Page 17 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
Of course she didn’t like him—she likedCalahan, who wassmart and accomplished and mature and well-adjusted and a real grown-up. He was going to be a professor!
Lavinia turned back to the full-length mirror, and the view of her in that skirt was even more torturous from the back. He had to look away.
“I think your usual is fine,” Theo said, clearing his throat. “Anyway, you don’t want to have to change yourself to attract someone’s attention.”
“Blah, blah, blah.” She made talking motions with her hands, ignoring him.
She turned back to her closet, and he lay down, turning his attention to his phone while he heard her change. His pulse quickened, and he closed his eyes as he heard the slow unzipping of her skirt. A moment later, she threw her skirt at him. The leather slapped his face.
“What was that for?” he cried, throwing it off.
“No reason,” she said sweetly. She continued trying on outfits while he stewed, his mood positively vile. Until she bounced over in an oversized hoodie and knit shorts. He sat up.
“I think this is the one,” he said. She looked adorable, but only her regular amount of adorable. “Yup, this is perfect.”
She gave him a funny look. “This is my look for dinner. As in, my mother just called us to come downstairs. Didn’t you hear her?”
Oh. No, he had not heard Beena calling them. He had been far too distracted with brooding.
“Come on,” Lavinia said.
They went down, heading to the kitchen, where it smelled divine. Lavinia pulled out the mats to set the table, and Theo grabbed the plates from the cupboard. Alfie was standing on astool by the stove, stirring the pot, which was simmering on the lowest heat. Beena was on the other side of the stove, cooking rotis on a flat, wide pan. Biter was asleep in the bassinet once more, Garrett watching over her.
Theo went over to Alfie, peering over his head. “Wow, did you make dinner?” Theo asked, though he knew that obviously Alfie hadn’t.
“Yup,” Alfie said, playing along. The dish was murgh cholay: a spiced chicken and chickpea stew that could improve Theo’s horrid mood.
“Theo, top it off with some coriander and ginger, will you?” Beena asked, rolling out the aata into a perfect circle. “I’m just making the last roti.”
“Of course.” Theo got fresh coriander from the fridge, washing, then finely chopping it. After that was done, he took out a knob of ginger, peeling and slicing it into thin, inch-long strips.
Alfie hopped off his stool to go watch Biter with Garrett. Lavinia finished setting the table, while Theo garnished the murgh cholay.
“It’s ready!” Beena called. Theo brought the dish to the table while Beena brought the rotis.
They all sat together, digging in. The light and airy flatbread with the hearty curry was perfect, and both Theo’s stomach and heart were full as he sat around the dinner table with the Williamses, everyone talking and laughing.
“So good, Mama,” Lavinia said, licking her index finger.
“That’s because I made it,” Alfie interjected, fake-proud of himself. She kicked him under the table, and he laughed. Theo watched fondly.
He loved visiting the Williamses. He had been coming here since he was a kid, and it felt more like home than any other place in the world—not his parents’ place, where he grew up; or even the apartment he’d been in since he graduated university and moved back to Starshine Valley—but here.
Beena and Garrett truly loved each other—anyone could tell—and that love was reflected in their home, in their children. Theo always felt safe, at peace. There was never anything to worry about. Even if he made mistakes, he knew that everyone would have a good sense of humor about it.
The older Theo got, the more he realized that a lot of adults simply didn’t have a sense of humor about anything. They were so bogged down by life’s problems and anxieties, and the stress and unhappiness just exuded from them.
It wasn’t like that with Beena and Garrett; no matter how tiring or tragic their day at work, no matter what was going on, they were always finding a way to turn even upsetting things into funny stories, cracking jokes and laughing.
Theo had always admired that quality about their marriage. Since he was a kid, he imagined that whoever he eventually ended up marrying would be someone he could laugh with. It would be the very opposite of how he grew up, where he was afraid to breathe in the wrong way in case it set his parents off.
“How are things at the Rolling Pin?” Beena asked, pouring herself a glass of water.
“Good,” Theo replied automatically, but then he paused, thinking about it further. “Actually, a bit monotonous, if I’m being honest. It doesn’t feel like it used to. It’s kind of boring?”
With a sigh, he wondered if adult life was just like that. He had been there since he graduated university, first as a lowlyassistant and delivery boy, now as a junior baker. He had been working hard for that promotion for months, and he’d assumed that once he was promoted, things would be better.
But they weren’t. Working at the Rolling Pin was becoming tedious, which was a frightening thought. Baking was supposed to be his passion. If he didn’t love it anymore, what would he do? Who would he be?
