ADALYN

10. Terrific Trio

Adalyn's Point of View
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I was astounded. "Ariana?!"

She tittered. "In the flesh."

"I forgot to mention that she's Elena's daughter," Mason pointed out.

"What a small world, isn't it?" I said. "This place is absolutely lovely by the way."

"Why thank you." Ariana curtsied. "This bakery has been here for over 50 years. It belonged to my grandparents. Once retired, they gave it to my mom as a gift. As I mentioned, I moved here from New Jersey a few days ago and decided it was time to visit my mom and help her out."

"Oh, so you are only staying temporarily?"

We were starting to get close. I didn't want her to go because then she'll be another person who'd left. Yeah, we could talk on the phone and she could visit, but that's also what Olivia and I agreed on.

"Good question," she said thoughtfully. "As of right now, I cannot give you a well-put answer. Maybe for college? I'm not entirely sure. You know, sometimes I've concluded that I'm going to many places but not to college." She let out a small chuckle. "It's not for everyone. Adjusting to living in a brand new state is difficult too. Not to mention making friends. Nobody wanted to befriend the 'new girl'. Except for you and Mason, of course. Overall my experience here has been great."

"Understandable and relatable," I concurred. "Considering I've been here for a few months, I'm still learning my way around the place too. You don't even want to know the number of times I've taken the wrong bus," I continued to babble. "I've always been slow in the making friends department. Even back home. But somehow I came across amazing people who I now consider friends. Including you, Ari."

"You're extremely kind." She gave me a warm smile. "What can I get you guys before I let the waterworks out?"

Ariana asked jokingly while wiping away a fake tear.

"Everything looks so appetizing. What do you recommend?"

"The cacahuate, fruit empanada, and my all-time favorite...the concha." She pointed at all the delicious pastries behind the glass. "Trust me when I say that you will not be disappointed."

"Alright then, I'll take three of the those, two of those, and since the concha is your favorite, I'll take four of those. That red one looks good too. I'll have one of those."

"The yoyo, great choice. I used to love that one as a kid. Is there anything else you'd like?"

"I think that's enough for me. What about you, Mason?"

"I'll take the two of the ojo de buey and a simple concha."

"Great choice! Anything else?" she asked while grabbing a pink cardboard box.

"I think that's all for today. Adalyn is going to have bread for days," he remarked, a chortle coming in after.

"What's with all this pan dulce (sweet bread)? This amount can feed an entire village," she speculated while neatly placing the pastries inside the box.

Watching as she made her way towards the counter where her mom had been waiting, I wondered if she would want to come to hang out with Summer and me. I'm sure Summer would be okay with it. She always said "the more the merrier."

"A friend of mine is hosting a sleepover," I answered. "Hey, why don't you come with us?!"

"That explains all this bread," she commented. "And I would love to but I'm helping mom close up tonight."

"Don't worry about it, mija (daughter)," Elena cut in. "I'll have Kristina come over and help me. Go be a teenager, have fun, and live a little. Stop being such an old fart."