EPILOGUE
Three weeks later:
"Haids, I'm still not really sure about this," Xeno said, a slight edge of nervousness creeping into the edges of his voice. "I know it's only our friends, but still, you remember how the other work party ended." He parked his car behind the bakery, putting the car into the right setting.
"I'm sure it'll be fine." He replied, turning towards him. "And even then, if anyone kicks off, I doubt your dad'll tolerate it." He unbuckled his seatbelt, waiting for him to do the same. "Besides, what did Jess call it? It's not a party, it's a.."
"A get-together." He chuckled. "You're right. We're just going out for coffee." He stepped out of the car, and the pair headed towards the entrance of the bakery. "Are you nervous to meet him? My dad, I mean."
"Oh, I'm terrified." Haiden laughed. "But, I mean, once you've seen Ms. Pepper angry, you can brave anything." They arrived at the door, which was slightly ajar. "You ready?"
"Yeah." he replied, pushing open the door.
Immediately, he noticed Jess, sitting down in the same seat they'd reunited after he'd been fired, her auburn hair orange in the mid-afternoon sun that streamed in through the windows.
The whole ordeal felt like a lifetime ago.
There were two tables pushed together, which he assumed was because of the number of people who would be in attendance.
She didn't notice them at first; she was too busy poring over her sketchbook, her latte sitting untouched in front of her.
"Hey," Haiden broke her immersion as they sat down, her head jerking up to face him. "What're you working on now?"
Her eyes lit up. "Hey, guys!" She glanced down at her work. "We've got our first assessment in a month. We're getting paid to design for a runway and, not to brag, but it's alright money." She closed her sketchbook, sliding it into a navy handbag.
"Already? How could you have learned enough by now?" Xeno asked.
"It's got a work placement alongside." She replied. "I mean, it's not amazing; the models are catty as anything, and the requests these labels make of us are ridiculous. A third of my class has already been kicked out, or quit altogether." She paused, a grin spreading across her face. "I love it."
Since she'd left, the trio had stayed in touch. Despite this, they always had something to say to one-another. The bakery was comfortably busy, with a quiet hum of chatter as they caught up on each-other's lives. "Jess," Xeno began. "Who else is invited?"
"How many promotions do you need before you buy a planner?
" She replied dryly, rolling her eyes and eliciting a chuckle from Haiden.
"I've invited Doctor Aruda, obviously." She began.
"She's bringing a "mystery man", apparently.
Her new boyfriend. Wouldn't tell me who he was, but apparently we all know him. "
"All right. Who else?" he asked.
"There's one other person." She replied. "Aruda organised this; she just said that she'd bring a couple of people, but I'm not actually sure who they are."
"Can I take your orders?" He jumped as his dad's voice boomed from behind him. Turning around, he saw him dressed in an apron with a notepad in his hand. Of course, he thought, he'd be manning everything alone while Shane and Robin were at school.
"I'm fine for now, thank you," Jess replied, holding up her latte. "I'll probably get another one when everyone gets here, though."
Xeno went to speak, but was immediately cut off. "I already know what you want, you haven't changed it in years." He said, scribbling something down on his notepad. "And you?" he asked, turning to Haiden.
"I-" he spoke, freezing momentarily. "I'd.. Just a coffee for me, please."
Almost as soon as he'd gone, the doors opened. Xeno turned to see Doctor Aruda, tailed by Dr. Carmazan and Mr. Crossley. She waved at them and began walking over, clearly pretending not
to notice their shocked faces. "Hello everyone." She said, sitting down.
It was Jess that broke the silence. "Okay, I have to ask, what is going on here?" She gestured to Crossley. "This is your "Mystery man"? And you," her focus shifted to Carmazan. "I thought you hated each-other. I thought you all hated each-other, actually."
"I see your time back at university hasn't taught you tact.
" Aruda teased. "But yes, it's a long story.
Essentially, Mr. Crossley and I started talking to each-other again immediately after Ms. Pepper's.
. leaving of the museum. Especially since the department merge, we've realised we have a lot in common. "
"What about Doctor Carmazan?" Xeno asked, turning to face her.
He still didn't know where they stood- the last time they'd seen one-another was at her retirement party, where he'd seen her look at him, terrified, when he'd gotten promoted.
Of course, now he knew why, but even that complicated matters further.
"Well, I can answer that." Carmazan locked eyes with him, immediately turning his blood to ice.
She was still terrifying, even when she had no real power over him.
"Kiara told me over email she'd terminated my contract with Ms. Pepper, and I was overjoyed.
That's when we started discussing things.
There was a lot to cover, so we got to talking for a while.
After some convincing, she told me I should see you all again, which led to this.
" She turned to Aruda. "To be honest, I missed us being friends. "
"Right," Jess turned to face them. "You're both officially the worst information gatherers I've ever seen. How could you not have told me about this?"
"I didn't notice, I swear!" Haiden protested, holding up his hands.
As the afternoon progressed, Xeno saw sides of Crossley and Carmazan he'd never thought possible.
Conversation flowed freely, with no-one even bringing up the sabotages, the interviews, or Ms. Pepper herself.
It seemed, as the dandelion hues of light in the windows shifted to marigold, that all the grievances of the past four months had passed them like water under a bridge.
The time to leave came faster than he had expected.
Everyone left with the plan to make the bakery get-together a regular thing, and they filed out together at five o'clock, when the bakery closed, leaving only the pair together, alone in the bakery.
"Are you ready to go home?" Haiden asked, putting a pastry into a to-go bag.
"Not yet." he replied, catching his father's eye from across the room. "There's one thing we haven't done yet. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." he responded, standing up straight and taking a deep breath. It felt like hours before Xeno's father made his way over to them.
"Was everything all right?" He asked. "Cakes were all fine?"
"Completely fine. Tonight was perfect, actually. Dad?" Xeno began, gesturing to Haiden, who waved meekly.
"I'd like for you to meet my boyfriend."