After the fifth tap of her snooze button, Sophia finally rolled out of bed. Since she lived above her shop, it took her no time to get downstairs. Sophia bought the small building 4 years ago from her Uncle Stuart for a steal. He helped turn his law office into the Sweet Whisk Bakery. They converted the second-floor storage area into a 2-bedroom apartment. After a 10-year marriage, Lucas and Sophia decided to stay friends rather than be a couple. The divorce was easy and quick. With her share from the sale of their house, she didn’t have to bake out of her small kitchen anymore. Lucas wanted a freer life to travel, and Sophia wanted a storefront.
After a quick shower, she was in the bakery sipping coffee and mixing yeast into warm water. She went to work measuring the other ingredients for an assortment of rolls and loaves. Her favorite was loaded potato bread. Not only did she love it, but her customers did too. After the dough was set into the pans, she started prepping the ingredients for onion rye and focaccia.
Sophia went to the front of the shop and opened the blinds, unlocked the front door, and filled the urns for hot water.
The chimes went off as Liv walked in.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Sophia said.
“Thank you for lowering that ridiculous noisemaker. We don’t need it.”
“We do, and you know it. What if we are both in the back and customers come in?”
“I’ll find a better one.”
“Just no birds chirping or a simple ding-dong sound. Now, get a cup of coffee in you and put a smile on. We’re opening in twenty. I have dough to get out of the oven. Jessy texted, and he’ll be in soon to help up front.”
“We need more muffins,” Liv said with a half-smile as she passed the display.
“Let me know which ones we are low on.”
Liv started calling out, “blueberry crumb, orange…”
“Write it down,” Sophia called from the back. “I won’t remember.”
“You need to take memory pills or start doing word puzzles,” her best friend since college said. “They’re great for your brain.”
“What?”
“And hearing aids!” she shouted.
Sophia heard everything; she just loved toying with her.
“I’ll be in to line the muffin pans after I take inventory of everything,” Liv shouted.
Sophia chuckled and got busy making the blueberry crumb batter.
***
By lunchtime, Sophia was almost done with the baking for the day. She just had a few trays of biscotti in the oven. She sat down and enjoyed a lox and cream cheese on an everything bagel.
“You know that’s coming out of your pay,” Jessy said, topping off her coffee.
They both laughed.
“Go get yourself something and join me.”
He took an apple turnover and sat across from her. He took a sip of his tea and then said, “These are the bomb.”
Sophia smiled as he took a big bite.
“I see Benny’s still here. I have been noticing you handing him a small bag every time he leaves.”
Jessy swallowed hard. Sweat started forming on his upper lip. “I, I buy him a pecan danish. It’s his favorite. I put the money in the register every time. I swear I do.”
“Why do you buy him the danish?” she asked.
Jessy looked behind towards Benny for a second. “He always sits at that same table by the window. Never at the other 4. I don’t know why. He just stares out the window. I sit with him when it’s slow. We chat about sports and weather. Never about a partner or family. I feel bad for him. Maybe he doesn’t have food at home or anyone there. So, I buy him the danish and tell him it’s free.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you.”
“Just trying to help in some way. I started it last month.”
Sophia smiled and then asked, “I have something to talk to you about.”
Jessy took his last bite. Worried, she found out more. Again, his bite went down like a rock was dropped into water. His nerves spiked. He quickly but calmly said, “What’s that?
“You have been with me for a year, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, tell me, are you still interested in a baking career?”
With a sigh of relief and knowing he was taking a big risk that could end his job in a heartbeat and piss off his dad, Jessy answered, “100%.”
***
Yesterday, Danny Bricks walked in from his auto shop down the street and said to Sophia, “I have a proposition for you.”
“You do?” she answered, loading the shelves with almond horns and Linzer torte cookies.
“I bet it has something to do with these?” she said, handing him a horn, his favorite.
“Not this time.”
“Oh, so the deal is off about my oil changes?”
“Uh, no. Cookies are a form of payment in my garage.”
Sophia laughed.
Stuart became instant friends with Danny after he brought his SUV in for new brakes. They chatted the whole time while he was there. Since they both lost their wives the same year, they helped each other get through a difficult time. Their bond grew every time they hung out. Danny and some of his customers used Stuart’s attorney services when needed.
“You know Jessy graduated a few months ago, and he wants to go to CIA for baking. It’s a fortune.”
“Yes, it is,” Sophia knew that firsthand.
“You know he’s been taking a few online baking courses, right?”
“Yes. We have been chatting about mixes. I let him borrow a few of my tools.”
“Thank you for that. I’ll make sure you get them back.”
“No worries.”
“Can you mentor him? His cookies, well, let me just say, you can use them as hockey pucks. His muffins taste horrible and are very mushy.”
Sophia looked up from putting out the last few sweets and chuckled.
“If I have to buy any more flour, baking powder, and whatever else, I’ll have to refinance my home,” Danny said. “Please. I’ll throw in free car washes.”
Sophia thought for a moment.
“For as long as you have your car.” Danny was desperate.
“Deal.”
“Thank you. Thank you. I’m coming around to hug you.”
***
Without mentioning that she spoke to his dad, Sophia asked Jessy, “How’s that dough assignment going that you told me about? Were you able to get the rise you wanted?”
“No,” he said softly as he slumped back in his seat. “It didn’t work. The dough was flat, and the elasticity was way too tight. I have no idea what I’m doing. Plus, I go through so many ingredients “
“How would you like to work in the back with me when the shop is slow?”
“Like an internship.” Jessy sat up feeling hopeful.
Jessy was on cloud nine, and this made Sophia feel great. She remembered how excited and exhausted she was when she did her internship. He’ll learn.
“Can we start now?” Jessy asked.
Sophia laughed. “Tomorrow. Shelves need stocking.”
“Okay.” Jessy got up, thanked her again, and went back to work.
“You made his day. He’s smiling from ear to ear,” Liv said, coming around the counter and wiping her hands on her apron.
Sophia threw away her plate and said, “He reminds me of myself.”
“Yes. You were so excited when you first started at CIA. You made me taste everything you baked. Even the horrible, disgusting, throw-away whatever you called it stuff.”
“And I love you for that,” Sophia gave her a nudge.
***Three Weeks Later***
Jessy flung the front door open and held up a loaf of bread, calling for Sophia.
“I’m right here,” she said, walking out from the back and seeing Jessy high-five Benny and Zoe, the new hire.
“It worked. I can’t believe it. It worked this time. Thank you, Sophia.” Jessy planted a kiss on her cheek, surprising her.
“Oh my! Congratulations. I am so proud of you. Let’s see how it tastes, and then you can thank me.”
“Sounds good to me.” He tore his loaf into pieces.
“Wait for a plate,” Zoe said, trying to put a tray under his bread.
Everyone looked towards Benny as he got up and came over. He smiled as if he were a proud grandfather.
Once everyone had a piece. They all smelled it, pulled at the dough inside, and then took a bite.
For a long minute, Jessy looked at everyone and waited. Every cell in his body was doing cartwheels. Then all eyes went to Sophia. She was chewing and examining the crust. It was light golden brown, hard to the touch, had just enough pull when she tore it, and was still warm inside.
“What kind of bread is this, Jessy?” she asked.
Standing tall, he proudly said, “French Bread.”
Sophia smiled and said, “Perfect.”
There was a round of applause, and Jessy took a bow.
A few customers came in, and the day went back to normal. Until Sophia saw Jessy leaving a full bag of something by Benny again, she knew, as they discussed before, that he would buy a danish for him, but not a full bag of items.
“Jessy, I can use some help filling the cannolis,” Sophia called to him.
“Sure. Be right there.”
Sophia watched Benny shake Jessy’s hand before leaving. She wondered if he paid for everything in the bag or if he was giving it away.
When Jessy came in the back, Sophia had just finished dipping the cannoli ends into melted chocolate.
“Alright,” he said, washing his hands. Are we putting rainbow sprinkles or chocolate chips on them?
“What’s in the bag?”
“What?” Jessy said, taking out the tubs of toppings from a closet.
“Benny’s bag?”
Jessy froze. This is what he dreaded.
“Is there something you want to tell me?”
Jessy should have told Sophia from day one, but he thought he was doing something nice. Now he was about to get fired.
“You get one chance to tell the truth,” Sophia said strongly.
After putting the tubs on the counter, he pulled two stools over and motioned for her to have a seat with him. Jessy explained that one morning when Benny was sipping his coffee, he asked Jessy to join him. They chatted about sports and giving back to people. At first, Jessy thought the older man was off his rocker when he was talking about giving back to people who didn’t do anything for him. It wasn’t until Benny said that everyone gave something, even if it’s just a smile. Smiles don’t cost money. Jessy explained that Benny used to go to grocery stores and ask what they do with all the bread in the clearance cart if it does not sell or is past the expiration date. When he found out that it was going in the garbage, he asked if he could have it. The store managers gave what was left. They even gave him day-old desserts. Benny would collect as much as he could and divide it up into three different boxes. He loaded up the back of his Plymouth wagon and headed into the fields where the farmers worked. Every few days before the heat of the noon day started, he would drive the dirt roads and beep his horn. The farm workers knew it was Benny and came over when he parked. When the back door was down and treats from the boxes were put out, each person took turns taking a few items. The workers were so thankful to Benny for bringing them sweets that they would pick some fruits and vegetables and leave them on the truck bed. After a few years of Benny doing this, there was a new policy for farmers. No food could be given out unless it was from a country-approved business. This broke Benny’s heart. He occasionally made bread and cookies to bring to the fields. As time went on, the farms became more modernized, and the workers were not needed as much. Benny always visited the farm and gave what he could. Until his hands ached from his arthritis. He became very close with a worker who now runs the farm for the owner. He would make sandwiches to share with him as they sat outside on rocking chairs and talked about everything. Jessy explained to Sophia that he felt bad that Benny couldn’t bring or make bread anymore. So, he would save the throwaways from the bakery and give them to Benny to take to the farm.
Jessy took a moment and then said, “They were going in the garbage by the end of the day. I just put them in a bag for Benny. I just wanted him to have that feeling of giving again.”
By the time Jessy was done telling his story, tears rolled down Sophia’s cheeks. She was also mad at herself for thinking he was stealing.
“I’m sorry. I hope you’re not going to let me go. It was all going in the garbage anyway. Plus, I helped Benny fill out the right forms to get approval for him to continue.”
After wiping her cheeks and clearing her throat, Sophia said, “First, I am not firing you, and second, that is the sweetest story I ever heard. We will make an extra dozen rolls and sweets every couple of days, and Benny can deliver them.”
“Really?” Jessy beamed with delight.
“Yes. Oh, and you, Jessy, have a job here for as long as you like.”
“For real?”
“For real.”
“What’s all the chatter I hear?” Liv asked, putting down a tray that had a few rainbow cookies on it.
Sophia picked up a cookie and moved the tray to Jessy. He took one, and they clicked cookies, and she answered Liv by saying, “We just had a fantastic conversation about helping our community.”
This was written by our contributing writer, Carissa Kopf.
Image Source: Unsplash, mohamed hassouna
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