Fantasy and feelings...

Cake fight

I've had the worst day ever! My alarm didn't go off, so I was late to start making the cakes and pastries so I was late in opening the bakery. My customers weren't too happy about it. A lot of angry and upset faces came and left with their breakfasts, nagging away.

As if my day couldn't get any worse, one of my fridges had broken down. All the frozen items and orders in there went bad and I had to rush to the store and get more supplies to remake them. Some of them were expected today so I powered on like a Japanese bullet train and managed to finish them all just seconds before collection.

The bakery was a lot more peaceful as the clock struck 2 in the afternoon. I was in a really sour mood. But I had leftover fondant and cream and I thought;

Why not bake something cute instead of orders for a change?

So I got to work. I may have gotten a little carried away and made a 3-tier wedding cake instead of just a simple cake. But hey, at least I felt better about my awful day.

Until a kid with a skateboard came to my bakery just as I was about to close. He looked pretty excited to buy something. The wedding cake caught his eye and he placed his card on the counter. It must've been his mum's or some other adult. How else would a teenager have enough money to buy a wedding cake? Well it wasn't my place to interfere so I popped the cake in a tall box, swiped the card and waved as he left.

Satisfied that most of my pastries and cakes were gone, I went to the back to tidy up. Just then, I heard loud shrieking and rolling laughter coming from outside my door.

When I peeked my head out the door, I almost cursed out loud. That kid I sold that wedding cake to? He was throwing it around with another kid. They were messing up the parking lot because of their cake fight, shrieking away!

"HEY WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!"

I was livid! I stormed over but those two boys bolted away on their skateboards before I could get them, still laughing. Now I had to get the lot cleaned up before going home. Oh, and just as I thought my day turned around...

...........

I was cleaning up the bakery a few weeks after the cake fight when the same boy showed up at my bakery. He wasn't on his skateboard now. He simply chose some brownies and cheese tarts, paid for them and left without saying a word.

It was bad enough that he caked my bakery's parking lot the other day, he didn't even feel any guilt or remorse for it. But I couldn't have fathomed what happened next.

"Excuse me, sir? Here, this is for you..."

He handed me an envelope and silently left. Curious, I opened the envelope. Inside was $900 and a letter.

Dear Mr Baker,
My name is Ethan and I'm 16 years old. I am so sorry for messing up your parking lot the other day with my brother, Chris. We were being stupid and caused a lot of trouble for you.

I had just gotten my first paycheck that day and I wanted to celebrate it with Chris. We both love cake and when I saw that huge wedding cake with white chocolate shavings, I knew I had to buy it. I ended up spending my entire paycheck on it but I had no regrets.

After we ate our fill, digging into it with our bare hands, we still had entire tiers left. We couldn't get it back on our skateboards.

But Chris being Chris, he suddenly got up, grabbed a handful of cake and flung it into my face. Soon it turned into a full blown cake fight in your parking lot. Although I was sorry for ruining the parking lot, I had no regrets.

I lost Chris a week after. He was having headaches and kept throwing up and his temperature was high. We thought it was just food poisoning but we were too late. The doctors diagnosed him with meningitis. He passed away the next day.

That cake fight in the parking lot? It was the best and one of the last memories I made with my brother. I got to see him happy and laughing his head off. And I will treasure that cake fight with him forever.

I put in $900 here to pay for the cake and all the trouble we caused. I'm so sorry again sir, and thank you. In a way, you were the reason I had one last beautiful memory with my little brother. And I'll always be grateful for that.

Sincerely,
Ethan

I folded the letter again, feeling like a jerk. That poor kid. No wonder he was so silent and sad, and here I was, fussing about his manners. He even put money in for all my troubles. I couldn't take his money. This was beyond that.

I made that cake that day to cheer myself up. But it went on to become someone's most treasured memory. I don't know if I'll ever see that kid again. But if I do, there's $900 and an unlimited supply of whatever cake or pastry he wants waiting for him...