Page 14 of Semi Sweet
"Okay, well see you later," I called before he could kiss my head again or the girl could say anything catty. I only had fifteen minutes, so I tried to think of what I could scarf down as I headed towards the food service department.
"Hey, Olivia," Beth called as I passed the display case. I'd come to the conclusion that the girl always had a cheery face even though she sometimes had frosting on it. She had been one of the people watching me as I walked by earlier. "There's something here for you."
She pulled the small white box off a shelf designated for today's pickups. The messy word "paid" was scribbled over the Cash Value Market label.
I scrunched up my nose as I took the box. Again? Maybe that's why the bakery people had been staring at me. These mystery sweets always seemed to show up at the most random times. It was like the mystery person knew when I needed one to lift my spirits. Evan had been obnoxious today and this treat would certainly soften the blow.
"Any idea who it's from?" I asked hopefully.
Beth shook her head, almost looking as disappointed as I felt. "It's like we've told you, no one comes to the counter and orders it. No one calls it in either, at least while I'm here." She turned and called to Sean who was checking inventory on a clipboard behind her. "Sean, you don't know anything about the mysterious cupcakes do you?"
Without taking his dark eyes off his clipboard, he deadpanned, "I run a bakery in the most successful grocery chain in the state. I don't have time to play matchmaker."
I could have sworn the slightest shade of pink crossed his cheeks. I didn't often have time to look at him up close—he was always working and on the move. He was tall, fair skinned, maybe in his late twenties at the most?
I heaved a sigh, already wasting precious minutes of my break. I thanked them both before I headed back to the café and slid into my usual booth. I thought about engraving my name into it so people knew it was mine. Talk about not keeping up appearances.
I scanned the area to make sure Evan had truly left. My stomach did backflips as I pulled at the label and lifted the lid. I died to see what someone had made for me this time. My breath hitched as I took in the chocolate cupcake with an exact replica of a violet rose made of frosting on the top. It was more art than food, with the purple petal edges darker than the icing below it. I took out my phone and snapped a photo before I ate it.Semi Sweetwas getting more and more popular and I was certain this new photo would only add to the hype. It seemed like the rest of the world wanted to know what I'd get next just as much as I did.
I never shared the notes. That seemed too much like telling a secret, so I kept them in a zipped compartment in my backpack so that I could keep them safe from Evan and the rest of the world. I saved today's memento for last even though the anticipation was killing me. I held up the typed slip of paper, wondering if I was finally getting a clue about all of this.
Violets are blue
Roses can be more than red
I'd buy you a dozen
But you'll have to settle for this cupcake instead.
My heart leapt up to my throat. My face felt so hot I must have looked ridiculous. For weeks this person had been subtly hinting that they might have been into me, but this one was the boldest yet. I looked up, wondering if someone was witnessing me have an out of body experience in time to see Sean, who was packaging Ciabatta bread, look away from my direction quickly.
My thoughts were a jumbled mess. I put my face in my hands as I tried to make sense of something, anything about the situation. My break came and went, as did the remainder of my shift, and I found no clarity.
Chapter Eight: The Reply
Atfirst,asmallpart of me wanted to believe that Evan was doing this. It was wishful thinking that maybe our relationship wasn't as dead as I thought it was. Ever since he got his big promotion, he was all business, doing anything he could to further his career. Sometimes I benefited from it. A distributor would thank the family for featuring them in their store and we would go out for an occasional upscale dinner since Grandma Detta didn't like to dine out now that her husband was gone. Otherwise it was takeout or a simple meal, Bourbon, and boredom. We rarely went on vacations because he was too focused on work. He wanted to continue the legacy his grandparents created and someday he'd be able to reap and enjoy the rewards. That's why I felt like our relationship made no sense. I was probably a big let down for the Quitteros. I didn't come from money and I didn't have the same vision the family had for my future. I was definitely not someone Evan would send gifts to.
So who was it? I still found myself thinking about the rose cupcake and the note later that night while I worked on a finance paper that required tedious source listing. People were liking and commenting onSemi Sweet's most recent post.
Gorgeous!
How can you eat something so beautiful?
Don't want to be that guy, but I think someone is trying to get into your pants. Beware!
I snorted at the last comment. Was it bad that sometimes I also wondered what this person's motives were? More importantly, where were they getting these cupcakes and why was Sean letting them use outside treats? That, or someone in the bakery was way too talented to work at Cash Value Market and was not following policy.
I moved on to editing my manuscript and changed my browser tab quickly when Evan entered our bedroom adjacent to my office just in case he decided to come in. I didn't need him to lecture me about something else. Plus, didn't it bother him that someone was giving me edible presents?
That was the saddest thing about all of this. Evan was so busy preparing to take over the Cash Value Market fortune, he had no idea what was going on. I wasn't about to tell him either. I was sure it wouldn’t go along with his whole idea of keeping up appearances. He didn't need to know. Just like he didn't need to know about theSemi Sweetpage or that most of the smiles I wore for him were fake. I often wondered what he would think if he knew that if it wasn't for the financial stability and the crippling shame of breaking up with him, I'd rather live in a refrigerator box sometimes. Yeah, I couldn't really go there. As I often reminded myself, I had walked away from my own family for Evan. The money and the handsome face had to be enough.
As I continued to sit there, I couldn't shake the thought that if this mystery person frequented Cash Value Market, they had to know my connection to the Quittero family. They had to know I was engaged. So why? Why risk the fall out? The only thing I could think of was whoever they were, they were as reckless as I was. I continued to write when Evan told me not to. I watched my Japanese dramas and space operas when he wasn't home. Maybe this person knew about my fiancé and didn't care. That thought made things very interesting.
***
The next day, I got into work a few minutes early with a note of my own. Handwritten, because a typed one would have drawn too much attention to my already judgmental fiancé.
I should have known that nothing good would come of this. I should just ignore this person's gifts and say “no thank you” when the bakery employees offered them to me. I knew it was wrong that this was more important to me than planning a wedding, but with how everything had been with Evan, I knew I'd be in denial until I was literally standing at the altar. Life was too short. I needed to be in control of something in my life. I needed to know who was playing this game with me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to thank them or ask them why, but I was adamant about getting answers one way or another.
