Chapter 9: Eden
697 Words
The woman led me to what appeared to be the kitchen. My eyes lit up as I watched everyone working. It reminded me of her parents' shop and I suddenly felt sad, yet happy. A smile made its way onto my lips as I watched them.
"So, we start here." Cynthia smiled as she began to show me the process of making one of their fine desserts.
I was soon lost in the process of making a dessert when the woman sighed beside me. I had no idea why she seemed so upset or sad.
"Michael is a good boy. He has a good heart. A big heart. His father, well... he could gain a lot from being around his son if he gave him the time of day." Cynthia shook her head, and I suddenly became interested.
"What do you mean?" I finished up one dessert and began on another.
"His father has always been... interesting. I don't love talking bad about people, but I've seen Michael hurt more times than I care to. He'd come here, and sit down, and eat. Sometimes seeing Autumn helped him." Cynthia warmly smiled as she began to make a dessert beside me with her nimble hands. "But his father... his father only cares about one thing. Well, two things. Money and power."
I nodded as I swallowed hard, remembering when Brian Clintock had picked me up. How he had sized me up and gazed at me like I was something to be won or worse, a piece of meat at a butcher. A prized trophy to go on a shelf. Something to be looked at and fawned over.
"And Michael?" I swallowed hard as his name felt weird on my tongue. I hadn't realized how it would feel to actually say the man's name. It felt new and wrong, yet strangely exciting.
"That boy cares more about the well-being of others than his own money or power. He put a lot into this place to keep it afloat." Cynthia laughed and shook her head. "Damn kid. Never knows when to quit, even if he gets hurt in the process."
I worried my bottom lip as I finished making another dessert. "I see. So, he helped you stay open?"
"We almost were closed down last year when the shop burned down. Someone thought it would be funny." She sighed as she finished the dessert she had been working on and moved onto the next one. "He showed up like the knight in shining armor he is... paid for repairs and helped rebuild this place. I tried to decline but being how he is... he refused."
I stopped making desserts and watched the older woman smile at me.
"He is a very kind man. Not one evil bone in his damn body. Too bad women don't look past his wealth." The woman shook her head, and I went back to finishing up the last dessert.
I didn't know how to take her words. Was he really as she said or was it all a lie that he had given to her too? My heart ached to want to believe her, but I couldn't get myself to.
"Here, take two with you. That boy needs more meat on his bones. His father keeps him on this ridiculous diet."
I watched the woman box up a couple desserts and she led me back out to Michael, who was playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with Autumn. The container was empty, and he had more color to his face than before. He even seemed to have more energy than before.
"Did you have fun?" Michael hopped off the stool to grab the bag and I set the desserts inside of it.
I didn't know how to answer his question or if I even wanted to. I didn't trust him enough yet to say anything about how I was truly feeling. If I was honest, I had so many emotions going at once that it was nearly impossible for me to tell what was going on in my mind or body. Confusion was the closest I could get to an answer, but even that was pushing it.
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