katie porter
- march 7, 2020 -

WHY I WAS THE NERVOUS one, I'd never understand. Elisha stood in front of the doors of the bakery talking to people and handing out flyers while Max and I continued with the last-minute items. He moved slower than usual, but he kept a smile. It was kind of incredible that he could. You'd never know that just two weeks ago he had to have a tube shoved down his throat just to be able to breathe.

            It was true then. His bad days were really bad. I understood the doctors, had I not been there, I never would have known that he was even sick. I kept glancing over at him every couple of seconds just to make sure he was still standing.

            His eyes caught mine, "I'm fine, Katie."

            I looked away, straightening a pile of flyers, "I know. I keep telling myself that, but it came on so suddenly. How do we know you're actually okay?"

            "We don't," he sighed, "but until we figure out what's wrong, I want to live like I'm perfectly healthy and I can only do that if you stop looking at me like I'm going to drop dead at any minute."

            "It's hard knowing that you might—" A knock on the back door cut me off, "Damn it."

            He laughed, "Saved by the bell."

            I sent a pointed look at Max. This conversation wasn't over. He didn't have to see Elisha in the emergency room, shattered to pieces. And, I wouldn't know how to pull her back from the edge if something happened to him.

            Pulling open the door, Jackson stood with a smile, "I'm not late, am I?"

            "Right on time actually."

            By the time we put Jackson's stuff in the back room and came out front, Max was outside with his arm around Elisha. We could hear her thanking everyone for their donations and for the support. How she was overjoyed that the community came together to keep the Sunshine Bakery open and thriving.

            Ushering Jackson behind the counter, I tossed an apron in his direction. We tied them around ourselves and washed our hands just in time for Elisha to open the doors to the public. She smiled over at Max, but I could still see the worry in her eyes. He sent her a wink and all the worry I saw disappeared. It was incredible. The way they were able to speak with each other without saying a single word.

            Elisha rounded the counter and placed a hand on Jackson's arm to get his attention, "Thank you for all your help. I just wanted to catch you and tell you that I really do appreciate it."

            "Don't thank me yet," he smiled. "We still have all these people to help."

            She laughed, "I have a feeling you'll do just fine there, Shakespeare." She winked at him.

            His smile widened and he turned to me, raising a brow. I shrugged with a smile and turned to the group that came up to the counter. The redhead girl smiled at me and my brows knitted when I noticed the other two girls with her. One had lilac purple hair and the other sported a black bob that stopped at her chin.

            I scanned the shop, but the blond man was nowhere to be seen, "it's good to see you again."

            Her smile grew wide, "I'm so glad that you guys got to say open!"

            I started to collect the different desserts for their order that included those special snickerdoodles. Putting the to-go bag on the counter, I tallied up their order and the redhead handed me a card to run.

            "No boyfriend today?" I asked making casual conversation. Glancing up from the cash register, I saw the poor girl. Her entire face was almost the same shade of red as her hair. The girls next to her sent each other sly smiles before they bombarded the girl with questions.

            "She's just talking about Cole," the girl spoke over her friends.

            "Older? Blond hair? Beard?" I gestured.

            The girls next to her screeched and started all over again.

            "Oh my god! Girl," the lilac haired girl busted up laughing, "I knew it! I knew all those text and secret little phone calls weren't Cole!"

            The girl with the bob slapped her on the shoulder, "Good for you. That boy better treat you well or I swear to God—"

            "Stop," the redhead tried to hide by getting small, "we aren't dating."

            I handed the girl her card, "Sorry, but you guys are pretty cute together though."

            "Thanks," the girl spoke in a quiet voice and grabbed the bag. She darted from the store with the other girls following her and shouting apologizes. I laughed and help a few more customers. Taking in a deep breath, I turned to find Jackson leaning on the counter and talking to a brunette girl that looked familiar for some reason.

            "You think you can just slack off now?" I asked, walking over with a smile.

            He laughed and straightened up, "Of course." He gestured to the girl, "Katie, this is Chelsea. She graduated last year, but still helps out the poetry club from time to time. She did the announcements at the banquet."

            "That's amazing," I shook her hand. I knew she looked familiar from somewhere.

            "Yeah. The best part is, her poetry book is getting published close to the end of the year."

            She smiled, "It's really not that big of a deal." She rolled her eyes. I had a feeling Jackson was one of those teachers that always encouraged her students to chase their dreams. He was their cheerleader.

            Jackson shook his head, "It is. I'm so proud of you."

            "What's it about?" I leaned on the counter just like Jackson was.

            "Oh," she sucked in a breath, "first love. The good and the bad. It's about how sometimes you have the perfect person and you let them slip through your fingers without even realizing it."

            I huffed, "That's some pretty heavy stuff, but congratulations."

            "It really is," her smile faltered.

            "It was really good to see you, Chels. Don't be a stranger, yeah?"

            She nodded and we got back to help more people. The place never seemed to slow down. Just when we thought there would be a lag in customers, more people would wander through the door.

            Around 4pm, the four of us were dead tired and we still had an hour or two left. Max retired to the back room to take a nap which none of us protested with. Elisha excused herself to the office to crunch the numbers for the majority of the day.

            I leaned back against the counter, trying to keep my eyes from drooping. Listening to Jackson talk about all kinds of things, but mostly books. Apparently, he was a frequent guest at Corner Store Books just down the street. The two of us stopped talking at the ringing of the bell above the front door.

            Next to me, Jackson straightened up, "Welcome in."

            "Snickerdoodles? Really? You couldn't pick a better cookie for your favorite?"

            "What's wrong with snickerdoodles? You get everything you get with a sugar cookie, only better."

            I whipped around at the voice. I knew that voice. Standing in front of me was the blond from the auction. He was with another man, a brunet. I smiled instantly.

            I leaned into Jackson and whispered, "Watch this."

            "You missed your girlfriend this morning," I spoke, gesturing to the blond.           

            His eyes grew wide and the tips of his ears turned red, "I'm sorry?"

            "Red hair. Glasses. Pretty smile."

            The brunet laughed, grabbing the guy's shoulder as he bent over and tried to get control of himself. The blond sighed and shook his head. A smile tried to pull at his lips, but the harder the other guy laughed the more irritated he seemed.

            "We're not seeing each other. We just work together." One side of his lips turned up. A dimple forming in his cheeks.

            "Oh," my hand came to my chest, "I'm sorry. I just assumed. The two of you are so cute together."

            The brunet went into another fit of laughter, smacking the blond in the shoulder, "And you wanted to live in a small town." The guy laughed, "I swear the only two people in this whole town that doesn't know the two of you are into each other are the two of you. It's better than a damn soap opera."

            "Nicholas." The blond sighed, "I will throw you out onto the street and you can go live with Mom and Dad. How does that sound?"

            The man, Nick, laughed, "Sorry," he composed himself before leaning closer to the blond, "but the two of you are just so cute together—"

            The blond turned to him, his smile completely gone, "Get out."

            "Totally worth it." He patted the blond on the shoulder, "I'll be waiting outside."

            I smiled, "So, snickerdoodles?"

            The man nodded and Jackson bagged up the cookies while I rang him up. I waved as he left. Watching the two men walk away, I started to laugh.

            "I can't tell if that was brilliant or brutal." Jackson laughed, leaning against the counter next to me.

            "I'd say a little bit of both," we laughed.

            "What about you?" He asked, looking at me.

            I straightened up, "What do you mean?"

            "What do you think you'll do now?" He gestured around, "The bakery is saved, the school semester is almost over. Any plans?"

            That was Jackson. Always hitting home with great questions. Who knew what was in store for me now. It felt like I had a bound of endless possibilities ahead of me now. Different paths ready for me to walk down, I just had to pick one.

            "I think I'm going to take you up on your advice."

            "My advice?"

            "I want to figure out who I am and what I want for my future. Maybe it will be something grand or maybe I'll just stay here for a while. Help out Elisha and Max. I've never really had roots before. A place that felt like home, but I think I'm ready for that now."

            I'd always been the kind of person that wanted to run. I ran from my parents and the life they wanted for me. It's something I always knew I could do. But maybe it was time for me to stay. I've never done that before and what an adventure that could be.