Opera House Ops

Chapter 3 – Bake Break

Chapter 3 – Bake Break10:47 PM, Friday, June 5th

Hannah’s Homemade

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“Whew! Thank goodness these are all done.” Faye slid the large loaf tray out of the convection oven and into a rack to cool. She mopped at her brow with the back of an arm. “I’ve never made so many loaves of, well anything, all at one time.”

“This is nothing,” Hannah said. “I mean, Dana and Mel bought me some really nice stuff to get started but you should see the set up at Adornetto’s. They have more ovens and racks and stuff than in my classroom at school!”

“Yes, but they have the restaurant, the bakery, they supply stores like mine...or they did supply mine, anyway. You know what I mean,” Chloe said.

Faye stood fanning herself, not really listening. “It’s so hot in here. I think I’m going to step outside for a minute if you two don’t mind; catch a breather.” She picked up her water tumbler and headed toward the rear exit.

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Faye stood in the shadows out away from the back door. A dim security light was on over it, its glow drawing in mosquitos and other summer insects. She didn’t want them getting any part of her.

As she breathed in the cool night air and sipped her water she was, at first, oblivious to anything else around her but then she heard the sound of gravel crunching under foot. She paused and stayed still and watched out toward the road that ran alongside the store and bakery building.

A man, walking slowly along the edge of the road, came into view. Seeing him clearly but only for a moment in the dim light from over the door that highlighted him briefly as he passed, she knew right away that she didn’t know him.

He was tall and thin and not at all dressed for the warmth of the early summer weather. Even though the air had cooled off with the fall of night, it was still over 60 degrees out; warm enough for most to go without any sort of a coat or even a long sleeved shirt but he wore a heavy wool suit jacket that had seen better days over a collared shirt. He also had on dark colored long pants and a ramshackle top hat that was only just perched on his head. His attire reminded her of what a professor or a doctor of old would have worn in a disheveled, dirty sort of way.

When he’d passed out of the light and continued on without even glancing her way, Faye craned her neck to try and make out his features again, this time from his profile but she still couldn’t place him. She stepped out of the shadows and walked toward the road, her eyes following him as he continued down the street.

He walked past the homes along behind the store that faced the road, past an alley that opened onto it and past a couple of more homes before he was almost out of her sight. She took steps to follow along but then thought better of it, not knowing if he might be dangerous to her or hear her and feel her to be a threat to him.

Almost gone from view, she’d nearly given up and turned back toward the bakery, when she caught a flash as he turned abruptly to the left, stepping off the road. She could just make him out as he made his way toward the side of the opera house and out of her view.

Now she was torn. Should she follow and see if it was he that was entering the structure or should she go back inside, call and rouse Mel from sleep to have her go and investigate.

In the end, she decided to leave it until morning. The vagrant wasn’t harming anyone and was probably only looking for a place to sleep sheltered from the winds and rains that could punctuate early June in Ohio. She made a mental note to herself to ring Mel up early about the man and remind her of her promise to check the building. It was better safe, than sorry.