Life with new friends is something I have only seen in movies and read in books. Before my adoptive parents, nobody cared if I was okay or whatsoever. Nobody gave a damn about me. After their death, the helpers' supervisor would see me everyday to tell me about the farm's projects and if they need something from me, that was the only time I got to talk to someone who values what I have to say.
But now, things are different. It's been three days since I met Sihle, Ntsika and Aviwe, they check on me before going to work in the morning, at lunch and after work. Everyday I go to sleep looking forward to seeing them in the morning. They are so good to both me and Wendy to the point that when we are together, you would swear that we have been friends since forever.
The morning crowd is growing, each and every day, one would think since it's a Saturday and some regulars are off work the crowd will be less, but no. The only difference today is that most customers choose to sit in and enjoy their breakfast in the shop's sitting area.
"Good morning Star and Wendy? Do you guys need some help?" Greets Sihle who is with Aviwe and Ntsika.
Before we can reply, Ntsika says, "Of course they need our help, let's go get ready in the office". He is saying this already dragging them to the kitchen where they will wash their hands, get something to cover their heads and get aprons.
They come back ready to work. "Thanks guys for helping us out, I'm sure our service will be much quicker and appreciated by the customers now", I say sincerely appreciating them.
"That is what friends are for, Star, don't worry now", says Sihle nudging my shoulder with her elbow playfully. Note the height difference. They sometimes, okay mostly call me Star since I shared that my other name is Star. They say it's fitting.
"Good morning, ma'am, how are you?" Greets a woman, presumably in her early thirties.
Because she called me ma'am, I see it's only fitting to address her as such, "I'm good ma'am, how are you?"
"I'm good too. I came here to order two birthday cakes. I was told to come directly to you since you are the baker", she says.
I ask Wendy to help Sihle and Ntsika whenever they have a hard time finding the right baked goods the customers want. I ask the customer to follow me to the office to talk about all the details.
I ask her to sit down on the chairs in front of the desk, I grab a pen and notebook to sketch out the cakes and all the details. "Please call me Enhle, ma'am makes me feel old", I say making us both laugh.
"Then please call me Promise, I'm sorry for not reading your tag", she says apologetically.
"The cakes are for my kids, two boys, Josh and Logan." She explains why they need two cakes yet they are brothers. She is a big talker and I indulge her by asking questions which helps me come up with a sketch suitable for each kid.
By the end of her rant, I show her two themed cakes, one is of superheroes for Josh and Logan is into astronomy, so his has the right decorations.
"Wow, they will really love them. Logan will be happy, last year I told the baker what he likes but he made everything cartoonish which made him mad. This year he's going to love it, thank you so much", she says tearfully.
"Please thank me after producing the right cake, I might make something completely different from what I have sketched", I say making her raise her eyebrows comically.
"I highly doubt that. If you sketched something like this after my monolog, then I'm sure you will make the cake magical", she says never taking her eyes off the sketch.
She wants the cakes three weeks from today, still have a lot of time. Promise leaves after buying cakes, pies and tarts, saying "I want my family to get a taste of what's coming".
