Page 7 of Semi Sweet
"I'm settling in," Sean replied, unphased, "and he's doing well."
"Good to hear." Evan's father walked towards food service on the opposite wall. The group began moving on and I counted how many more departments were left until this ordeal was over.
Eventually, the Quitteros were satisfied and gave the store a passing grade. I couldn't hide my relief when they all went on to their next Diamond Walk location and Uncle Gio went back to his office. I was so happy, I let the other cashier know I'd work until the end of my shift and not take a break. I had time to kill after work anyway. I had class tonight, and usually ate a little something while I studied before catching my train to the University of Denver.
There were tables and booths by windows made to look like a Tuscan café. My "spot" was a corner booth I'd holed up in since I'd started working on my undergrad. I took out a dry textbook to skim through when I felt like I was being watched. I peeked up and noticed a bakery clerk was watching me with his elbows up on the display case. He wore his long mahogany hair in a messy bun under his hat and his white work coat was stained with teal icing. When he saw that he had caught my eye he almost looked uncomfortable, which I found odd.
"You gonna pick up your cupcake?" he called to me.
My brow furrowed. "What cupcake?"
"You've got a box on the paid shelf."
"I didn't order a cupcake."
I felt like a moron for shouting across the room, so I got up and met him at the counter. The nametag pinned to his hat read “Max.” He grabbed the white box off the shelf and placed it in front of me.
He made an awkward face and said, "It's paid for and it has your name on it. Might as well take it."
Maybe I was always on the defensive because of how people treated me on the front end, but I felt like there was some sort of catch with this. "Do you have to throw it out if I don't?"
Max shrugged. "Probably."
Not wanting to seem like my future in-laws, I took the box and thanked him, not even thinking to ask if he knew who ordered it for me. I sat back at my spot, popped the seal, and was greeted by a cupcake decorated to look like a baseball. Poked into the frosting was a tiny flag that said “You're number one.” I looked around, trying to see if someone was playing a trick on me, but all the departments were back to their normal pace now that the Diamond Walk was over.
I took my phone out and snapped a picture of the cupcake, deciding that I would need to remember this, when I noticed a small slip of paper still in the box. In the sloppiest handwriting I'd ever seen was a message.
"A diamond in the rough," I murmured aloud.
It was the first time I had genuinely smiled at work since Evan got his corporate job.
Chapter Four: The Second Cupcake
"IfEvanissorich, why bother working? You could be a housewife. Maybe let him knock you up so that someone else can have a courtesy desk shift once in a while."
It was nearly a week after the Diamond Walk, and one of the many front end girls that covered my breaks was over by the door, giving me a hard time. Her name was Ariana. She wasn't the worst in the grand scheme of things. She was more notorious for her sarcasm, not so much for blatant gossip or shunning.
"It's the twenty-first century," I replied coolly. "I don't want to be home cooking and cleaning all day."
I probably could have added that I really had no interest in having children with someone who only seemed to tolerate me most of the time, but I figured it wasn't worth making that point. I wasn't really sure if it was because I'd only had one boyfriend in my twenty-four years of life or if it was the state of my relationship, but sex wasn't really something that excited me. I didn't feel like sharing that either.
"Whatever floats your boat," Ariana said as I let her in. "I'm here for your fifteen. I'd tell you to take longer so I can enjoy myself, but Russel will probably get pissed at us both."
I thanked her and headed towards the café, craving some of the pizza shop's mozzarella sticks, when a voice called to me. Charlie, the assistant bakery manager that had been singing his new manager's praises, was flagging me over. I wondered if he had a question for Evan or something when I noticed him pick up a box off the paid shelf.
"I noticed it when I came in this morning," the man said, pleased with himself. "It's paid for, so you might as well take it." He pushed it across the counter towards me.
"Thank you, but I didn't order this."
Charlie shrugged. "Maybe someone ordered it for you, then. Perhaps your fiancé?"
I nearly snorted. "That's doubtful."
Evan hadn't been romantic since we were teenagers. Back then, he'd been all about chivalrous gestures like holding doors and leaving me thoughtful little gifts, but that ended ages ago.
I smiled at Charlie anyway. He was clearly caught in the middle and wouldn't have known. "Well, thanks. I guess I'll take it."
Charlie went to the back room and I was alone. I decided to open the box right there at the counter. A part of me wondered if someone was messing with me, though this seemed too kind. A diamond in the rough was a good thing, right? I ripped the label and lifted the lid.
