Chapter 35
CHAPTER 35
“ I ’m so glad you’re here this year, Chef Kinney,” the Mayor of Wildes said as she surveyed the display. “I might be a little addicted to your offerings.”
Clementine smiled. “Turning your team down every year seemed a little cruel, so I figured it was time to make an appearance.”
They shared a laugh and the mayor squeezed her arm before turning to Luna to place her order. Clementine backed away and slowly let her smile drop. Her cheeks and jaw hurt from the way she forced them to form a smile, and she was exhausted. They were on day two of the Spring Food Fling and it was way more chaotic than she thought it would be. Her staff had kept the Pretty Baked stall going for hours the day before and were back at it again, like the rockstars they were. Her exhaustion was partly because of her aching heart and the lack of sleep the last two nights.
Simply put, she missed Oakley. Her plan was to see him that evening after everything wrapped, show up at his apartment and hope that he would give her a chance to talk. When she walked away, she’d made it seem like it was his fault, when it was on both of them for not saying anything earlier. At another quick session with Rhiannon she asked for advice on how to handle the conversation—the key was to apologize and explain her thoughts. She practiced it over the last few days, but put that aside when she was at park grounds for the Food Fling.
“All right, eyes up here.” Freya clapped her hands and Clementine smiled as her staff turned to face her. “Chef, the floor is yours.”
Nodding, she smoothed her hands over her long skirt. “Yesterday was fantastic and the only reason we pulled it off is because of all of you. I am so honored to be working alongside you and grateful that you chose my kitchen. In case you missed it, the tip jar was overflowing, so make sure you check in with Luna at the end of today to get your cut. So fucking proud of you guys.”
They hooted, clapping as Freya took over. “Let’s make day two even better. It’s going to be a long one, but we’re going to kill it!” She rattled off duties and got everyone into the zone. Clementine was most grateful for how hard Freya worked, for how dedicated she was to this job. The last week had been problem-free because of her and everyone in the kitchen knew that.
The announcement about the Fling being open for the day had already come over the speakers hours ago, but she’d allowed her staff a late start because she didn’t want them burning the candle at both ends. Customers started lining up, conversation built up around her, and she took in the crowd. She’d always thought of Wildes as a small town, but looking at the number of people filling the park and stopping at every stall, maybe she was wrong.
“Are you going to scope out the competition today?”
She shrugged at Freya’s question. “Haven’t decided yet.”
“You don’t want to go out there and see if you accidentally run into a hot tattooed man?” At her silence, Freya stepped up beside her and nudged her gently.
“I’m good. But thank you.” She could see a lot of the park from there and if he did show up, this was the best vantage point.
“Okay. If you need anything, you let me know.”
She nodded, smiled at Freya and stepped out of the stall space. She saw a steady stream of people moving towards them, so she allowed herself a moment to take it all in. Mack had done such a good job with the stall, giving them a much wider and more elaborate set up than the canvas tents everyone else was using. Made entirely of discarded and distressed wood, it was wide and broad and allowed for her staff to move around each other effortlessly. He built counters, but warned her that it couldn’t take a lot of weight. Not that she had any intention of weighing it down. They’d brought collapsable tables from the bakery that were placed under the counters, in case the weight did become too much. Cake stands, glass domes and other pieces were being used to put their wares on display. Then there were the fresh batch of flowers Daisy had dropped off the night before, light colored carnations and peonies that were used to cover the sides that were already wrapped in sheer material Freya had pulled out of somewhere.
It was pretty and that was something that she had never set out to make her bakery. Sure, it was called Pretty Baked, but not for all the reasons people assumed. Across the top, a canvas banner hung that had light pink and yellow designs along with Indigo’s handwriting that simply read “ Pretty Baked. Where your dessert needs will be met pretty much every day ”. She’d never had a tagline for the bakery, but she liked the way that sounded.
Pulling her phone out to text her family about how the first day went, Clementine found a long list of texts in the Snap, Crackle & Pop group chat. Shaking her head, she scrolled through them and tried not to smile. Thank god for these two .
Ginny
Come out, come out, wherever you are!
Daisy
We’re literally looking at her.
Ginny
Yeah, but she’s not looking at us.
Daisy
So?
Ginny
So she doesn’t know that we’re waiting for her to notice us.
Daisy
Sometimes your logic is flawed, but at least you’re gorgeous.
Ginny
Why, thanks. You’re gorgeous too.
Daisy
Thank you!
Ginny
You’re gorgeous, three, Clem.
Daisy
*laughing and crying emoji*
Daisy
We’re waiting for you.
Ginny
It’s time to go scope out the competition and put the fear of Crackle in them.
Daisy
Oh nicely done. That’s right, we’re going to wander around and show them they’re nothing.
Ginny
Damn, didn’t know you had this mean streak in you, Daze.
Daisy
I don’t. It felt weird typing that out, but I was going with your flow.
Ginny
Gorgeous and dangerous!
Daisy
*GIF of Beyonce flipping her hair*
Ginny
Enough with the sulking.
Daisy
Gin’s been threatening to scream.
Ginny
I’ve perfected my shouting voice, so don’t tempt me.
Daisy
Why are you perfecting that?
Ginny
Gavin does this thing with his hips.
Daisy
Nope, don’t need that in my head. Thanks.
Ginny
I’m sure if you asked him nicely, Rafferty would do that thing with his hips too.
Clementine
Who is Rafferty?
A loud cackle echoed from the other side of the stalls and she smiled at Ginny’s laugh. She turned around and spotted them, head bent over their phones as they replied. Even now, she was surprised that she’d made friends with these two amazing women who were genuinely interested in her. They understood Clementine in a way very few people did and they liked her for all that she was. After years of being wary of the kind of people she let into her life, this was a very big deal.
Ginny
I’ll tell you aaaallll about Rafferty if you leave the safety of your stall.
Which is absolutely beautiful, by the way.
Think your hunky best friend might want to do more of this in the future?
Daisy
Stop trying to hire everyone to work for you.
For the record, she doesn’t know anything about Rafferty. Who is a friend.
Ginny
Buzzkill.
Daisy
Chaos demon.
She laughed as she pocketed her phone and turned to Freya. “I’m going to find those two wildcats. Call me if you need anything?”
Freya nodded, smiling like a proud mother. “Have fun.”
With a roll of her eyes, she walked over to where Ginny and Daisy were drawing the attention of every person in the vicinity. As they always did. The day before, she’d worn pants with the intention of looking professional. She’d also pulled on one of her signature pastel chef coats for the same reason. Except halfway through the day, she’d gotten rid of it and decided to dress comfortably. So now she was wearing a long dark blue skirt, with a slit up the left side, a white tee that read Yes, Chef and her well-worn sneakers. She’d bought the T-shirt after Oakley started saying ‘yes, chef’, but had never worn it before. This felt like the right time.
“Yes, chef!” Ginny hooted when she was a few feet away from them. Daisy whistled loudly and she glowered at them, hoping that they would shiver in their shoes.
They did not.
“Is all that leg being exposed for us or….”
Flipping them both off, she barely had a moment before she was pulled into a hug. Her body tensed briefly, then she settled, wrapping one arm around each woman. When they pulled away, she smiled at her friends. They were unexpected and yet, two of the best people she’d welcomed into her life.
“Just so you know, I’m in the process of printing T-shirts for us. Snap, Crackle & Pop tees,” Ginny announced, flicking her hair over her shoulder.
“Oh, I love that. Is it the word that you assigned to us or the full statement?” Daisy asked.
“The word that is perfectly assigned to you, obviously.”
Clementine turned to Daisy. “Who is Rafferty?”
Ginny snorted. “He’s a hot piece of meat, covered in tattoos, smolders like all the time and is madly in love with our friend.”
“Stop it,” Daisy mumbled as they walked, but Clementine saw the hint of a smile on her friend’s lips. “He’s an old friend from New York. Just moved to town.”
Ginny added, “I believe that he’s here for our flower queen, but she says no.”
Clementine nudged Daisy. “Would that be so bad, Daze?”
“No? But also…I don’t want to get my hopes up. We were best friends and I was secretly in love with him most of the time. But he was so important to me, so I didn’t say anything.”
“But?” Ginny urged her to continue and Daisy huffed.
“The night before my dad and I left the city, I kissed him. He kissed me back and…that was the last time I saw him until a few weeks ago.”
“So what? He’s here now, this is your chance to try again,” Clementine countered.
“I dunno, maybe.” Daisy shook her head. “Anyway, today is not about me. How are you doing? Is this everything you thought it would be?”
She looked around the park, taking in the number of stalls and people. “This is way bigger than I expected. I see photographs every year, but it’s a whole different experience when you’re smack in the middle of it.”
“I bet. But hey, we overheard at least twenty people raving about your stuff.” Ginny bumped into her gently.
“That’s because my stuff is fucking amazing.”
Her friends laughed as they squeezed through a small gap between stalls and headed towards one of the coffee vendors. She let all of this soak in, let it feel real. Because she finally had the kind of friends she always dreamed about.
“But how are you holding up after…you know?” Daisy asked, voice quiet.
“Miserable. I’m thinking of going to see him after we wrap today. I thought he might show up, but I was terrible enough that he’s giving me space.”
Ginny hummed, frowning at her phone before tucking it away. “There’s nothing wrong with a little space.”
“I guess. I hate how we left things, because he was one of the best things to ever happen to me.”
They squeezed her on either side and then Ginny whispered, “We’re the best thing, right?”
Always trust Ginny to lighten the mood .
“You two are the most surprising thing to happen to me.”
“We’ll take it. Surprising is another way to say best,” Daisy added and then bumped fists with Ginny. “Are you glad you finally agreed to be a part of this?”
Grateful for the continued change in subject, she shrugged. “Yes to the food festival, still on the fence in regards to this friendship.”
“Whoa.” Ginny said, pulling her to a stop. Her friends wore matching scowls, hands on their hips as they stared her down. “Most people would walk away after a comment like that. But we’re not most people.”
Daisy nodded. “We know you, Clementine. And we don’t accept your shrugging us off.”
“Exactly. We’ll accept not being the best thing to ever happen to you, but don’t you even try to weasel your way out of this hoemance.” Ginny narrowed her eyes.
Clementine snorted. “There has to be a better term than hoemance .”
“I’ll work on it.” Ginny nodded and then both of them looped their arms through hers again. She smiled, glancing at her friends as they made a slow loop through the stalls.
After a cup of mediocre coffee and a pastry from another bakery—“We’re scoping out competition. This is important!”—Clementine returned to the Pretty Baked stall. The tip jar was overflowing again and she wasn’t surprised, because her staff were doing such a good job. They were a well-oiled machine and every time something looked like it was running low, they refilled it without breaking their stride. She’d see them do this in the shop, but it was different in this setting.
The stall was open on all sides, inviting customers to wander and interact with her staff since everyone had a hand in what was being sold, they could charm anybody into trying something in the display cases. She was constantly impressed with them, and realized that most of her staff were actually good at interacting with customers, a change she would implement once they opened the new space.
Despite her best efforts to slip into the back and out of sight, Luna pointed her out to a customer. That turned into Clementine talking to everyone else in the line, recommending items they should try depending on what they were in the mood for. Rhiannon liked to remind her that as someone who was in a business that catered to humans, she needed to be more people friendly. It wasn’t always easy. Faking her smile could only last so long and she was reaching the end of her rope when her phone started ringing.
“Excuse me a minute,” she told the customer when she saw Mack’s name. “Are you two on your way?”
“I was. James called. Apparently there’s something that needs your attention.”
“Did he say what it was?”
“No. I’m going to pick up Dig and then swing by the shop. Think you could get there before I do?”
“Yeah.”
She hurried behind the stall and gathered her things, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Letting Freya know she was heading out, Clementine walked towards her truck.
“How’s day two going?”
“Really good. I managed to walk around as well, check out the competition.”
Mack chuckled. “Ginny’s idea, I assume.”
She hopped into her truck and switched her phone to speaker as she started it up. “Confirmed that I’m a damn good baker and run a good spot.”
“You had to eat other pastries to know that? You’re ridiculous.”
For the millionth time in her life, she was glad that she had made such incredible friends. Mack was the best, though. To put up with her all these years, to love her through it all? He was a special kind of friend.
“How…uh…how are you holding up?”
She winced, glad he couldn’t see her face. He could probably tell that she was squirming. “You know, I’m surviving.”
“Need you to do more than survive, Tiny.”
“I’m trying,” she mumbled, turning down the street where the new shop was located. “I just keep running through everything from that day and hate myself for what I said.”
“No point in hating yourself, just take it one day at a time. Slow and steady.”
“Slow and steady,” she echoed and saw the sign for the bakery. “I’m pulling up at the shop. I’ll see you in a bit, yeah?”
“Yup. Just need to get Dig,” he reminded her and they said bye as she parked in front of the shop. Climbing out, she frowned at the lack of other vehicles and the fact that no lights were on inside. Phone and keys in hand, she let herself in and looked around, confused.
“James? Anybody?” she called out, then dialed Mack’s number, but got his voicemail. The same thing happened with James and Freya. “What the hell.”
She moved through the space, eyes briefly landing on all the work that had been completed. Then at the main entrance, she tried Mack and James again, but nothing. Grumbling, she started to flip on the lights. Maybe James was also on his way. She turned to set her things down and froze when a familiar figure stepped out of the kitchen.
“Melor.”