Bread and Circus

Chapter 5

            "Happy birthday to you," the group sang the last line of the song. Lupe brought out a small cake with a solitary candle on it.

"Make a wish," she instructed Balam as he blew out the candle. When she had heard that Balam had planned to spend his birthday alone since his grandma wouldn't pick up his calls, Lupe realized that she had to organize something with Da-Som and Soobin to keep Balam from spending his birthday in his apartment.

As they all sat at a short table in the back of the bakery, Balam spoke through tears. "Thanks so much, you guys. All of you have become my chosen family, and I don't know where I'd be without you." Da-Som patted him companionably on the shoulder.

"I just don't get your halmeoni," Da-Som complained. "I've never known of a grandma who wouldn't pick up when her grandson calls. I can tell you; I just wish my grandson would call. I'd give my left arm for him to call me," she admitted.

"I know," Balam said as he pulled her into a tight hug. "Well, you always have me," he consoled.

"You have all of us," Lupe corrected. Da-Som wiped at a tear that was threatening to spill from her eye.

"I'm not crying," she insisted. "I got a grain of sugar in my eye," she defended.

"No one said anything," Soobin teased.

With a loud sniff, Da-Som pulled herself together. "Give me your grandma's address," she told Balam.

"What for?" he asked, looking askance at the older woman.

"I'm going to see her and have a talk with her, from one halmeoni to another," Da-Som determined.

"I doubt that will be helpful," Balam replied.

"Honestly, I think it just might work," Lupe contended. "Have you ever tried to win an argument with her?" she asked. "She's probably the most stubborn old woman I've ever met. If anyone can get through to your grandma, it would be uri Da-Som," she added.

So, Balam grudgingly wrote the address on the back of an old receipt. Hoping to lighten the mood a bit, Lupe brought up her newest product idea. "I've been thinking about offering a concha with a rainbow-colored topping," Lupe proposed. "I thought we could give the proceeds to suicide prevention organizations that work within the LGBTQ+ community," she added.

"I think it would awesome, but also pretty risky," Balam argued.

"Risky, how?" Lupe asked. "I mean, if people don't like it, they don't have to buy it."

"Well, you would assume it would work that way, but I wouldn't be surprised if you are walking right into a shit storm," Balam warned.

"I've got this," Lupe said confidently. "Soobin-ah, do you think you could do something on social media with you eating one of the rainbow conchas?" she asked.

Despite a niggling doubt in the pit of his stomach, Soobin agreed for two reasons. The first was that he deeply believed in the cause the promotion would benefit. The second was that he was falling for Lupe so hard that he would have basically done anything she asked.

"So, we're on, then," Lupe said emphatically. "I'll make up some promotional posters. Let's do this thing!" she said, putting her hand into the middle of the group. Everyone put their hands in as well, but Balam and Da-Som were giving each other a knowing look as if to say, "This girl has no idea what she's about to do."

A week later, Lupe hung the posters in the windows of the bakery and put out the first rainbow conchas. Soobin arrived early to record an Instagram video before other customers arrived.

"Hey, guys, it's your boy, Soobin here," he said animatedly. "I'm here at Bread and Circus bakery and I'm about to try the new rainbow concha," he said, his eyes widening in expectation as he put the bread in his mouth and began chewing. "Guys, it's terrific! You've gotta come out and try it. Remember all proceeds go to suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth," he added.

As people began arriving at the shop when it first opened, the predominant emotion Lupe noted was curiosity. People gathered around the posters, reading about the new product. A few young people ordered it, but mostly people stuck with their regular orders.

"See, it's going fine," Lupe told Balam and Da-Som. "Oh, ye of little faith," she scolded gently.

Da-Som leaned over and whispered something in Balam's ear, to which he replied, "Oh, yeah, this bitch is crazy." He shook his head as one would do at a child who was about to taste vanilla straight from the bottle.

Since Soobin had a rare day off, he hung around the bakery. Of course, he stayed in the back with Lupe so as to not be seen. At about 2:00 PM, his phone went off. He picked it up and read a text. He closed his eyes and put his hands over his face for a moment.

"What is it?" Lupe asked.

"It's no big deal," he said in a non-answer.

"You just look a little pressed," Lupe insisted.

"I got a message from my agent to take down the Instagram video," he admitted.

"Well, take it down, then," Lupe said pragmatically.

"No," Soobin replied. "Taking it down would be like saying I made a mistake. It wasn't a mistake, or a fluke, or a miscalculation. I meant to do it," he assured her. "Hanging out with Balam so much has just reminded me of how hard it is to be hated for who you are," he concluded.

"Well, alright, then, leave it up," Lupe conceded. "¡Ánimos!" she said raising her flour-covered fist in the air. "That's the Spanish version of 'Fighting' like you guys say here," she explained.

Soobin lifted his fist as well and repeated, "¡Ánimos!" Just as he spoke, the pair was interrupted by Balam.

"You two are going to want to see this," he said, the nerves showing in the subtle crack in his voice. When they came out to the front of the store, they saw a rather large crowd of people with picket signs outside the store. A man in a suit and tie stood with a megaphone in one hand a cross in the other.

"Stand against the erosion of family values!" he screamed into the megaphone. "Boycott this evil establishment!"

Lupe grabbed a box and lined it with parchment paper. "What are you doing?" Soobin asked.

She began loading a variety of breads into the box. Finally, she answered his question. "I'm going to offer them something to eat if they insist on standing out there," she said.

Balam tried to grab her shirt to hold her back, but she was already too far ahead of him. Soobin, Balam, and Da-Som looked at each other in concern as Lupe walked out to face the protesters.

She went directly to the leader, offering him bread, which he rejected. "Listen, I'm a person of faith as well," she began. "It's not my intention to tell anyone what their values should be. I'm just trying to extend my arms in compassion to people I know are hurting," she explained.

Not dignifying her arguments with a response, the man yelled to the crowd. "Don't eat the food of those who scoff at the Lord's commands!" he directed the group. Seeing that her efforts were in vain, Lupe began walking back to the shop. Just then, she was struck in the back of the head by a raw egg. Then the rain of eggs came so fast that Lupe became covered with them.

When she escaped into the shop and shut the door behind her, she laughed and rubbed the egg further into her black curls. "Oh, well, eggs are great for your hair," she reasoned, but Soobin held his head in his hands just as he had done earlier. He was willing to face whatever consequences would come, but he wasn't willing for Lupe to face them.