Desserts & Dramas

Chapter 35

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I am very clumsy. I didn't notice the pan handle. By the time I bumped into it, it was too late. I'm sorry." Yasmin was panicking "I'll fix everything."

"Yasmin, calm down, it's okay." Sofia replied.

"Are you all right, my child? Are you hurt?" Mrs. Maria asked.

"I'm fine, it was just the shock and the noise."

"Nothing was broken, we can just clean it up. Don't worry, we'll get it sorted quickly." Sofia calmed the nerves and reorganized the tasks. "Mrs. Maria, turn off all the flames on the stove, but control the oven while you pick up the bowls and molds from the floor. Gisele, the bakery will be open soon, finish the creams and you can go to the counter. Yasmin and I will gather the rest, wash everything and return it to the shelf. Okay?"

They all nodded and began their new tasks. While Mrs. Maria and Sofia reorganized the utensils, Yasmin washed everything that had touched the floor so that there would be no contamination problem. When she went to take what was dry to Sofia to put away again, she noticed the big tear in the window mosquito net.

"Sofia, Sofia, look," Yasmin pointed to the window, "I think the pan handle got caught in the net."

"This is a slightly bigger problem and more time-consuming to solve than washing a few bowls."

"Maybe we could tape it down?" Yasmin asked.

"I don't know if we have anything like that here," Mrs. Maria answered from the other side of the kitchen.

"Actually, we'll have to replace it as soon as possible." Sofia explained "We can't run the risk of being caught up in a health surveillance inspection and having our store closed indefinitely. You know how bureaucratic they are."

"I'm sorry, Sofia, I didn't mean it. What can I do to fix it?" Yasmin asked.

The young woman was trembling with anxiety, Sofia noticed. It was a problem, but not so serious that she was going to fire her or anything like that. Sofia liked to think she was a good boss, firm and reasonable when the situation demanded it. And this situation demanded it.

"Yasmin, I know you didn't mean it. Don't worry, we'll work it out. But please be more careful next time so that it doesn't happen again. These accidents mess up our entire schedule. Okay?"

Like Gisele, Yasmin had also been a good hire. Although young, she showed more determination to learn than many of her professional colleagues who worked together with her. She was just a little clumsy for a kitchen and some accidents were more dangerous than others. Sofia was always vigilant that she didn't take things out of the oven or stir the hot oil by herself. Burns were much more serious than a simple torn net and a few pots on the floor.

Yasmin nodded and Sofia continued:

"You will take over the counter so Gisele can go back to the kitchen while I go out to buy some tape. We can't stop production. During this time, I will try to contact the manufacturer of the mosquitos nets to have them replaced as soon as possible. Everything will be taken care of."

"Okay. I am really sorry." Yasmin replied and went to the front of the shop.

"She's a good girl, Sofia, just a little clumsy." Mrs. Maria tried to soften the atmosphere in the kitchen. "She tries hard because she admires you so much."

"I know, Mrs. Maria, it was just an accident." Sofia answered anxiously and headed for the door.

Mrs. Maria nodded and Sofia left to solve the problem of the net as quickly as possible. The surveillance inspectors had a talent for showing up when you least expected them. She was always very strict about the cleanliness of her kitchen, she wouldn't let an accident get in the way. Even more so now that Siùcar's schedule was about to get a lot busier. However, this was beyond her control and less than a week later she received the feared visitor.