Adulting Requires Cheesecake (Book 4, Lonstino & Greenwood Series)

Chapter 5 - Faith

LUKE

My brain goes once more through the list of to dos I have pending for my bakery. Lately, that's all I do when I take my cigarette break while sitting on a crate outside of O'Brien's backlot. The most important task I have pending at the moment is to find the right space. I've been looking around town on my free days, surveying every building available, but they are too small or way out of my budget. As I gather my will to head inside, my phone rings before I can pop a mint in my mouth and the screen says it's my dad.

"Hey, Dad. All good?" I answer in my usual way.

"Hey Luke, yeah, all is well, also with your mom. What is this thing I heard at the pier market about you opening a bakery?"

"Who told you that?" I ask surprised because I haven't even told Michael.

"Does it matter who said it? It's Lonstino," he says, and I silently agree that my hometown is the biggest source of gossip. "Is it true?"

"It's the plan. I'm pre-approved by the bank based on my savings, business plan and projections. I haven't started yet because I need to lease a space and I'm having trouble finding one."

"Are you sure you want to get through all this trouble? Greenwood is really competitive."

His words echo what other people have said to me and it annoys me.

"Dad, you had your own bakery when you were my age. The bank believes I have a good concept. I'll be catering to people with ingredient intolerances. I studied business too, remember? I know what I'm doing."

"I just don't want you to struggle. I went through hard times trying to make my pâtisserie work. If it wasn't for your grandparents, I wouldn't have been able to get it off the ground. I even worked for months without a salary. Can you afford to go without one if things don't work out immediately?"

"I haven't spent a cent from grandma's inheritance and now that Michael has moved in with us I'll save on rent and utilities. My plan is solid. I'll be offering a service and inventory that no one in Greenwood is specialized in. Why are you doubting my plans? Is it because you met Hannah at your store?"

My father stays silent on the other side of the line and I can't believe those words left my mouth. Dad met our biological mother at his business and after a short time of bliss, everything went to shit, ending with two abandoned kids and a depressed father.

"I want to support you Luke, but I also worry about you."

The sadness in his voice breaks my heart. "Dad, have a little faith in me. I still feel like shit about everything that happened, but I haven't drank since the accident. Not even the stress of opening this bakery has made me want to drink or do anything reckless. Please... I need your trust. I know everyone else thinks I'm mad, but I can't work for O'Brien forever. Especially not when he isn't willing to alter a recipe to help someone with an intolerance."

"I understand your point, but you need to see that it's a small market. You need to broaden your scope to make profit."

"I'll give it some thought. I need to go or Papa will fire me. Talk to you soon."

I cut the call abruptly and feel the stress tightening the muscles on my shoulders and neck. I know Dad means well, but he should be taking care of himself instead of worrying about what I do. The doctors have told him he needs to slow down. Managing two businesses isn't good for him and his stomach problems anymore, but he has trouble choosing which one he wants to keep. Some people have even suggested that I take over the bakery at the fairgrounds so that he can keep managing the candy store, but that's not what I want. Like he did at my age, I want to create my concept and develop it.