Sweet Treats for My Love

Chapter 10

TORI'S POINT OF VIEW

After saying goodbye to Adam, I ran once more around the block then rested under a tree to cool down. I still owe him an explanation for everything that happened the past couple of days. I'm glad he didn't really ask me much about it though. He was kind enough to just allow me to voluntarily explain things to him when I'm ready.

Running is a really good way to relax as it makes you feel strong and invigorated. But once I started to cool down, the events that transpired last night made me feel sad again. Sam wasn't just my best friend, he was my rock. I moved to this town alone, with no family and practically broke. He made me feel less alone. I even spent time with his mother and his younger sister. They were also like family to me. Why did I have to complicate things by falling for him?

This whole thing seems to just go in circles. I need to focus my energy on more productive things. I'll take this as a fresh start. This is probably the fourth time I've given myself a fresh start, luckily those are pretty much unlimited as long as you're alive.

I spend the rest of my morning watching baking contests online. In the afternoon, I reorganized my stuff and cleaned up my apartment. Nothing says fresh start than fragrant newly washed bed sheets, curtains and organized cabinets and drawers. In the afternoon, I bought some groceries and prepared ingredients to bake muffins. I have a mini oven at my apartment and it has not been used in a while. I figured I could bake some for Adam as a gift. I need to stop owing that man favors.

Later that night, I knocked on Adam's door with a plastic container filled with my special blueberry and cheese muffins. We spent the night unpacking several boxes of his stuff. We talked and ate the muffins. It was really nice to have someone to talk to.

I eventually told him the real story about why I was drunk last Saturday night, the cat and mouse chase with Sam and the big talk that we had. I wasn't planning to make it so detailed but airing it out made me feel better. I apologized to him again for oversharing and getting him unnecessarily caught up in my mishaps.

He shrugged and said he didn't mind. In return, he talked about his late mother and the farm. He also briefly mentioned his tumultuous relationship with his father, stepmother and stepbrother.

I felt like we both exceeded our usual limits for sharing about our personal lives. It felt like we unpacked more than boxes that night. I was grateful but also alarmed. I used to do the same thing with Sam. I opened up to him and it left me vulnerable. I don't want to get hurt again. This time I am going to protect myself and love myself before anyone else.

ADAM'S POINT OF VIEW

There was only one more box to unpack. It was getting late so Victoria prepared to leave. I told her that I can handle unpacking the last box on my own so she didn't have to come over to help me anymore. I thanked her for all her help and hoped that everything would be okay for her. She thanked me again for the favors and left.

I was left alone realizing that I genuinely liked her. I could feel the honesty in her words as she shared her life with me. At the same time, I could see the tension in her face. It made her uncomfortable to share so much of herself to me whom she just met. I thought it was perfectly understandable considering what she just went through with Sam.

It also felt good for me to tell her about the farm and my concerns. I even surprised myself that I talked about my troublesome relationship with my family.

Over the next couple of days, we didn't spend much time together. I focused on the farm and preparing possible strategies we can do to boost sales. Victoria focused on working. We'd occasionally run into each other on the apartment entrance or hallway and exchange casual greetings but that was it.

I figured that it would be very inappropriate to ask her out on a date given what she just went through. It's also likely that she'd say no if I asked her out.

There's also the urgent matter at hand with the farm. Our sales are so bad that we have jars of strawberry jams gathering dust on our shelves. The nearby grocery store refuses to take anymore, claiming that it does not sell as well as the other brands. Right now we need a quick fix. Uncle Louis and I talk with the rest of the farmworkers.

We came up with a consignment solution. We distributed several jars of the jam to the farmworkers. They can sell it at a regular price but they will only have to remit 90% of the money. This means that the 10% of the money received per jar goes straight to their pockets. They were hesitant at first and were not sure they could sell the jars but I reassured them. They only needed to pay for the jars they were able to sell. The rest of it, they can return if unsold after 2 weeks. They are also free to get more jars from the farm if they end up selling more. Two of the farmers  had children who lived in other towns. They sent some of the jars hoping that their children could promote the strawberry jars.

During the meeting, Thomas, one of the farmworkers, also mentioned that our main selling point is that our jams are handmade so they are the most natural. The others began feeling more confident about selling the jams. They mention that health buffs who like organic and natural stuff would appreciate that we do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides in our farms.

I couldn't help but smile upon hearing them talk about our products. They were enthusiastic about this new marketing strategy and they provided great insight on how we can advertise the jams better.

Natural. Fresh. Organic

This will be our edge. Hopefully, this works.