Chapter Thirteen DÉTENTE ? Charlotte
Chapter Thirteen
DéTENTE?
Charlotte
There was an art to piping frosting that Charlotte hadn’t quite managed to master.
It was two weeks after the New Year and less than a month until Keir and Alison’s wedding and the celebration of Lupercalia, and though Charlotte had practiced every single day since the Solstice, her loops and swirls still looked as though a child had done them.
She held up a heart-shaped cake she’d been using to practice, showing Mrs. Knox her lack of progress. “You might as well hire Finnli at this rate. I’m pretty sure he could do a better job.”
Charlotte had thought of Finnli and the moment he’d interrupted a few weeks earlier often.
She was grateful to the boy: he’d stopped her from doing something impulsive that would have been both a betrayal to Mrs. Knox and a terrible complication in whatever fledgling friendship or rivalry she was forming with Julian.
And yet her mind often wandered back to the moment, lingering on what might have happened if Finnli hadn’t been there at all…
“This side is an improvement,” said Mrs. Knox, pointing to the first bit of piping Charlotte had done.
“You just need to have patience. Take breaks if your hands hurt. See how this line is uneven? That’s because you’ve rushed it and tried to use the bottom of the bag.
Always make sure you have enough frosting made up for the entire cake before you begin.
It’s difficult to match the color after the fact—see how this pink is a little too dark? ”
Charlotte could see all of the mistakes clearly enough without Mrs. Knox pointing them out, but she thanked her for the tips. She knew the baker was right, but she hated that it took so long to improve.
She wished she’d had more time to practice, but they’d spent most of the previous weeks planning and executing the Lupercalia display in the window.
It was quite a lovely scene. They’d modeled the interior of the church in sugar cookies and chocolates, and they’d hung turtle doves and hearts on thin silken threads that swayed when the door opened.
Charlotte had even made the wedding cakes in miniature—she had found it was a lot easier to decorate them when they were smaller than her hand.
Charlotte looked past the display and across the street at Julian’s window. He’d taken down his Solstice display shortly after New Year’s, but so far, he hadn’t answered their challenge with a Lupercalia display of his own.
In fact, it had been a couple of days since Charlotte had seen much of a crowd at Julian’s store.
“Do you think he’s finally given it up?” Charlotte asked Mrs. Knox. “The bread seems to have been going more quickly, and the croissants too. The coffee has certainly been helping, but I wonder if that’s all.”
“I was just wondering that myself,” said Mrs. Knox. “Did you want to go find out?”
Charlotte nodded, setting off for the cheese shop that might actually be a cheese shop now. The day was bitterly cold; Charlotte slammed the door behind her as she entered, trying to keep out the chill.
Julian was leaning over the counter. He was as handsome as ever—Charlotte pictured him under the mistletoe on Solstice, his face inches from hers. She pictured him coming out from behind the counter and pulling her into a kiss.
She blushed, shoving the thought from her mind. It was clear to see from his posture that this wasn’t the same Julian who’d so kindly entertained Finnli, who’d come so close to taking her in his arms…
This Julian barely lifted his head to greet her. “Come to gloat, have you?”
Charlotte didn’t understand. “What do you mean? Do you mean you’ve given up the baking idea after all?”
“Not by choice,” said Julian. “I’m out of sugar and yeast, and my supplier can’t get any to me for another week at least.”
There wasn’t much you could bake without one or both of those things. Some muffins, maybe. Sourdough, though that required a starter, something Julian likely didn’t have.
Of course, Mrs. Knox had some starter she could share, and she had plenty of sugar and yeast besides.
But Charlotte could see why Julian hadn’t asked. “Will you manage without it?”
“The wine moves well enough on its own,” said Julian. “I guess we’re going to find out if it’s enough.”
Charlotte bristled at his attitude. “You know, you could have come to Mrs. Knox for help instead of making an enemy of her. If you were worried the shop wouldn’t do well, you could have asked what you could do to make it succeed.
The people around here would have helped you out.
Keir might have helped you on the rent. Alison and Weyland would have made you fliers.
Hells, if you’d told Gwenla what you needed, she would have personally escorted every person in town in here and held the door shut until they bought something.
That’s what it’s like here. You said you moved here because you were happy here, but it doesn’t seem like you understand this place at all. ”
“I don’t need help,” said Julian, straightening his back and pulling himself upright.
“I’ve never had help, and I’ve always gotten by.
That’s what you don’t understand. I thought maybe you’d get it because you had to strike out on your own even before I did, but you clearly don’t understand.
I’ll find a way to manage, with or without the baking. I don’t need your pity.”
The last words were so biting, it left Charlotte feeling as though she had been thrown out even though he hadn’t made a move towards her.
“Fine,” said Charlotte, feeling the heat rise into her face. “You won’t have it. And you won’t have my help. Good luck, Julian. You’re going to need it.”
She slammed the door again on the way out, this time glad to be on the other side of it.