What Baking Can Do

Chap 14

California was just as I remembered it to be. Everything was the same. Same bright sky, same palm trees, same friends, same quaint beauty.

Except for me. I felt like a completely different person walking into Chaska's little house near the beach, where I'd be staying for the next couple of days. I breathed in the salty, peaceful air as I lugged my suitcase through the door, the familiarity of the state rushing through me. Sometimes I just needed some peace and quiet to counter the bustle of Manhattan.

"Hey, babeeee," I yelled out to Chaska. "Where you at?"

A moment later, she ran out of her bedroom, practically pouncing on me,"Hiiiiii!"

I laughed and hugged her back tightly. "I missed you!"

"I missed you more, holy shit," She pulled away and took my hands, smiling. "You look so pretty, as always."

She is so nice to me, I think, as I compliment her back. All of my friends are, even though I don't exactly understand why sometimes. They remind me to ignore the negativity in my head as best I can.

So that's what I did during this little trip. My time with them was spent like it always was, drinking and singing and laughing and taking stupid photos into the night.

The romance and magic of the wedding led me to miss the one I loved more times than I'd wanted... and I couldn't figure out why, as I'd come here with the intention to, admittedly, forget about us for just a couple of days. But, nevertheless, the battles inside my head, our argument, were all pushed aside as I imagined dancing with Jessie to a love song. It gave me warm and fuzzy feelings about her that I'd missed with our complicated feelings recently.

The sunset and the after-party continued well into the morning hours. I mostly hung around with my friends after our performance, exchanging stories from our time apart. I wanted to tell them about Jessie, but there didn't seem like an appropriate time in our conversation. And the thought of admitting this secret felt like teetering on the edge of a cliff. I pushed the thought down with another glass of wine and a song.

...

I had time before my flight back home, so I searched for an outlet in the airport. Trying to find one near my gate and hoping there'd be an empty chair near felt like an impossible task. Once I was situated, I scrolled through my photos from the trip, intending to organize them into a collage of some sort, but kept going back to ones of rehearsals, scenic shots of Manhattan... and, of course, Jessie. I'd sent her a text that morning before I'd left for the airport but was still awaiting anxiously for a response.

Even with the time difference I figured she'd have time to reply.

I ended up posting a picture with the caption "See you soon NY". I really wanted to hashtag Jessie's name, but she wouldn't have seen it, plus I couldn't be that forward online yet.

Next thing I knew, I had an incoming Facetime call, the sound startling me. It was from Jessie. I smiled as I it reminded me of something you'd see in a romcom. But didn't our entire relationship? Maybe she really was online...or someone mentioned my post to her.

Her face made me break into a big smile. "Hey, hun" I answered, immediately wishing I had checked my hair beforehand.

"Hey. How's your trip? How are your alans or whatever you call them?" she asked.

"My ships are very well, thank you" I replied with a laugh. "How is my Jess?"

"I'm alright, and that's wonderful, I'm sure it was nice catching up with them."

"Indeed it was. We made plans for them to see the show too, so that's exciting."

"Aw, yay, really?"