Novas dream has always been to open a bakery of her very own. Well now that she's moved to Galax, Georgia she is living that dream. She's got a lot of work to do on the shop before that happens though. One day as she's working she meets Eleanor, the...
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"Preparing"
I'm rushing around the shop when Axel walks in. "Everything okay? I can hear you thinking from the front." He sits at the stool and looks at me.
"Everything is fine. I'm just trying to get everything in place." The shop opens in two days and I'm so flustered getting things ready.
"Is there anything I can do to help? Grab anything? Mix anything? Whatever you need me for, I'm here." I walk over to the table and sit in the stool next to him.
Placing my head into my hands. "Honestly, I don't know where to start. I need to gather everything and put it into place and I have to start baking tomorrow."
"Well, let's see. The shop is cleaned from top to bottom, you have everything you need in stock and you just need to pull everything out and prepare right?" I nod my head with it still being in my hands. Hoping he is looking at me.
"Okay then let's get going. You make a list and I'll pull out what we need. You have everything labeled so it will be easy for me. Sound alright?" I remove my hands from my head and nod with a smile.
"Thanks Axel, you've been a big help." I get out a post it note and write down everything I need for tomorrow. The biggest issue is the flower. It's too heavy for me to move and I don't want to have to walk back and forth. I'll need to fix that issue.
Placing the note in Axel's hand we get to work. Together, we pull out the flower, we rearrange the fridge and then we head up front to check the placement of the tables.
I've moved them around a few times but I think the placement is finally right. Madz and Axel both agreed but I also think they were tired of moving them around for me.
It's only been a few hours when I hear a knock on the door. Opening the shades I see its Georgia, Madz mother waving her hands. I unlock the door and let her in.
"Hi Nova sweetheart. Hello Axel, how are you two today." She gives me a sweet smile and hugs us both. Axel hugs her and spins her around.
"Hey mama G. I'm doing okay just hanging out with Nova." He finally sets her down and she takes a look around. She clasped her hands together.
"Eleanor told me how nice the shop looked, but this is beautiful. I didn't know this little shop could be turned into something so nice. You did a wonderful job." That fills my heart up. I want everyone to feel comfortable and cozy in here.
"Thank you Georgia. I appreciate it. I'm going off my dads idea. He wanted to open a shop with me but he passed away before we ever could make it happen." Georgia nods like she understands and she grabs my hand.
"So your father liked to bake as well? What was his favorite thing to make?" Thinking hard I try to remember what he loved. He made me feel like everything he made was his favorite. Then I remember what he told me one time.
"Coffee cakes. He had a friend in high school that was in a culinary class with him. They came up with a coffee cake recipe that was different from everything else. It won the teacher over." Her face goes pale.
"What did you say your last name was?" I start to panic thinking that something is wrong.
"Waters. I'm Nova Waters." Still holding on to my hand I can feel her tense up. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"
"Sweetheart, was your dads name Walter Waters?" Everything in my stills and I feel sick to my stomach. How does she know his name?
"Yes." I croak. It's becoming harder to breathe and I start to panic even more. I feel Axel walk behind me and he places his hands on my shoulders.
"Nova, I need you to breathe with me. I need you to focus on my heartbeat." He places my hands on his chest. And I start to count. Finally calming down Georgia and Axel place me on a stool.
Finally calming down enough. "How did you know my dads name, Georgia? Did you know him?" Her eyes glisten with tears.
"Yes sweetheart. I knew him well. He was my best friend all four years of high school. I remember making that coffee cake recipe with him." I can feel my heart beating faster and faster.
She knew my dad. Someone I thought that everyone had forgotten about. She knew him. This is crazy. "You known him that long?" I try to remember anything about his past that he told me about.
Then it comes to me. He had a best friend in high school before he met mom. He called her cupcake. I never got her real name before.
"Cupcake." Georgia and I both say at the same time. "You were his best friend and he named you cupcake?"
"Yeah, the first day of class everyone was making cookies and your dad and I both decided that the teacher would have liked cupcakes better. That's where the nickname came from." I knew that story.
I can't believe I met someone who had a connection with my father. This is unreal. "I've heard so many stories about you and my dad."
"Oh I bet. We were real trouble makers back then. We were always doing something that we weren't supposed to." I stand up and walk towards her needing the grounding.
"Is it okay If I give you a hug?" See doesn't even reply to me and she pulls me in hard and gives me the biggest hugs I've had since I met Madz.
She leans in and whispers in my ear. "Wildflowers always bloom. No matter where they are." It's something my dad always told me when I was struggling.
We both just end up crying in each others arms and holding on like life rafts during a storm. I hear another knock but I ignore it. Axel must have let someone in because I hear a concerned Madz.
"What happened, is everyone okay? Why are you both crying?" We both just cry some more concerning him even more. He turns to Axel and he must inform him what we've found out.
"I know this question will hurt but what happened to your father sweetheart." She doesn't know about his months of pain he felt, the days where he didn't remember who he was and the last moments of holding his hand until his grip loosened from mine.
"He died of cancer. It was just him and I left." Madz walks back over and we all come together.
"I'll go and make some tea for you guys." Axel says as he walks towards the kitchen.
"I still can't believe you really knew my dad. You were his cupcake. He loved you so much. I could tell by the way he spoke about you." That just makes Georgia let out a soft sob.
"Let's go sit down on the couch and talk about this guys." Madz leads us both towards the couches I have in front font to sit on. He pulls up a stool. "Are you both okay?"
"Yeah I'll be okay I just thought I lost all connections to my dad when I lost him but now I found another one." Madz stokes my hand and kisses my forehead.
"Mom, are you doing okay? I know this is a lot." She nods her head and places her hand on my knee. "Now that I think about it my mom also has a mug collection that no one is supposed to touch. She has five of them. She told me she got them from a friend.
"Yes he gave me one for every birthday and one as a graduation gift. They sit in my China cabinet." She has pieces of him leftover too. This is everything I could have asked for.
I felt a pull to move and open my shop and now I know it was my dad leading me to where I really belonged. This is my new home and I have my dad to thank for that.
"I'll let you two chat. I'm going to go see if Axel needs help with the tea." With that he walks away looking behind him like he doesn't want to let us go.
We speak about stories of what they did together and how much fun they had. Then I ask the big question that's storming around in my head. "Why did you guys stop talking?"
