Part 3
Mara picked up a dry cloth and folded it over the sink divider.
“Is this a work instruction?”
“You understand me.”
The storeroom door opened before Mara could answer. Vanessa walked away, leaving Julian looking between them.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Nothing unusual.”
“That didn’t look like nothing.”
“Then you’re learning quickly.”
She wouldn’t repeat the conversation. He found Vanessa beside the register instead.
“Whatever you’re angry about, don’t take it out on Mara.”
Vanessa raised an eyebrow. “Did she complain?”
“No. I’m standing right here, telling you.”
When Mara heard about it, she caught him in the kitchen.
“Please remember I’m the one who works for her.”
“So do I.”
“You know what I mean.”
He set a pan onto the drying rack a little harder than necessary, then moved it so it wouldn’t slide.
“She doesn’t get to speak to you any way she wants.”
“I still have to come back tomorrow.”
He nodded, chastened enough to lower his voice. “What time do you finish?”
“Why?”
“I’d like to walk with you.”
That evening, he carried her empty delivery bag until they reached the stop. She let him, though she kept glancing at his hand wrapped around the fraying strap.
“You’re making a habit of defending me.”
“Would you rather I didn’t?”
“I didn’t say that.”
She watched a bus turn onto the street, then saw it wasn’t hers.
“People don’t usually bother,” she added.
He passed the bag back when her bus appeared.
“Why do you?” she asked.
“Because I want to.”
“That leaves out a few details.”
“You can interrogate me tomorrow.”
At home, Lenora asked whether he’d walked Mara to the bus again.
Julian stopped halfway through taking off his jacket.
“How would you know?”
“I have met you.”
He shook his head, but he was smiling when he went upstairs.
The next morning, he brought two coffees to work. Mara arrived with her hair still damp from a rushed shower and stopped when he offered her one.
“Did you make this?”
“No. I thought you deserved a chance at enjoying it.”
“Considerate. You may become useful yet.”
Vanessa watched Mara wrap both hands around the cup.
“How sweet,” she said.
“It’s coffee,” Mara replied.
“There’s an order in the kitchen. I need every box ready before ten.”
Mara found the worktable covered. Julian came in behind her and reached for a stack of flattened cartons.
Vanessa followed him.
“She can manage. I need you serving.”
“There’s too much here for one person.”
“She knows what she’s doing.”
“So do I, with these now.” He folded a box and set it beside Mara’s elbow.
“Julian.”
“I’ll come out when we’ve finished.”
Mara waited until Vanessa had gone before speaking.
“You’re going to lose this job.”
“Then stop distracting me. I need a good final hour.”
She pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh.
They finished before the deadline. Later, when he discovered she hadn’t eaten, he put a small plate beside her measuring bowl and took the scoop from her hand.
“Five minutes,” he said.
“You enjoy giving orders more than taking them.”
“Only when they involve breakfast.”
She ate standing at the worktable while he measured the next batch under her direction.
That night, Vanessa met her friend for drinks. Before they’d ordered, the woman put her phone on the table.
“I knew I’d seen his face.”
Vanessa glanced down. A photograph showed Julian in a suit beside Lenora at a company event. The caption carried the family name.
For a moment, Vanessa didn’t touch the phone.
“Her grandson?”
“The one everyone went to that reception to meet.”
“He’s been working behind my counter.”
“And you never knew.”
Vanessa enlarged the picture.
Her friend leaned back. “Please don’t tell me this is about to get worse.”
“Why shouldn’t I be interested?”
“You were already interested. What about Mara?”
Vanessa slid the phone back. “Mara is an employee.”
The following morning, Julian found his manager smiling at him as though he’d returned from a long, successful journey.
“You must let me buy you lunch today,” Vanessa said. “If you need anything before then, just ask.”
“I’m fine.” Julian looked toward the clock. “We’ve barely opened, and you’re already planning lunch?”
“I like to plan.”
“Not today, thanks.”
When Vanessa disappeared into the office, Mara approached with a tray of clean cups.
“Should we be worried?”
“About the lunch invitation?”
“About the smile.”
“I declined both, as politely as possible.”
“Good.” She slid the cups into place. “I mean, you should eat wherever you want.”
“Very generous of you.”
Vanessa called him to the front soon afterward, though nothing there seemed to require him. She asked about his family, where he’d worked, what he missed about office life.
He answered less than she wanted.
“You haven’t taken much interest before,” he said.
“Perhaps that was a mistake.”
Mara saw him return to the kitchen looking puzzled.
“Did she need help?”
“Mostly with my family history.”
“Maybe she’s discovered something.”
“Maybe she’s hoping I’ll tell her something.”
At closing, Mara asked whether he was coming to the stop.
“Are you inviting me?”
“I’m checking the schedule. Apparently you’re on it now.”
“I’ll be there.”
Vanessa watched through the front window as they walked away together. Mara said something that made Julian bend his head toward her.
Vanessa turned the lock hard enough to rattle the glass.
On their next day off, Mara answered her phone with flour on her wrist.
Julian asked if she had plans.
“That depends on what you’re offering.”
“Dinner. With me.”
“You’re asking for a date?”
“I’m trying to.”
She let him wait just long enough to make him regret the pause.
“Yes.”
At his house, Lenora found two shirts laid across a chair and a third halfway buttoned.
“Don’t dress for a board meeting,” she said.
“How long have you been there?”
“Long enough to understand the chair.”
He looked at the shirts.
“She thinks I’m an ordinary employee.”
“Then perhaps avoid looking as though you’re about to acquire the restaurant.”
He changed once more.
Mara opened her apartment door in a simple dress and stood very still for a second when she saw him.
“What?” he asked.
“You found something without flour on it.”
“So did you.”
He took her to a small restaurant with paper-shaded lights and a table near the window. She asked whether he brought all his dates there.
“Only this one.”
“I’m supposed to believe that?”
“You could try.”
Over dinner, he asked what her bakery would be like if she didn’t have to settle for whatever she could afford.
She traced a fingertip along the seam in her napkin.
“Small enough that I know what’s coming out of every oven. Somewhere I can decide what to make without asking permission.”
“Have you picked a name?”
“Not one I’m ready to put on a sign.”
“What about you?” she asked. “I’ve handed over my whole future. You must want something.”
He looked at her across the table.
“I’m still working out the answer.”
“You’ve got a talent for leaving doors closed.”
“I’ve heard that recently.”
Outside her apartment afterward, neither hurried to say good night. She thanked him, then laughed at herself for doing it twice.
“So there’s a chance of another dinner?” he asked.
“I’ll consult my calendar.”
“Should I be nervous?”
“A little.”
The next morning, their greeting at work lasted a fraction too long. Vanessa saw it from the kitchen doorway.
She called her friend later.
“Come by tomorrow. Bring the others if they’re free.”
“What are you doing?”
“Solving something.”
Before closing, Vanessa handed Mara the register sheet.
“Do the cash count tonight. Write the total down.”
“You usually handle that,” Julian said.
“Mara is perfectly capable.”
Mara counted twice, entered the amount, and left the sheet beside the drawer. When she and Julian were ready to go, Vanessa was still in the office.
After the door closed behind them, she looked at the completed count.
“Let’s see what he does for you tomorrow…”
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