InsaneJournal

Who: Melinda and Tristan
What: Dipping strawberries
Where: Sweet Nothings
When: Friday, 13. February, 2005
Rating: SFW


Melinda loved her shop. She loved being out front with the customers almost as much as she loved baking, cooking and decorating out back. Almost. Well, usually it was almost, this week she preferred to stay out back, and with the extra business for Valentine’s Day, she had a very good excuse. Back there, she could get lost in the routines, in the efficiency that she so preferred, in the precise measures and temperatures or the intricate detailing on some of the cakes. Back there, there was nobody asking for advice on romance or seeking her approval for Valentine’s Day. What even was that all about? Just because she was a witch and had specialised in pretty, romantic treats she was also well-versed in romantic gestures? Well, maybe she was – she honestly didn’t know – but when it came to her own love life, anybody who read the Prophet, followed Quidditch or just was slightly in touch with gossip would be aware of just how much of a mess that had been, which she figured would automatically disqualify her to give any kind of advice when it came to romance and relationships.

Apparently her customers didn’t care. Which was good.

And hard.

As soon as the early morning rush had slowed down, she had retreated to the back, leaving the shop in the capable hands of one of her part-timers. Her new baker, Mark, just proved himself even better than she had expected, when he simply continued his baking, humming along to whichever tunes he had in mind and left Melinda to work with the chocolate. Before long, she too was humming quietly to herself, gradually adding the chopped chocolate to the already melted, to get the temperature perfect. With a wave of her wand, a huge board with newly rinsed and dried off strawberries came to hover in front of her and one by one, she started dipping them into the tempered sweetness.