Chapter 4 #3
More responses rolled in. Jake added his name to the list.
Then, before he could overthink it, he opened a new text to Marcus.
Is Lucy actually coming tomorrow?
Marcus's response was immediate: According to Rei, yes. Why? You interested?
Jake didn't answer. But he didn't need to. Marcus would figure it out.
Everyone seemed to be figuring it out before Jake did.
He drove home the long way, past Main Street, past the shops closing up for the evening, past The Bread Basket—already dark, Lucy probably upstairs in her apartment, doing paperwork or baking tomorrow's bread or whatever it was she did when she wasn't disappearing into her work.
Two people, Jake thought. Both stuck. Both scared. Both starting to figure out that maybe being stuck was a choice they could stop making.
Friday couldn't come fast enough.
Friday morning started the same as every morning—4:45 AM alarm, automatic movements through her routine, downstairs to start the first batch of pork buns.
But today felt different. Today had weight to it. Tonight was team dinner. Tonight she'd see Jake outside the bakery, in a social setting, with other people around.
Tonight she'd have to be a person instead of just the bakery owner.
The thought was terrifying.
"You're doing that thing again," Mae said when she arrived at 7 AM.
"What thing?"
"The thing where you stress-knead the dough. You're going to overwork it."
Lucy looked down at her hands, which were indeed working the dough harder than necessary. She forced herself to slow down.
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You're nervous about tonight."
"I'm not nervous. I'm just... preparing mentally."
"For what? It's dinner with friends. Super casual."
"I don't do casual well. I'm better at structured. Routines. Knowing what comes next."
Mae grabbed Lucy's shoulders and looked her directly in the eye.
"Listen to me. You're going to go tonight.
You're going to wear the blue sweater that Rei texted me about.
You're going to eat food you didn't have to cook.
You're going to talk to people. And if Jake Morrison happens to sit next to you and you guys have an actual conversation that lasts longer than three minutes, that's good.
That's growth. That's you being a human person. "
"When did you become so wise?"
"I've always been wise. You just usually ignore me." Mae released Lucy's shoulders and grabbed her own apron. "Also, Rei's picking you up at 6:30 so you can't chicken out."
"I wasn't going to chicken out."
"You were totally going to chicken out. You were going to text at 6 PM saying you had a headache or the oven broke or you got kidnapped by aliens."
Lucy laughed despite her nerves. "Okay, maybe I was considering the alien kidnapping excuse."
The day passed in a blur of customers and prep work. Mr. Peterson with his bran muffin. The Knitting Circle with their gossip. Tom and Jerry arguing about the best way to organize a tool shed (an argument Lucy had witnessed at least fifty times).
At 2 PM, Uncle Walter came in for his afternoon coffee.
"I heard about tonight," he said, settling at Lucy's corner table.
"Of course you did. Does everyone in this town know my business?"
"Yes. It's one of the benefits of small-town living." He smiled. "I'm proud of you, Lulu."
"For what? Going to dinner?"
"For trying. For showing up. That's more than you've done in five years."
Lucy sat down across from him, suddenly exhausted. "What if I'm terrible at it? What if I've forgotten how to be around people outside of customer interactions? What if I'm boring?"
"Then you'll practice until you're not." Uncle Walter reached across and squeezed her hand. "Nobody expects you to be perfect. They just want you to be there."
"What if Jake—" Lucy stopped herself.
"What if Jake what?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
"Lucy Chen, you're allowed to like someone. You're allowed to want something for yourself that has nothing to do with this bakery or your grandmother's legacy or any of the responsibilities you've been carrying."
Lucy felt tears prick her eyes. "What if I'm bad at it?"
"At what? Liking someone?"
"At all of it. At being a person who has a life outside this building."
Uncle Walter's expression softened. "Then you'll learn. Same as you learned how to run this business, same as you learned all your grandmother's recipes. You're not starting from scratch, Lulu. You're just... picking up something you set down for a while."
After he left, Lucy stood in the quiet bakery and looked around. Five years. Five years of living in this building, breathing flour and yeast, structuring every moment of every day around the business.
And it had been good. It had been safe. But Uncle Walter was right—she'd been using it as an excuse not to live.
Tonight was a start.
At 5 PM, Lucy closed the bakery and went upstairs to her apartment. She showered, actually dried her hair instead of letting it air-dry into its usual chaotic state, and pulled out the blue sweater Rei had texted about.
It was soft cashmere, a gift from her grandmother three Christmases ago. Lucy had barely worn it, convinced it was too nice for everyday life. But tonight wasn't everyday life.
Tonight was her showing up.
She paired it with her nice jeans—not the ones with flour stains, not the ones she wore for bakery work, but the dark wash pair that actually fit properly. Added small silver earrings. A touch of mascara.
When she looked in the mirror, she barely recognized herself.
At 6:30, right on schedule, there was a knock at her door.
Rei stood in the hallway, wearing a leather jacket and what Lucy could only describe as an expression of maternal pride.
"You look amazing," Rei said.
"I look like I'm trying too hard."
"You look like someone who's leaving her apartment for something other than work.
I'm calling that a win." Rei linked her arm through Lucy's.
"Come on. Marcus saved us seats. And before you ask—yes, Jake is already there.
No, you don't have to sit next to him if you don't want to. But maybe you want to?"
"I don't know what I want."
"Then let's go find out."
They walked to Mac's Tavern through the cold November evening, their breath fogging in the air. Timber Falls was quiet on Friday nights—most people were home with family, or at the high school football game, or at the bar itself.
The tavern was warm and loud when they walked in. Lucy spotted the Timber Falls Wolves immediately—they'd taken over three tables in the back, laughing and arguing and being exactly the kind of loud, chaotic group that made Lucy want to turn around and run.
But then she saw Jake.
He was sitting at the end of one table, wearing a dark blue henley that made his eyes look impossibly bright. He was listening to Owen tell some animated story, and he was smiling—not the tight professional smile Lucy had seen in the bakery, but something real and open.
And when he looked up and saw her, his entire face transformed.
"Breathe," Rei whispered.
Right. Breathing. Lucy could do that.
Marcus spotted them and waved. "Ladies! Over here! We saved seats!"
As Lucy and Rei made their way to the tables, several players greeted Rei—clearly she was well-loved by the team. A few looked at Lucy with curiosity but not hostility. Owen practically bounced in his seat, introducing himself with the enthusiasm of a golden retriever meeting new people.
And Jake stood up.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey."
"I'm glad you came."
"Me too. I think."
He smiled, and Lucy felt something in her chest loosen. This was okay. She could do this.
"Sit," Marcus commanded, gesturing to the empty seat next to Jake. "We're about to order appetizers. I hope you like wings because Owen's convinced we need fifty of them."
"We're a hockey team," Owen protested. "We need the protein!"
Lucy sat down next to Jake, and Rei sat on her other side, providing what felt like moral support and possibly a escape route if needed.
The evening unfolded around her—food arrived, beer was ordered (Lucy got a cider), stories were told.
The Wolves were loud and chaotic and surprisingly welcoming.
They asked Lucy about the bakery, listened when she talked about her grandmother's recipes, didn't make her feel like an outsider even though she clearly was one.
And Jake.
Jake sat next to her and didn't say much, but his presence was steady. Grounding. Every so often their arms would brush and Lucy would feel electricity shoot through her.
"So," Marcus said during a lull in conversation, "Jake tells me you make the best pork buns in Vermont."
"Did he?" Lucy glanced at Jake, who had gone slightly red.
"I might have mentioned them once or twice," Jake muttered.
"Once or twice per week for three years," Marcus said cheerfully. "The man is devoted to your pork buns."
The table erupted in laughter, and Lucy felt her own cheeks heat. But Jake was smiling—really smiling—and suddenly Lucy was too.
"They're my grandmother's recipe," Lucy said. "I haven't changed anything since she passed."
"How long ago was that?" Ryan asked.
"Five years."
"And you've been running the bakery alone since then?"
"Yeah." Lucy took a sip of her cider. "It's been... a lot. But it's what she wanted. I think."
"She'd be proud," Rei said quietly.
"I hope so."
Jake, who'd been quiet, finally spoke. "For what it's worth, I think anyone who can get up at 4:45 every morning and still be nice to customers deserves some kind of medal."
"How do you know I get up at 4:45?"
"Lucky guess?" But he was smiling, and Lucy realized he'd been paying attention. Really paying attention.
The rest of the evening passed in a comfortable blur. More food, more stories, more laughter. Lucy found herself relaxing, actually enjoying the chaos of being around people who weren't customers.
Around 9 PM, people started heading out. Owen had an early morning workout. Dmitri had a FaceTime date with his girlfriend in Russia. Others drifted away in pairs and groups.
Eventually, it was just Lucy, Jake, Rei, and Marcus left at the table.
"Walk you ladies home?" Marcus offered.
"I think we can manage," Rei said, but she was smiling. "Thanks for organizing this."
"Anytime. Reaper, you good?"
Jake nodded. "Yeah. I'll walk Lucy home. Her place is on my way."
It wasn't, actually—Lucy's apartment was in the opposite direction from Jake's. But Rei shot Lucy a look that clearly said don't argue and Lucy found she didn't want to.
They said goodnight to Marcus and Rei, then walked out into the cold November night.
The streets of Timber Falls were quiet, lit by old-fashioned streetlamps that cast yellow pools of light on the sidewalk. Their breath fogged in the air.
"Thanks for coming tonight," Jake said after a moment of comfortable silence.
"Thanks for walking me home."
"I figured after three years of Wednesday mornings, we should probably actually get to know each other."
Lucy laughed. "Is that what this is? Getting to know each other?"
"I think so?" Jake sounded uncertain. "I'm not great at this. The social thing. I spend most of my time either at the rink or alone in my apartment watching old movies."
"I spend most of my time either at the bakery or alone in my apartment doing paperwork. So we're both bad at it."
"Perfect. We can be bad at it together."
They'd reached The Bread Basket. Lucy's apartment entrance was on the side of the building, up a narrow set of external stairs.
"This is me," Lucy said.
"I know. I've been coming here for three years."
"Right." Lucy fished her keys out of her pocket, suddenly not wanting the evening to end. "Jake?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you sat down on Wednesday. Instead of just taking your pork buns and leaving."
"Me too."
"And I'm glad you came tonight."
"Me too."
They stood there for a moment, neither quite ready to say goodbye.
Finally, Lucy made herself turn toward her door. "See you Wednesday?"
"Actually," Jake said, "I was wondering if maybe we could do something before Wednesday. If you want. No pressure."
Lucy's heart stuttered. "Like what?"
"There's a farmers market tomorrow morning. I usually stop by after Saturday youth hockey. Thought you might want to come? For, you know, bakery research purposes."
"Bakery research purposes," Lucy repeated, smiling.
"Or just... because. If you want."
"I want." The words came out before Lucy could overthink them. "What time?"
"Market opens at 9. I could meet you here at 8:30?"
"That's perfect. I close the bakery at 8 on Saturdays anyway."
"Great. It's—great." Jake took a step back, hands in his pockets. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"See you tomorrow."
Lucy watched him walk away, disappearing into the November darkness. Then she climbed the stairs to her apartment, let herself inside, and immediately texted Rei.
He asked me to go to the farmers market with him tomorrow.
Rei's response was immediate: THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THIS IS A DATE.
Lucy: It's not a date. It's bakery research.
Rei: keep telling yourself that
Rei: wear something cute
Rei: I'M SO PROUD OF YOU
Lucy set down her phone and looked around her apartment. The same apartment she'd been living in for five years, the same space that had felt like a comfortable prison.
But tonight, it felt different. Tonight, it felt like the beginning of something.
Lucy walked to her closet and started planning what to wear to a farmers market that definitely wasn't a date.
She was smiling the whole time.