How To Bake A Proper Pie

Chapter Four

Karl dashed back to the spot where Will was seated after he had finished talking to the regulars who stop by his shop every now and then. To his surprise, his new friend was no longer there. "Where's Will? " asked Karl himself as the shop was now empty. Will simply leaving the shop wasn't an option for Karl, so he assumed something had happened to him. "He wouldn't just leave, that's not Will's style," Karl observed as he began to search the area for any sign of the strange man. Then he noticed it: money on the table, a clue that Will had already left without saying goodbye. Karl hurried out of his shop, hoping to see Will going down the street. He looked to the left, to the right, to every direction known to a man, but Will was already long gone. Karl returned back inside, full of sorrow and sadness.

He gathered the money Will had left for him. "Wait, did he pay for the apple pie too? Oh my god, he's so dead! I told him it's on the house!" Karl sat in a chair, furious. He wasn't upset at Will, or at anybody else; he was only mad with himself. Maybe Will would still be here if he'd just stayed with him. The normally cheerful man suddenly laughed. He expected Will to want to pay for the apple pie, but he expected them to dispute over it, and not Will to be so clever with him.

Karl sat there for a few more minutes, thinking about Will. About how this man is stuck in his head only after a few minutes of meeting him. About how happy he felt when he saw Will tasting the apple pie for the first time. About all the stupid faces Will made and about the unreadable expressions he had most of the time. And all of a sudden, Karl felt happy, and he knew he had to talk to Will again, no matter what it took.

Days flew by and there was no sign of Will at all. Karl was slowly losing hope even though deep down he still believed in Will's return. He searched for him everywhere. He asked strangers on the streets and he'd go as far as making "missing" posters if he'd have Will's photo. Why didn't he show up yet? Was Karl too much for him? Was he too excited? Did he scare Will away? Whenever Karl had a free moment all he could think about was Will's lack of presence.

Many of his customers took notice as Karl stopped being his joyful self. Many if not all worried about what had happened to Karl that made him so sorrowful. The only person knowing the real causes of his problems was miss Smith. He was always so happy to take customers' orders, to talk with them, or just to bake, but now his always happy "hellos" sounded like a dying whale.

Day after day, Karl was becoming sadder and sadder. And then one day he woke up and it seemed as if he forgot. He smiled again, joked around, baked like never, but he actually didn't forget. How could he? He usually didn't get so happy over a new customer but Will was special for some reason. Every single time the doorbell rang Karl hoped it was Will. And to be honest, deep down he knew that it will never be Will again.

Even miss Smith started to believe Karl has forgotten about his new customer. She believed it was for the best. After all, if Karl kept thinking about Will, it would only help to break him down. Miss Smith disliked the man because seeing Karl become lifeless after their meeting broke her heart.

Karl pretended to be unconcerned about the stranger, but he couldn't stop tearing up every time he prepared an apple pie, walked around the table Will was sitting at, or after speaking with his new customers. He knew that one day it will stop hurting, but when will that be?