Avery

~1~

I was not made for multi-tasking.

At all.

Wiping counters, taking orders, making coffees and serving cakes all at the same time.

I adore this bakery, with all my heart, but it's super difficult to run with just me and 1 other person.

Especially when she turns up late almost every day.

She comes rushing through the door, just like always, windswept hair and all.

"Oh my god, Avery, I'm so sorry, I just woke up late-"

I just block out her voice and carry on filling the glass shelves with fresh muffins.

Forcing out a smile, I look over to her as she comes behind the counter.

"Don't worry about it, can you just grab your apron and help me fill these shelves, please?" My lips press together.

"Oh, uh, sure... I was just going to ask if I could grab a coffee and take 5 minutes? I ran here as fast as I could." She laughs, pulling her phone out.

This place will be the death of me.

"Sure."

I've learnt it's pointless fighting people, it's not worth upsetting someone and losing the only help I have.

And I'm not the type of person to ruin someoone's day for no reason.

She disappears into the back and I take a deep breath, blowing the hair away from my forehead as I exhale.

There are days where I question if I can just stick a closed sign on that door and call it a day, maybe even a huge "for sale" sign.

But I can't do that.

I have no idea how my Mom juggled the bakery and a family, I'm struggling enough as I am.

When I walk into the back almost 30 minutes later, my employee, Amy, is just tying her apron and checking out her hair in mirror.

As she pulls the little string, it hugs her thin waist and hangs just above her knees.

The bell chimes when the door opens and I raise an eyebrow at her through the mirror.

She slumps slightly, disappointed, before walking out.

Business has been dying down lately, most people just buy pre-made food from the local corner shop, or order online.

It's getting slightly worrying.

Bills seem to be rising every time they are due and numbers are getting tighter.

Even with less customers coming in, it still feels crazily busy with everything that goes into owning a place.

I'm just hoping that whole "things will work out in the end" actually comes true.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been a few hours, and I finally convinced Amy to just handle the shop for a while so I can run a few "errands".

In this case, the errand is going to the library.

The "library" around here is actually terrible, they sell a few different books and then the latest version of "How To Speak Rabbit".

But every so often, I manage to find something without having to go online and pay stupid amounts for shipping.

There's been whispers of a new library a few streets away opening in a few months, but I don't hold my hopes too high.