Evie's POV

After a long, hot shower, I felt the tiredness seep away from my body. Standing at the foot of my bed, I rummaged through my luggage for a fresh set of clothes.

I put on the first clothes I laid my hands on, which turned out to be a black stripe bardot top and blue ripped shorts. Lily, my bestie from back home, gifted me the top on my seventeenth birthday.

I wondered whether to call and talk to her. She and the rest of the gang was probably on the way to the cabin right now. I doubted if I'd get good reception, but if I did, Lily would talk my ear off telling all about the awesome things they planned.

I'd probably blow smoke out of my ears with jealousy. I decided to postpone the call.

My iPhone showed the time as four thirty. Really? Did only thirty minutes pass since I came home? How in the name of hell was I going to survive this?

I slowly walked down the stairs, taking my time to put both feet on each stair. Mindy and Daniel were still watching TV and Christina was reading a fashion magazine.

Seeing me come down, she asked, "Are you hungry? I can whip up some spaghetti for you."

"No, thanks. I think I'll just head out for a while."

I walked down the half familiar lanes of my childhood neighborhood. The weather was too pleasant to be out here all alone. I saw a couple kids carrying surfboards walk past me. I could hear the sound of the ocean. The beach must be close, maybe just a couple blocks away.

The kids turned to the left street. I doubled back and took a right turn. If I was here with my friends, I could surf all day. Ten days would pass in the blink of an eye with good company.

My next turn brought me to my favorite street. The bakery I practically grew up in was here. After nana passed, my dad sold her bakery. The new owner didn't change the name; it was still named after nana, Alexis Bakery. As I passed by it, I noticed a Help Wanted sign in the window. They were looking for counter staff.

Well, what great luck, I thought excited. This was perfect. I could work here. But could I? I've never had a job in my life. But what better time to start working than now. How difficult could working a counter be.

I better not tell them that I'll be here for just ten days. Confidently, I pushed opened the door and it made the little bell ring announcing my arrival. The smell of freshly baked bread and burnt sugar overpowered my senses. It was mostly empty except for three occupied tables. I found a middle aged man at the counter looking down at the computer. I walked up to him.

Without looking up, he said, "Hello. How can I help you?"

"Trevor!" My face lit up with recognition. Trevor used to work at the bakery with nana. He always used to have a cupcake for me whenever I visited. "It's me. Evie."

He finally looked up. "My, my," Trevor bellowed. He was always too loud. "Evie, you're all grown up. How long has it been? I haven't seen you around since forever."

"Yah. I'm visiting the city after three years and the bakery after four years. I didn't know you own it now."

His eyes twinkled. "I inherited it from your grandmother. Well, except I had to pay your dad." He kept punching numbers on the keyboard.

Trevor owned the bakery now. This was working out so well. I was sure of getting the job. Trevor was a sweet little man and no way would he refuse me a job though I had zero experience in such things.

"So what do you want to have?" he asked. "It's on the house."

"Thanks, but I actually came in when I saw that you're hiring."

"Ah, yes. I need to find someone quick. The guy working the evening shift left yesterday and I'm stuck here on the counter."

I put on my best smile. "I'm here for ten days. So I figured I could use a job."

He looked at me quizzically. "Now, why would you want to work your ass off while you're on a vacation? Trust me, it's not even good money. Besides, I need someone more permanent."

"You can keep looking for someone. I'll fill in for the time being," I said quickly.

"I can't hire you, Evie. You're supposed to have fun and spend time with your family and friends. Go to the beaches. You just said you're here after three years."

"I don't have friends to go to the beach with! My half siblings are two and three years old!"

"Hey, if not having friends is a problem, I can introduce you to some nice folks who live around here."

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Trevor. You badly need help and I'm a jobless desperate."

He shrugged. "It's up to you, Evie. I said what I had to."

I actually won for once. "Great! When can I start?"

"Right now. Your shift is from three to seven Monday to Friday. There's about two hours left. I'll be back before closing time. Gotta take care of supplies. Think you can do it?"

Like I had anything else to do. "I'll sail through it," I assured and fist bumped him.

He got ready to leave. "I'm hoping you know the basics. You can check the menu card for prices. Fill the display with the batch of cookies on the left counter. And," Trevor pointed to a drawer, "the cash goes into that drawer."

I mentally made a note of everything. "Got it."

Before stepping out of the bakery, Trevor looked over his shoulder. "Oh, and there's a pick up for a special delivery for a Mrs. Waters. It's her birthday cake and it's in the back room. Already paid for."

"Mrs. Waters. Got it."

"Be nice to everyone. Or I'm firing you," he remarked before the glass door closed behind him. I laughed and took my place behind the counter.

***

"Here you go. One box of donuts. Enjoy." I sweetly smiled at the man and handed over the box to him and put the cash in the drawer.

"Thank you." He took the box but still lingered at the counter. "You're new here." He said it more like a statement than a question.

"No. I lived here before."

"In the bakery?"

"Oh, no. I mean, yes. I'm new here."

He smiled. "I could tell."

I immediately became defensive. "Why?" I frowned. "Do you think I did something wrong? Because I didn't."

"No. I meant I would've noticed you before if you worked here. You're hard to miss." He stared at me for a long time from head to toe. "Exotic."

How dare he, I fumed. Creepy oldie. He couldn't be less than forty.

"I'm a surf instructor by the way. I can take you surfing," he offered.

The sole reason I decided to work in the bakery was to avoid any kind of socialization. Now here I was, on my first day at the job, on my first hour, trying to shoo off a creepy man who was flirting with me.

"I'm calling security if you don't leave," I said annoyed.

"Whoa, whoa." He put his hands up in surrender. "Just trying to be friendly. The name's Drew."

"And the donuts are in your hand. So get out!" I pointed to the door.

He immediately shuffled out, muttering about how rude people were these days. Bite me.

I shook my head, hoping to shake off the creepy encounter that just happened. It was beginning to feel like a bad idea working here. I could just quit, Trevor wouldn't mind.

The bell rang again signaling a new customer. I looked up in despair. Then my eyes grew wide.

Holy shit! Was I just thinking about quitting?

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