“You ready?” he asks.
I take the over-sized scissors from him as the crowd behind me counts. “One…two…three.”
With a deep breath, I cut through the violet ribbon.
Applause and cheers erupt around me as I push open the doors and step inside.
The scent of freshly baked bread and sugar fills the air.
For a second, I just stand there, soaking it in.
The chatter, and the sound of feet shuffling across the floors, echoes around me.
Liv immediately hurries behind the counter, her ponytail bouncing as she ties on her apron, ready to take orders.
People form a line with big smiles as they chat away.
My chest swells, and disbelief washes over me that this is really happening.
My bakery.
It’s finally alive.