Bookshop on Maple Street

Chapter Five

Spending Sunday with mama and Sorscha is something I've loved doing since I came back from university; despite not being the best baker out there, I do love decorating the cupcakes and eating the chocolate frosting is the best part of the entire day. I would stop eating it but where is the fun in that? When we're done, we're caked in a mix of flour, brownie batter and my favourite cinnamon roll icing. It's literally mouth watering and I don't mean that metaphorically like some people. The way it just melts on top of the cinnamon rolls causes dribble to fall on to my apron, kind of upsetting to wait on all of the gooey goodness but that just shows how delicious they really are. 

Typically, Dahlia would be here with us, throwing flour on someone or covering me in strawberry jam just because she thought it was funny when I couldn't reach the jam off the tip of my nose with tongue. I'll never stop hearing her snort when she laughed too much or how she used to run to the bathroom straight after because she always needed to pee after laughing super hard. I don't think I'll ever stop missing her, needing her here as a best friend. We went to university together, we did 48 hour reading challenges but in the end we always fell asleep on each other's pile of books. Life isn't the same without her, despite never sharing her food (which I can't blame her for, mum's food is to die for), she was a good soul and no one and nothing will ever change that about her. All the times she'd try dragging me out to one of those night clubs, not my kind of scene but neither was holding her hair up when she threw up on the curbside or the next morning in the bathroom, damn best friend duties always getting in the way - I don't do sick, not my thing, ever. 

~

Unfortunately for me, Sunday's just happened to be the day my own mother told me off the most, typically she'll tell me off for being too high on a ladder but when I'm here at Cinnamon Treat's, I'm pretty sure mother tells me off for everything, including taking a cookie out of the box before they go out on the counter - I can't help myself they just taste so damn good, especially the ones with white chocolate and raspberries, now those I would gladly take a bullet for. 

"Cece will you stop trying to eat the buttercream and actually put it in a piping bag!" my mother shouts from the front counter, whilst serving one of the last customers for the day - four o' clock sure did come round quick when you're busy. I swear the woman has a sixth sense because she always catches me at the wrong moments, it's what I get for being predictable but can you blame me - it's made with real chocolate! 

"Yeah Cece, I actually want to finish making these cupcakes before I go home ya know," Sorcha bumps the side of her hip with mine and I laugh, hard. I go around Sorscha and grab one of the piping bags and the star piping nozzle, I scoop up a tiny bit of the exquisite chocolate frosting and place the dot on Sorscha's nose. I slide back over to my counter-top and use a spatula to get all that deliciousness into the piping bag. Whenever I have to focus I do it a little too much, so then my tongue sticks out slightly and my glasses always end at the bottom of my nose, definitely not fun when they end up in said frosting and I have to start all over again - mother is never happy but what can you do. 

Another few minutes of concentration and then they're done, I top each one with a fresh strawberry and a little bit of edible gold - if others don't eat these I sure as hell will. I step back and admire my work, the cupcakes looking sublime, I bring the cupcakes around to the glass display counter and place each one in the display with the decorations facing outwards. The bell on the door rings out signalling another customer is in the store which is weird because it has definitely gone past four pm and the sign surely says closed. I glance up and double take when I see Aiden walk in, as per usual looking particularly gorgeous in a black jeans and black shirt combo - I swear I've never seen the man in anything else, strange. The bell chimes once more and I look up properly this time to see Jake walk in like he owned the place - typical JJ.