Sophie shuffled through her text messages as she opened the door to her apartment. There was a voicemail from her mother asking her to call and a handful of texts and voicemails from Ashton asking her to call him. She took a deep breath when she walked in her apartment.
“What’s that smell? Is it…”
“Cookies!” Mel finished Sophie’s sentence. She rounded the corner from the kitchen covered in flour. It was streaked across her cheeks and dusted on her clothes. The display brought a smile to Sophie’s face.
“Come try them.” Mel skipped back toward the kitchen. “I thought it would be a good idea to have a stock pile of comfort food after today.”
“They smell delicious.” Sophie praised as she observed the cookies spread out over the counter. “How many did you make?”
“Didn’t know what you would feel like so I made lots of options.”
“Wow.” Sophie took a bite of the cookie Mel waved in front of her. It was a buttery shortbread with an icing glaze that melted in her mouth. “Wow. These are amazing,” Sophie gushed.
“I know. Wait till you try the double chocolate.” Mel made Sophie try every kind, which she obliged eagerly. They were all delicious and Sophie found it hard to pick a favorite.
“How did I not know that you could bake like this?”
“I am a girl of many talents.” Mel winked before her smile fell from her face. “I worked in my parents’ bakery for years until my Dad decided to treat himself to one of the girls that worked there. She was actually younger than me. After that everything went to shit. I haven’t spoken to my piece of shit father since and my mom is angry at the world. I can’t stand to be near her. My family is all around, upside down, inside out, and all colors of fucked up.” Sophie hated seeing the pain in Mel’s expression. Mel slowly started opening up to Sophie more and more and Sophie looked forward to the moments when Mel let her close.
“We all have our issues. Sometimes a messy past makes us better equipped to handle the future. When I look at you I see someone who has the strength to take on the world.”
“What would I do without you, Sophie?”
“We make a good pair, don’t we?” Sophie smiled. “Why don’t you sell your cookies? These are so amazing.”
“I have always loved to bake. It makes me happy.” Mel looked lost in thought for a moment. “You really think I could sell them?”
“Yes. They’re delicious.”
“You’ve given me something to think about.” Mel twisted her lips. “Mel the baker? Oo la la. I like it, especially if I get to wear a hat. Maybe I should work on my French and try and pull off the whole French pastry chef persona with a cute little outfit.”
“Maybe you should start with a business plan first and pick out the outfit later.” Sophie laughed.
“You’re no fun, but you have to admit I would look cute in a baker’s hat.”
“Of course. No argument there,” Sophie agreed with a smile, taking another bite of cookie.
After Sophie had eaten an obscene amount of cookies for her supper, she decided she should respond to Ashton’s messages that had repeatedly lit up her phone.
Sophie: I just need some time.
Ashton: I promise that I didn’t know she was going to be there.
Sophie:…I want to believe you.
Ashton: Don’t let it ruin last night. It meant a lot to me. You mean a lot to me.
Sophie: Then give me time.
She just needed to unwind from the events that had taken place in the last twenty-four hours. It was a whirlwind of highs and crashing lows and she needed to sort through the emotions. She told him she needed to finish her mother’s dress and that they would sort things out later. He didn’t seem very pleased, but finally accepted her request.
Chapter
Twenty-Two
The next day Sophie wasn’t scheduled to work. She took advantage of the time to finish the intricate details of her mother’s dress. The dress was piecing together nicely and she could envision what her mother was going to look like as she walked down the aisle. Sophie’s fingers caressed the smooth, lush material and the lacework as she made every stitch. She took her time making sure that the seams were flawless and as perfect as her mother deserved.
Mel woke up earlier than usual. She was slowly adjusting to more regular hours since she was no longer working late nights at the club. She curled up on the sofa with her laptop, keeping Sophie company as they both worked on their projects. Soothing music was playing in the background and they each took turns making tea. It was almost noon when Sophie stepped back and admired her work.
“All finished,” she declared.
Mel hopped off the sofa to regard the finished product. “Holy fucking shit balls. Your mother is going to die when she sees this dress.”
“I hope she likes it. I want it to be perfect for her.” Sophie fluffed the skirting and ran her fingers over the seams, making sure she didn’t miss anything.
“You are fabulous. Everything you do is fabulous…and that’s why we should go into business together.” Mel’s eyes widened with hope. “I’ve been doing some research. I think we should open a tea and cookie shop. Ever since you mentioned it yesterday it has been running through my brain over and over. It feels right. I think we should go for it.”
“Wow. Okay. I need to think about it.”
“Yay!” Mel hugged her.
“I said I would think about it.”
“I’m just excited you didn’t say no. I thought you were gonna laugh in my face,” Mel confessed.
“Thought about it.” Sophie chuckled. Mel gently slapped her arm. “I was joking. What we have to do is make a plan and see how feasible it is.”
Sophie and Mel sat down for the rest of the afternoon trying to put together a business plan. Sophie was surprised how much experience Mel had with how a bakery runs from her family’s business. The Internet gave them access to endless information about starting up similar companies and what’s involved. After researching costs, the start-up fees added up.
“I think I gave up stripping too soon. I might have to go back to work for a while.” Mel sounded a little deflated.
“We’ll figure it out, but the thing that’s working against us is the fact that that neither one of us is familiar with running a business. Let me talk to Margaret and ask her if she knows a good business consultant we can hire and iron out the details before we try to approach anyone for financing.” Sophie added some more notes to their growing list.
“I’m starting to get some savings from the amazing pay from Margaret. She has a lot of contacts and she’s been involved in a few local companies. It wouldn’t hurt. Until then, you can figure out what we’ll be selling. The red velvet cookies and the thumb drops are definitely in, they are highly addictive. I hope you realize this business could be very bad for our waistline.” Sophie laughed.
When they finally stopped working, night had already taken over the sky and the stars were struggling to make their appearance through the city lights. After all their research they were both in a good head space for what they had to work toward if they were going to make this a reality.
“Are we really gonna do this?” Mel asked, curled up beside Sophie in their dark apartment.