2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Will
Ipop in my wireless earbuds and press play on my hype playlist, the one I listen to while baking. The song “I Can’t Lose” by the Jonas Brothers fills my ears. I slip on oven mitts, opening the oven to take out a pan of blueberry muffins.
Then, I work on refilling the pastry display case for the morning. The first batch of muffins, scones, and rolls goes pretty quickly during the morning rush of townspeople stopping by on their way to work.
I let the muffins cool on the counter and dance around the kitchen to the beat of the song. Pretending to be on stage at my own concert, I hit a two-step as I grab my journal. My journal is where I keep my notes on baking recipes and ingredients.
Lizzie brought it for me to keep track of baked goods for the week, similar to what she does for the drinks.
She’s more organized than I am, hence her giving me the journal to actually keep track of what I make instead of baking things from memory like I usually do.
She’s teaching me a lot about working as a professional baker, which makes me think that as much as I wanted it, maybe I wasn’t ready to own a bakery yet.
I’ve watched Lizzie keep this place in order despite the daily chaos of running a cafe and making it look easy and, well, not as chaotic as it could be.
Thanks to her boss lady-like tendencies, I’m getting the hang of this journal thing.
I know I have to, or else Lizzie will fire me, and then I’ll be a jobless baker.
I scribble a few things down in the journal, hoping I can read my notes later and move on to the next thing on my list: creating a late summer baked goods menu.
I gave Lizzie the suggestion for the tulip tea, which I thought would be a hit, but I don’t think tulip-themed muffins will do. She seems to like the tea idea, though.
Her reaction replays in my mind. I cringe, thinking about how it seems like I could have been flirting with her. Why did I say that to her?
I sigh, tapping the pen against the counter. I guess I thought about trying to go the thoughtful route and say something without sounding sarcastic for once, but it didn’t go well. It’s like she and I can only communicate by being sarcastic with each other, or else it won’t be a long conversation.
I don’t know why I tried to be different this morning, or why I even remember her favorite flower, but I know that I want to be on her good side.
I mean, she is the reason I am able to stay here in Selah Falls.
In autumn, the town government was left in shambles, and the business deal I thought was in the works for me to start my own bakery fell through.
But Lizzie offered me a job and befriended me.
With that in mind, I’m writing before I even realize that an idea has popped into my mind. I know what to do for a special menu. I could create a menu featuring all her favorite flavors and call it Lizzie’s Faves.
It’s the perfect way to say thank you to her for helping me out and taking a chance on me… without ruining our witty banter routine. She’ll like it, but she probably won’t tell me that. Still, if it makes her smile, which I think it will, then I will have done my job well.
I start by making a list of her favorite flavors from what I can recall. She loves apple cider donuts. Cinnamon swirl is her go-to flavor for lattes and muffins. All the above are town favorites too.
The Jonas Brothers song “Burnin’ Up” comes on at the right moment, and I feel like I’m on fire with ideas.
I think about creating a chocolate tulip mousse cup with a cookie base and making them shaped like tulips, adding fresh berries for color and taste.
Oh, and I can make a tulip-stuffed pastry with edible petals and berries.
On a roll, I finish writing down the ingredients I’ll need for my menu and wash my hands.
I check on the blueberry muffins. Since they’ve cooled down, I place them on the tray I’ll use to carry them to the display case.
I sing along to the song as it ends. Then, I pause my playlist and put my phone and earbuds in my pocket before picking up the tray.
I ease out of the kitchen door and head over to the display case near the front counter.
Lizzie stands at the counter, running the register. She looks as if she’s seen a ghost. At least, from this angle, I can see part of her face from the side, since the display case is next to the register. I have to open the display case to put the muffins inside.
Lizzie doesn’t seem to notice me. No witty remark, piercing glare, or anything. She just stands there, staring past her two friends.
They stand there too, looking at the man walking towards the counter. Immediately, I don’t like him. It’s something about his smile, his walk, and the way he looks at Lizzie when he approaches.
Even the way he gives an uncomfortable Nic and Jane a one-armed hug ticks me off. I set the baked goods down on the counter and open the display case, stealing glances at Lizzie, who hadn’t said a word yet. She stands still, hands on the counter, looking wide-eyed and confused as the man speaks.
“Long time no see, ladies. It’s good to be back in town.”
He’s back in town, which means he’s been gone for how long, though? I’m not sure. But that explains why I haven’t seen him around in the months that I’ve been living here. He glances over at me and then at Lizzie, nodding.
“Liz, are you going to introduce me to your employee?”
I look at him for a moment, clenching my jaw. It’s the way he speaks that makes me pause. The way he looks down at me, crouched at the display window, just doing my job.
He says it as if I am nothing special. Like I am just someone who works here and not someone who was supposed to own their own bakery in this town before everything got messed up. I could glare at him, but he’s not even worth sparing a second glance.
“Lizzie, do you need anything?” I ask, ignoring the man.
“Um,” she says, turning to look at me slowly, as if she had forgotten I was there.
I’ve never seen her like this. Never really seen her speechless. I can’t believe this guy, who walked in here like he is the big man on campus, is the one to make her stand there like this with nothing to say. It’s so unlike her.
“Do you want us to go?” Nic asks, shrugging the man’s arm off her. She looks at Lizzie pointedly. “Or do you want us here for this?”
“Um,” Lizzie says again, blinking at the man and then looking at her friends. “I think I will catch up with you two later. I can handle this.”
“Okay, well, Jay is working with me at the bookstore today. If you need me to come back for any reason, you know where to find me.” Nic speaks to Lizzie, but eyes the man suspiciously. She picks up the bag of muffins and lattes for herself and Jay.
Jane grabs a drink and muffin for herself, and says, “And I’m next door at the antique shop if you need me.” Jane locks eyes with Lizzie before stepping away from the man and his awkward hug. She and Nic head out of the door.
“Lizzie?” I ask.
Chatter from a few customers sitting around enjoying their caffeine and sweets fills the cafe.
It’s almost time for Wolfsheim’s shift, and it’s not too crowded.
I’m done with baking for now, so I don’t mind stepping in to help Lizzie out.
She turns to look at me, a little dazed.
I let her know I can run the register so she can take a break.
“Thanks, Will,” she says, taking a deep breath.
She called me Will, not Darcy, as she usually does nowadays. But I called her Lizzie, so maybe it threw her off. It doesn’t seem like the time for nicknames.
She doesn’t even tease me or anything. She just moves from behind the counter and nervously wipes her hands on her apron. I watch her as she makes her way around to the other side of the counter to greet the man.
“Are you happy to see me, Liz?” he asks, opening his arms for her to walk into.
She doesn’t hug him, though; she stares at him, dumbfounded, and gestures to a two-person table away from the other customers, by the window.
It’s near enough to the counter that I can listen in.
I know it’s wrong, but I think being nosy in this instance isn’t really wrong since they are sitting so close and because…
well, I am kind of worried about Lizzie.
This man’s presence is obviously not something she is happy about. I can tell from her reaction and her body language. She’s processing, and she’s trying to be strong.
I want to stay near so I can help her if he needs me to because this guy makes me feel uneasy. He seems to enjoy making her uncomfortable too, and I don’t like that. I glance at them as they sit and talk.
Well, he talks, and she stares at him. She fidgets with her hands in her lap while his hands are on the table, as if he’s reaching for her. I catch pieces of what he is saying.
“Liz, aren’t you glad to see me again?”
“I came back for you.”
“Do you still have the ring?”
The ring? I do my best to look busy behind the counter, placing the fresh muffins in the display case, but I strain to listen in on their conversation.
“I pawned that ring.”
That’s Lizzie’s voice. She is finally talking, and she doesn’t sound happy.
“How dare you, Billie? You think you can come back to town and we can pick up where we left off? You asked me to marry you, and then you left. It’s been six years. Six years. You don’t get to come back and talk to me like nothing ever happened.”
Fragments of the conversation stand out to me: Ring. Asked to marry her. Left her years ago. Lizzie was engaged to this man. This man named…Billie. That’s what she called him. That explains why she is reacting this way.
She stands up and says, “I think you should go, and this time, don’t come back, Billie.”
Billie stands up too, but he doesn’t leave. He walks over to the front counter. I close the display case and walk over to the register, watching him.
“Aren’t you going to take my order, Will?” he asks, reading my name from my name tag on my apron.