Page 10 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
There were no orders to be made, nothing to do. Lavinia drummed her fingers against the bar, contemplating a fourth coffee just to have something warm to hold and sip on, but she knew she would be bouncing off the walls if she had more caffeine.
Then, Calahan came up to her at the bar, working around her as he took out a mug and tea bag.
“What are you having?” Lavinia asked, turning to face him. He showed the tea bag label: jasmine green tea. “Oooh. Is it good? I’ve never had it.”
“I like it,” he replied, pouring boiling water over the tea bag in his mug. He set it aside, letting it steep. “I try not to have toomuch caffeine on the weekend since I already have way too much during the week.”
How responsible of him. She also had way too much caffeine during the week, but that didn’t stop her on the weekend. The way she saw it, she deserved a treat for making it through the week, and flavored lattes were the perfect fit.
“I doubt you’re having as much as your students,” she replied. Since there was nothing to do at the moment, it was fine to have a little chat.
“Probably not,” he said, dimples making an appearance in his cheeks. He tossed the tea bag then added honey into his mug. Another responsible choice.
“How’s the old PhD going?” she asked as he stirred the spoon. He was studying Folklore and Mythology, and had been for as long as she’d known him. “How many years do you have left, anyway? I feel like you’ve been doing that forever.”
He took a sip of his tea. “Trust me, it feels like that to me, too.” He smiled. “I have another two years, then I’ll be free.”
“Will you though?” she asked, tone teasing. “Aren’t you going to be a professor?”
“That is the plan, which, yes, fair point, then I won’t be free.” He laughed. “I’ll be teaching more classes and grading even more papers.”
He didn’t seem to be stressed by the prospect. Actually, she realized that she never saw him tense or burdened. He had a serene energy, and being around him made Lavinia feel calm, as well.
Maybe that could be good for her. She could be hyper and too loud. Maybe it was time to find someone mature and steady—to grow up and stop believing in fairy tales.
(It was just so hardnotto believe when she saw the evidence of storybook romance right in front of her! Most recently, in Saphira and Aiden, but originally, in her parents. But perhaps love like that was rare—not meant for her.)
“I’m already a teacher’s assistant in a few lectures this semester, and I thought the workload would be tedious, but actually I’m really enjoying it,” Calahan continued. “I know a lot of students these days are lazy and don’t really care about what the professor’s teaching—a lot of them really only take the class to cover a general credit—but then there are some students who are passionate, who are interested, and they ask such good questions. It’s just nice that the love for learning isn’t entirely dead.” He stopped, a little sheepish. “Sorry, went on a bit of a rant there.”
“No, it’s nice to hear you talk about it!”
“How’s your school going?” He pushed back his glasses. “You’re in your second year now, right?”
“Yup,” she replied, leaning against the counter. “I also have two years left, but luckily this is my last didactic year, and then we begin rotations shadowing different vets for the last two years, which will be exciting. I’m lucky that I intern at the Animal Hospital, so I get to have some experience already.”
“Do you know yet what you want to specialize in?” he asked, taking another sip of tea. “You get to choose an animal, right?”
“Yes, I can choose from dragons, chimeras, phoenixes, and griffins, or I can do pediatrics and cover all the species, which is what I primarily do at the Animal Hospital right now with Dr. Quan. I really like it! So for now, I’m thinking of that.”
Starshine Valley was large and divided into different sections: the dragons enjoyed the hills around the valley, whilethe chimeras preferred to be down by the lake; the griffins lived in the dense forests, and the phoenixes built their nests up high in the mountains. Though each species had their own part of the valley, all baby animals came to the Animal Hospital on Main Street.
“That’s so great,” he said. “You’re gonna be amazing at it.”
“Aw, thank you.” Lavinia beamed. She really hoped she would be. She loved all animals, but the babies in particular held a special place in her heart.
A large part of that was thanks to Sparky—he was impossible not to love! It was special, too, to see the way Saphira and Aiden had bonded with the baby, how the three of them were their own little family. Lavinia knew how important the baby animals were to their owners, and it would be wonderful if she could help the animals who were ill and preserve that bond.
It was nice talking to him. She had, of course, talked to him loads of times before, but this was the first time she had noticed just how lovely it was. Were those butterflies fluttering in her stomach?
Then, she heard someone clear their throat, and she remembered they were in fact at work. She turned, and her eyes widened as she realized who it was.
“Theo!” She jolted. His wavy hair was tousled from the wind, curling against the nape of his neck above his flannel shirt. She hadn’t even noticed when he’d gotten there. Her heartbeat quickened, and she grew hyper-alert.
“Hey, Theo,” Calahan said, lifting his free hand in a wave.
“Hey.”
“See ya,” Calahan said, touching Lavinia’s elbow as hewalked past her and headed back to the kitchen. Theo made a face.
