Page 36 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
Slowly, they worked the clay, their hands covered with slip as they moved together. The clay formed into a cup, smooth against her palms. They molded it, their hands covered in slip, until she could no longer see where their hands were separated from the clay, or where they were separated from each other.
When they finished, they slowed the wheel until it stopped entirely. Their hands drew closer together on the cup, moving up until they released it, but they did not let go of each other’s hands. The slip was wet and soft, and a small smile spread across her face as they played with each other’s fingers.
Then, he entwined their hands. Theo blew air on their joined hands, and the clay dried a little. If they didn’t move, it wouldn’t crack. They had become a work of art themselves.Tenderness spread through her, and she looked up to find him looking at her.
Their eyes met, and the moment seemed to extend out until it felt as if there was no one else in the room but them. A quiet intimacy hushed over them as they gazed into each other’s eyes. Lavinia felt each beat of her heart.
“Once you’re finished, you can cut your creation from the wheel,” Gabriel instructed, and his voice brought her back to the studio, the moment between her and Theo breaking. She pulled her hand away from his, the dried clay on their skin cracking.
Her heart ached, bringing her back to reality. Tears sprung in her eyes, and she blinked them away, admonishing herself. She needed to stop this. She was supposed to be here with Calahan, the guy she was seeing. She needed to stop this ridiculousness about Theo.
After the pottery class, they cleaned up and headed out. The sun had set. The evening was brisk, but the sky was clear.
“Do you want to grab a bite to eat?” Theo asked before Lavinia could even think of leaving. “Should we get tacos?”
“Ooh, yes! I haven’t had one in forever!”
They walked to the taco place, which was on Elderberry Lane off Main Street. Inside, they sat down at one of the empty tables, which was painted in many different colors. The restaurant was lit with fluorescent green and red lights, casting a glow over their faces and those of the other patrons there.
Theo and Lavinia used to come here loads when they were teenagers, and again during their university years whenever Theo would come to visit, but they hadn’t been here in a while.
They ordered food, replaying the events of the pottery class, even though they had literally just come from there, but she loved to recollect moments with him, see how they could become funnier and brighter. They were killing themselves laughing and—not for the first time—Lavinia said, “We need to start a podcast, we’re so funny.”
Theo laughed, and before he could agree, she added, “Except there are already too many men on podcasts. So it’ll mostly be focused on me.”
He laughed harder, and she laughed, too. It was so much fun—it was always fun with Theo. Lavinia had forgotten just how spicy the salsa was, and when she took a bite of her taco, her eyes sprang with tears.
“Oh my god.” She fanned herself, and Theo snickered, so she snuck some of the salsa onto his food as well, and then he was dying too, both of them with tears in their eyes, cackling. Theo drank a big gulp of lemonade, then choked, some of it spluttering out of his mouth. Lavinia laughed harder.
“What is wrong with you?” she asked, taking a sip, but then she realized why he had choked because she choked as well. “Why is it so sour?”
Her vision was blurry with tears. She could hear Theo wheezing.
“I’m in so much pain,” Theo gasped.
“Me too,” she cried. She pressed her hands against her ribs, which hurt from laughing, but she couldn’t stop.
Eventually, feeling returned to their tongues, and they calmed down enough to order dessert. The plate of freshly fried churros rolled in cinnamon sugar arrived soon thereafter, and the scent alone made Lavinia salivate. The sweet churroswere perfect, one of her favorite things ever, and she couldn’t believe how long it had been since she’d last had them.
“I would kill someone for these churros,” Lavinia said, reaching for a second. “Like, commit actual murder.”
“And I would one hundred percent support you in that,” Theo replied, dipping his churro in chocolate. They toasted each other with their churros, continuing to talk and joke around. She hadn’t laughed this much in a long time, and she felt buoyant.
Afterwards, they walked around Main Street, which was quiet and dark, most of the places closed for the night. There were only a few people around under the clear night sky. They walked over to the white gazebo in the center of the square, where there was some reprieve from the evening wind. She leaned against the railing, looking out at the stars.
A few times, both of them attempted to leave, but each time, they kept getting distracted with talking. Even when they left the gazebo to walk back to their cars, they ended up sitting on the slanted ground in front of the gazebo, the grass crunchy and cold.
Theo talked to her about work, how it was all so uninteresting to him now, and she listened as he explained how it wasn’t the way it used to be. There wasn’t much she could say, but she just listened, and he had a lot to say, as if he, too, was waiting to just talk to her.
“Saphira mentioned how she could use a business assistant, and I thought . . .” He broke off, shaking his head. “But how could I ever leave Suki? After she took a chance on me? I mean, I didn’t go to culinary school, I had practically no experience, but she still saw something in me. She nurtured that. Wouldit be ungrateful to even consider leaving the Rolling Pin?” He sighed, falling back onto the grass. She leaned back on her arm, thinking.
“I wouldn’t say it’s ungrateful of you,” Lavinia finally said. “Plus, Suki adores you—I’m sure she just wants you to be happy, wherever you are.”
He blew out his cheeks, looking up at the stars. She lay down next to him, nestling close and leaning her cheek against his shoulder. They watched the stars in silence, huddled together to keep warm.
“We should probably go,” she suggested at some point.
“Yeah,” he agreed, though neither of them moved.
