Page 13 of Baking Battles

“I’m sorry if I have gone too far.” Pablo says, quietly leaning over towards Mattias who is perched at a table in the far corner of the run-down basement room, that is currently masquerading as the studio canteen.

He just wants to be left alone, to sit here in peace and quiet and try to get his head back in gear, without the distraction of other people and other people’s ideas of who Mattias should be.

“Nah...” Mattias starts, but he doesn’t really know what to say. It's only lunchtime and he’s already exhausted, mentally, emotionally and yeah... He never wants to see another bag of flour ever again.

“Look, I know I am totally over the top and I speak before I think sometimes, but honestly, Mattias. I am a nice, decent human being underneath all the crap I churn out, and I have enjoyed our banter. I’m honestly sorry if I’ve overstepped the mark.” Pablo looks genuine, and kind of mortified, making Mattias blush in embarrassment.

“It’s fine. I don’t really know what to say, Pablo. This whole thing has been overwhelming.”

It’s as much of the truth that Mattias can muster right now, because if he is really honest with himself, he’s not quite sure what he is thinking. Christopher is intimidating. Everyone is intimidating. Pablo is fairly safe compared to the rest of the people spread out in the room, picking at their lunch platters.

“Danijel told me you needed cheering up, and I was only trying to make you loosen up a bit, so we could laugh. I can’t bear it when I have no one to laugh with. And Danijel is usually spot on with people that I will like. He said I would like you, and he is right. You’re like a big grumpy papa bear hiding behind that innocent businessman look you are pushing. It’s not really you, and you should really let me get you some clothes. I can show you how to do your hair. It would take years off you. Just a little sprinkle of highlights and a good cut.”

“Pablo.” Mattias warns, but his face is smiling. Giggling quietly.

“Sorry. Here I go again.” Pablo picks up a slice of tomato from Mattias’s plate and eyes it carefully with his fingers.

“How do you know Danijel?”

It’s funny, but if Mattias didn’t know better he would have thought Pablo was blushing. A little knowing smile creeping up his cheeks.

“Mutual friends.” Pablo replies innocently, and Mattias files that one away in the back of his mind. Another thing to ask Alima when he finally gets the chance to sit down with her. Not that they have had a chance to talk, because she is being cornered by a group of people at another table, with her hands in the air discussing something Mattias can’t quite pick up on.

“So… are you all set for your Kransekake challenge?” Pablo asks, looking at Mattias, obviously trying to look all innocent, and Mattias flips his phone face down onto the table, hiding the notes he has been reading through.

“I’m not sure whether to go freehand and pipe my rings on baking parchment, or to go with the moulds. I kind of like the rustic look.” Mattias says, grateful for the change of topic. He can discuss business, and it’s not like he and Pablo are in the same league. Pablo and the multitude of colourful spreadsheets that he retrieves from his bag, spreading them out on the table for Mattias to see. A rainbow of different-coloured soft-pastel almond pastry rings mounted into what looks like an explosion of glitter and angel dust.

“It will look amazing. And taste orgasmic. I love Kransekake, and my mum always makes the best ones. This will be simple. A piece of cake, just watch me, Mattias, I will win “Battle Baker of the Week” with this one, I just can’t go wrong. Look at the colours, and the way they blend effortlessly into the glitter at the bottom of the cake. I’m so excited. So excited.” Pablo does a dreamlike sigh, and lets his fingers stroke the sheets of paper, his fingertips tapping gently over the drawings.

“If you win, you deserve it.” Mattias smiles. He’ll be first to go home, that’s clear. He can see Alima looking engrossed in the notes she has spread out on the table in front of her. She’s never been one to back down easily and he doesn’t for a second believe Danijel’s fairy tale of his younger sister bowing out gracefully in the first episode without a fight. She’s right on point. A contestant too good to lose. Mattias wrinkles his forehead and sighs again. He needs to go and have a chat with Danijel and see what his plans are, because Mattias would gladly volunteer to get kicked off first.

“Are we good?” Pablo asks softly, letting his hand rest on Mattias’s arm.

“I’m not bi.” Mattias says, a little sternly perhaps.

“I have a very good gaydar.” Pablo replies back, his voice low and stern, looking surprisingly serious. “And I never thought you were. You register a big fat zero on the Pablo bi-sexual scale, and from the little things I know about you, I have already made a pretty accurate decision of where you lie, and trust me, baby. You should be exactly who you are, because there isn’t a freaking thing you can do about it, is there? “

“Nope.” Mattias replies, feeling relieved for once.

“Because one day, my dear boy, someone will blow your mind. One day you will realise that you have met someone who will love you, endlessly, until the day you die. And there won’t be a thing you can do about it than to just let them love you. I think you just haven’t realised yet, that you deserve it. You deserve to be happy, and not settle for nothing. Because that’s what you have done in the past, and it’s time to throw the grey away and get some sparkle into your life. Let yourself go, Mattias. Go live a little. Be fucking happy.”

It’s strange how that last sentence makes Mattias’s stomach jolt, because Pablowipes what may have been a tiny drop of wetness out of his eyes, and Mattias doesn’t quite know how to read it all. How to interpret the obvious message in what Pablo has just said. Because he clearly means something with all that and whatever it is, Mattias doesn’t get it.

“So, we are good?” Pablo repeats.

“We’re good.” Mattias replies. He’s not even sure what he means himself.

“So… can I still mess with you? Have a laugh?” Yes, there is that twinkle again. The over-the-top twinkle in Pablo’s eye accompanied with a sparkle of laughter.

“Bring it on, rainbow boy.” Mattias grunts.

“Anytime.” Pablo whispers. “Just say the word and I will be right down on my knees for you.”

* * *

Mattias goes all in for the afternoon shoot, and decides on a hand-piped Kransekake, then surprises himself by pulling it off. His Kransekake is pretty decent looking, a perfect tower of pale yellow almond cakes, stacked with finely piped icing and liberally dusted with icing sugar and little Norwegian flags, just the way Mattias’s grandmother used to present her Kransekake at Christmas, when she was still alive. It makes him strangely sentimental as he presents his tower to the judges, recalling memories of Christmas in her old-fashioned apartment, with the imposing furniture that always seemed gigantic to him as a small boy.

It’s funny that the part of him that is nervous, instantly calms down with Christopher’s steady voice, asking the right leading questions to make him talk. Isolde praises the texture and colour, and Herman just eats, which is a good sign Mattias thinks. Herman, who spits out Paulina’s disaster of an undercooked Kransekake, and the Frognerfruer woman that Mattias now knows is called Ida, is still in tears at her workstation after Herman choked on her chocolate and cherry liqueur-infused disaster. Mattias doesn't blame him. The burning smell is still strong in the studio after Louise has burnt her first attempt, but her cream-filled choux bun tower looks absolutely mouth-watering, and Jacob looks crushed as Mattias’s gaze stops dead at what is apparently a Wild Garlic cake. A frankly crazy attempt at a savoury version of a Norwegian classic, that is heavily covered in leaves and served with a chili dip, that the judges politely praise. Alima miraculously pulls off a rustic-looking pistachio and rosewater version that charmingly looks homemade, and Mehmet’s version actually looks pretty good until his tower of rings collapses as soon as he places his plate in front of the judges. Siv-Linda’s rock-hard vegan chickpea and almond Kransekake is questionable, and whilst he is subtly defiant in his pose, Pablo’s rainbow explosion is clearly the winner, earning three reshoots to capture it from every angle. Although Magnus still earns his stripes with a pretty decent set of Kransekake shaped as drums, positioned with perfectly cooked drumsticks.

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