Alice Kennedy (rosemary_thyme) wrote in paxletalelogs, @ 2017-04-02 19:06:00 |
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Entry tags: | loki, uke mochi |
If I was young, I'd flee this town
Who: Alice and Nish
What: Nish stops in for some sweets.
Where: Rosemary & Thyme
When: After the group dinner that was discussed in this. And prior to this.
Alice was having a relatively good week. She got over her hangover from St. Patrick’s Day, flirted with that cute doctor, got a great shipment of baking supplies for all the Easter treats, and tested out her first batch of hot cross buns with great success.
She attended a dinner with Rafael, Isobel, and was able to meet their respective partners, Nish and Obed. Despite being the third wheel--fifth wheel?--Alice had a really great time. The food was delicious, she felt more connected to her neighbors, and everyone seemed to like the spicy chocolate brownies she made for dessert.
All in all, things were great.
With the shop only open for an hour longer, Alice was beginning to wrap up odds and ends, suspecting she wouldn’t have many other visitors. The first half of the last hour of work consisted of Alice loitering near the register with her laptop as she wrote new blog posts, the second half involved cleaning the place up, then once the bakery was fully closed she’d clean the coffee pots and whatever dishes had been used by customers. It was a pretty sufficient means of her time and only was altered if someone stopped in. Like today, but as soon as Alice saw Nish walk through the door, she smiled.
“Hey! How are you?” Alice called immediately, closing her laptop with a soft click.
Nish had gotten the address for the bakery from Rafe after the party, after gushing about the desert Alice had brought. She had been pleasantly surprised by the party, and her earlier worries about seeing people when she still wasn't fully...back to normal...had been proven completely false. After the party she'd laughed about it with Rafe, agreeing that she had, in fact, had fun and that Alice did make the best desserts.
This morning she had her last regular checkup with Lucas at the hospital, and he gave her the all clear to return to work on Wednesday. She was in better spirits than she had been in a long while, with the party and the promise of returning to some sort of a normal life, and decided to celebrate with a treat.
She pushed her way into the little shop, immediately feeling a sense of...peace...settling over her the moment she stepped in and the tantalizing smells of yeast and sugar and vanilla hit her. She smiled widely, a real smile that was starting to feel like it actually belonged on her face again. “Hi,” she greeted. “I'm...I’m good ,” she said honestly, as if she was surprised to hear those words. She remembered the nervous wreck she'd been during dinner, with everyone around her drinking wine and she was forced to settle for sparkling water. At least she'd had a sober buddy in Isobel, and Rafe supportively squeezing her hand under the table. Two weeks sober today, but it still felt like an impossible mountain to climb.
“Good!” Alice replied, and it was honest. She was happy to see the woman seeming more alert, more cheerful, more relaxed. She seemed nice enough, but Alice had the distinct impression that Nish had been uncomfortable at the party. The woman in her bakery now was markedly different. “Can I help you with anything? As you can see, no customers so definitely take your time.”
Nish smiled at her, appreciating the woman’s cheerfulness and taking her smile as genuine. She drifted forward, eyes immediately caught by the display of treats that she suddenly wanted all of. “Everything looks so good,” she complimented, not able to help the childlike wonder in her eyes. “Rafe told me about what you make; he definitely wasn’t kidding.” She finally forced herself to tear her eyes away from the sweets to look at Alice. “I...don’t think I said it the other night, but those brownies were amazing,” she told her. She hadn’t said anything at the time, keeping her thoughts to herself, but she’d felt...warm after she ate one. Calm. Happy. They were much more effective than the stupid anti-depressants she was being forced to take. All they did was make her tired and emotional. “Do...you have any more of those?” she asked tentatively, trying hard not to give herself away. Or to sound like an addict.
’Being addicted to brownies is a whole lot better than being addicted to coke, my dear,’ Loki weighed in, and she had to agree.
’Good thing I’m allowed to start running again, then,’ she added with a little grin to herself.
“Not those brownies,” Alice admitted, as she moved out from behind the counter and joined Nish. “I made them just for our dinner but I can do special orders! I do have regular brownies, though. Plus a bunch of other stuff. Did you like the spice of the brownies or just the chocolate most? There's plenty of chocolate stuff here but not as much spice.”
Nish pouted just a little, but was cheered by the idea of ordering them special. She took a moment to think about that though...just what was it about them that made them so good? So...comforting? She couldn’t actually put her finger on what it was exactly, that had made her feel so good after eating them. “I...I’m not sure,” she admitted, looking over the other things in the case that Alice had pointed out. “I do love chocolate,” she said, perusing the other offerings. “The spice was nice too, I wasn’t expecting that.” She also hadn’t been expecting actually enjoying herself at that party, despite her discomfort. Maybe that was it. “Maybe it was just the company,” she said with a shrug and a smile, catching the other woman’s eyes almost shyly. “They just...made me feel good.”
Alice smiled softly and gave a nod. She knew, she heard it plenty of times before, and the compliment was never unappreciated. “Well, if you are a chocolate lover, I have chocolate mousse cake, s’mores bars, strawberry mousse cake, regular chocolate cupcakes, and then the brownies.” She pointed at each selection from where she stood beside Nish. “I also have other things too, the mousse products and tarts, to me, are the most savory but we have lighter things and fruity things. Whatever catches your interest.”
Nish drifted forward, biting at her lip as she considered the options in front of her. Choosing was the worst part, especially when all you wanted was one of everything. She looked between them for a few moments before realising the silence was stretching far too long. “Ohh, it’s so hard...I want one of each, but I also want to still fit into my clothes,” she smiled softly. “Strawberry...chocolate, and...oh my god, is that salted caramel?” she asked, pointing at something new in the case. She had to consciously restrain herself from pressing her hands to the glass like a three year old in a candy store.
“Salted caramel sheet cake,” Alice observed with a nod. “It’s not a huge seller, actually. So this is the last batch of it for the time being. I’m going to be selling primarily spring and Easter stuff over the next month anyway.” She gravitated over to Nish’s side, her hands clasped behind her back. “Is this your choice though? I can grab you a plate or a to go box, whichever you’d like.”
Nish’s eyes widened a little. Not a big seller? That was...surprising. “I’ll take it,” she said on impulse before she could stop herself. She’d have Rafe over to help her eat it of course, and maybe she’d give some to Jessica...maybe bring some to the self-defence class tonight for Max and Daniel. “Also, one of those strawberry cupcakes...but that I’m going to eat that here,” she said with a little smile, “if there’s time...if you’re closing soon I don’t want to make you stay late…” she added a little hesitantly.
Her visit had a slightly selfish motivation, to be perfectly honest. Ever since the party she’d been thinking about what the nurses in her group told her, that she needed friends, outside of her small tight circle of Rafe/Chris/Daniel. They were great, they were amazing, but she was starting to realise that she needed something else. She needed female friends. And after the party it had rung true even more for her. Rafe had told her how warm and friendly Alice was, and now she had seen for herself.
“You’ll take the whole thing?” Alice asked, a laugh leaking through her mouth but a look of genuine surprise and happiness clear on her face. Nish nodded and smiled softly at her surprise, already mentally going over what she was going to do with the giant cake. “I’ll grab a box and get you a plate for the strawberry cupcake. And you’re completely fine. I close in an hour and it’s normally super slow by this point so you’re making the time pass faster. How have things been?”
She made her way around the counter and was quickly and precisely gathering the food. First the cupcake on the plate that she placed on the counter for Nish, then building the baker’s box for the cake. All the while, she kept glancing back to Nish, attempting to keep eye contact.
Nish smiled at the happy looking cupcake on the plate in front of her, resisting the urge to stick her finger in the icing and lick it off. “Good. Better,” she corrected. “I’m...going back to work in two days. I just came from my doctor’s.” She wasn’t sure how much, if anything, Alice knew about what had happened, but she assumed Rafe had told their guests that she hadn’t been feeling well, at least. Which must qualify as the understatement of the year.
“That’s wonderful,” Alice replied softly, offering Nish a smile. She grabbed the piece of bakers twine and pulled it to the box, looping it around and knotting it close. “You know, I’m not trying to pry, but I just want you to know that if you ever need to talk you can chat with me. I give good hugs too, I hear.”
She returned to the counter and placed the boxed cake beside the plated cupcake. “Do you want a drink with this?”
Nish looked at the box with a satisfied smile and started rooting in her purse for her wallet. “Tea would be nice,” she said absently, pulling a card out of her wallet and putting it on top of the cake box. “Make it two teas and you can come sit with me,” she smiled at her not-quite invitation.
Alice smiled. “Cupcake and tea for you is free, I’ll charge the cake. First snack goes free for my neighbors.” She dutifully grabbed the two cups, picking colorful glass ones from her collection just for the occasion, and filled them both with hot water. Returning them to the counter, she swiped the credit card.
Nish’s eyebrows rose, “that’s so nice of you, thank you!” she said, taking the returned card and picking up both mugs of hot water, carrying them over to a nearby table and then going back for the cupcake.
“There’s a bunch of teas over on the bookshelf, next to the sugar and milks. I’ll come join you in a second.” Nish took her time perusing the offerings of tea, finally going for a simple sachet of peppermint leaves, dropping it in her mug and letting her purse fall to the floor by her feet. Rafe had been so right about Alice...already Nish felt completely at home in the little shop, calm like she hadn’t felt in...well, since before Abel had...betrayed her. Even that, in the shop, didn’t seem to bother her as much as it did outside of it. A warm smile pulled at her lips as she sat there, tea and cupcake in front of her, looking out the window as the world outside and all the things in it went by without her, and she was okay with that for once.
Alice joined Nish at the table with the boxed cake in her hands and a packet of Earl Grey balanced on top. “So, did you have a good time at the dinner? Rafael really knows how to cook, huh?” She settled onto the seat, curling one foot under her butt and opening the tea packet before dipping it into the steaming water of her mug.
“I did,” Nish said truthfully. She'd been a nervous wreck for most of it, though her initial nerves over meeting new people had been soothed, it was mainly because of the alcohol all around her that she couldn't drink.
She smiled, thinking about the wonderful meal Rafe had made for them. “He really does. He sometimes cooks for me and it's always amazing. He actually had me helping him before the party. I got to cut things up and he put everything together.” She grinned and pulled her cupcake apart, pressing the bottom inch of cake on top of the rich strawberry icing, turning it into a sandwich which she then bit into. A sudden wave of happiness spread through her and she smiled. “This is wonderful...do you use real strawberries in these?” she asked.
Alice laughed, “Yes, everything is legit. No fillers or flavor packets or any of that. It’s all straight from the source.” She lifted her tea to her lips and took a small sip, savoring the feeling of the warm liquid traveling down to her belly. “I have been talking to Isobel about getting some flowers and herbs and stuff from her. It’ll be nice to work more with local items, I dislike having to have stuff shipped in. It doesn’t stay as fresh for long.”
“That’s great,” Nish said, though she was far more focused on the cupcake at this point. Another bite, another rush of endorphins that she had never felt before from a dessert. If she didn’t know better, she’d have assumed the cupcake was spiked with something. Weed maybe? Also, it tasted like fresh strawberries and cream, making her downright happy. “I should go see her...maybe she’d like the cupcakes too,” she thought aloud, going through her schedule and nodding to herself. Tomorrow would work, after her afternoon appointment at the hospital.
She glanced at Alice then, a mischievous grin lighting up her eyes as she voiced her thoughts. “So you can tell me, you spiked the cupcakes with something, right?” It was playful, more of a joke than an accusation, but she couldn’t otherwise explain how that cupcake made her feel. It couldn’t just be the sugar and berries, could it?
“Oh my god, never!” Alice replied, filled with immediate embarrassment and shock. But all too quickly she noted the grin from Nish and color spread over Alice’s cheeks. Clamping a hand over her forehead, she squeezed her eyes closed and laugh. “Oh god, I’m sorry. I just get so super paranoid some food safety inspector is going to come in here and say I did something to the food. It freaks me out.”
Nish grinned and set the remaining bite of cupcake down. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t work for the FDA. In fact, I think I’m gonna take some of these to go too...I’m thinking of bringing some to Isobel later, I haven’t seen her since the party.” As much as she’d fought going to that party, she certainly had managed to make friends there. She’d definitely have to thank Rafe for talking her into going, and soothing her fears about what kind of people they were.
“Oh of course!” Alice beamed, placing the cup of tea quickly onto the table and getting to her feet. Immediately she switched back into Alice the Business Owner. “How many do you want? I have a special box just for cupcakes so they don’t get squished.”
Nish popped the last bite of cupcake in her mouth and got up with Alice, drifting over to the case with her. “Four, I think,” she said, considering. “Any kind, but make sure one is strawberry,” she said with a little grin. She'd enjoyed that cupcake far more than she thought she would. She pulled out her card again, handing it to Alice to charge her for the new treats. “I'll definitely be back. This was nice,” she said with a smile.
“It was,” Alice agreed with a smile, picking out four cupcakes: one strawberry, one chocolate, one vanilla, and one with a chai spice. “I’ll see you around, if not here, then maybe at another dinner party.” She tied the box with skill and put the price into the register.
Nish smiled and accepted the box of cupcakes and her credit card back, stacking the new box on top of the cake. “Thanks,” she said with a nod. “I’d better get these home. This was great,” she smiled, then hefted her purchases and headed out, letting Alice close the shop and enjoying the rare happiness.