katie porter
-january 11, 2020 -

HEAVING A PLASTIC CONTAINER OUT of the back of the bakery van, my smile wavered the smallest amount. Did Elisha seriously think that we'd sell that many cookies? And this was only one kind of cookie. I wasn't going to complain. The poor girl had been up since 2am baking for this thing.

            I set them on top of the stack I'd already unloaded. I pulled out a box of flyers. They didn't look so great. With the logo of the bakery across the front and very minimal information inside, I shook my head. I wasn't the creative one of my friends, but Elisha was far too busy to have to think about flyers as well.

            She said they looked good, but what does she know? She only got a couple of hours of sleep last night. I'm surprised she was even standing, let alone smiling at everyone who walked up to our booth. There was something known as toxic positivity and at this point, I was almost worried for her sanity.

            Apparently today was a cookie kind of day or maybe we just came to the right place. At around noon we'd already sold out of all our chocolate chip and red velvet cookies. Elisha had handed out more flyers and business cards than either of us thought we would.

            Even with us only halfway through the day, I'd have to say it was a bit of a success on our part. We've only got a couple of donations, but we were selling goods and getting the word out there for people to know. Elisha kept trying out different slogans for the cause, but so far nothing stuck.

            "Excuse me," I turned at the voice and stopped in my tracks. I shook my head and tried to get control of my racing heart. Flexing out my fingers, I walked up to the front.

            "Melissa, hey." I smiled, but it wavered the smallest amount, "I didn't know you came to these."

            She waved it off, "About once a month. My mom just loves things like this. I saw the booth and had to come get some of Elisha's cake rolls. Caleb can't get enough of them. He goes in almost everyday to get one and I just thought I'd surprise him."

            "That's thoughtful of you."

            Her smile widened, "Well, you must know how busy he's been lately with work and everything. Us girls gotta take care of him, right?"       

            "Exactly." I wanted to throw up. She was so nice and I knew what Caleb was doing to her. What we were doing to her.

            "Why'd you guys come all the way over here?" She asked while Elisha got her carrot cake rolls together.

            "We're raising money for the bakery. It's in some financial trouble and we thought if we went to more places, we could get the word out. Maybe get some donations."

            "Oh," she began to fish through her purse, "I only have enough for this and something for my mom, but I'll be sure to stop by the shop later this week and donate some money."

            "Thanks, Melissa. That would be great."

            "It's the least I can do," she paid for the rolls and was sure to wave at Elisha at the back of the booth, "The two of you are so important to Caleb and Elisha does make some of the best cake rolls. I'd hate to see the place close."

            "That's kind of what we're counting on. We just need people to care. If you could help spread the word that would be amazing."

            "Of course," her hand covered her heart, "anything you guys need." Someone called for her and she turned around. Giving a quick goodbye, she walked across the way to an older looking woman.

            Elisha came to stand next to me. For a while neither of us spoke a word. We just stood there. She shook her head, "The two of you just—well, I don't have to tell you what I'm thinking because I'm sure you already know, but just in case you don't... I'm thinking it."

            I sighed, "I know."

            A smiling redhead made her way over to our booth. She wore this hat that made me smile; it was school bus yellow with the words, 'written and directed by quentin tarantino' embroidered across the front in black. She had a bright smile that seemed so familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place.

            "I can't believe you guys are here!" She jumped a little, kind of like a small child would. Scanning over the cookies and desserts, she hummed to herself.

            Elisha stepped up to the table, "It's our first time actually. I've heard such good things about this market, I thought it was only right that the bakery gives it a try. Can I get you anything?"

            "Oh, yes please. Can I get a couple of snickerdoodles and one of those chocolate chip brownies?"

            "Of course," Elisha moved away to get the ones that weren't on display. Taking a deep breath, I shook the nerves out of my fingers. This was my chance.

            "Do you go to the bakery often?" I asked, trying to start a conversation about the bakery's problems as casually as possible. I've talked to so many people about it today, but it was still just as weird as it had been with the first person.

            She smiled, nodding her head, "I actually live in Kensington and I worked just down the road. I went almost every single day, but with my new job I don't get there as much as I used to. However, I still go pretty often."

            "Well, actually," I grabbed one of the poorly made pamphlets, "we're trying to save the bakery. The bank is requesting the owners pay out the rest of their loan by the end of March and they simply don't have that kind of money."

            Her brows knitted together, "You're kidding. Can they just do that?"

            "I'm afraid it's true. So far we've raised around 20 thousand dollars, but we've still got a long way to go in a short amount of time."

            A blond man walked up and put his hand on her shoulder, "Januraie?"

            The girl instantly turned at the voice. Her smile grew wide and she took in a quick breath, "Lucas, hey. I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you had to work today."

            "I was going to. Only to cover for George, but he got back from his trip early. What are you doing here?"

            She sent me a wink and shrugged, "Oh, you know. Just saving the sunshine." She moved her attention back to me, "Do you have a donation jar or box here?"

            "Of course, we do." I grabbed the bin we'd been using. It only had a handful of bills in it. I pulled off the top and held it towards her. She dug around in her wallet and dropped a hundred-dollar bill inside.

            I had to physically stop myself from protesting. I blinked at the bill a couple of times before smiling at her, "Thank you so much."

            She waved me off, "Yeah, it's no problem. I'd hate to see you guys close. You should consider starting a 'Go Fund Me' account or something. I bet you'd get a lot more people interested."

            "That's a great idea, thank you."

            "No problem. Carpe diem," she pushed up her glasses and laughed, "seize the day." The man looked at her and shook his head with a smile. I knew this girl from somewhere. At that moment, I took them in and it hit me.

            "The two of you don't work at Kensington Theatre, do you?"

            The man sighed and the girl's smile grew, "Guilty as charged I'm afraid."

            I laughed, "This might sound weird, but I knew that I knew your faces."

            "Actually, it happens more often than you'd think it would," the man smiled.

            I handed the girl the desserts and she nodded, "Thank you."

            I couldn't help but watch them go. They stood too close together and when she laughed, she grabbed his arm for support. The backs of their hands brushed as they walked and when she offered him one of the cookies, he lit up.

            It looked simple between the two of them. The easy glances and bursts of laughter. Anyone could see it. That's something I was looking for. Not something so incredibly complicated.

            I couldn't even hold Caleb's hand without thinking of Melissa. I thought she was around every corner and with her showing up today. I almost felt sick all over again just thinking about it. I had to talk to him, I knew I did. Starting a conversation about it was the hard part. It made what I was doing now look more like a walk in the park.