Chapter 110

I walked around in the bakery and checked on the work that was almost finished. It had taken almost a month, but things were starting to fall into place. The place looked amazing as the handymen put the final touches in place.

“Hi, Mike. How are things going?” I asked as I walked up to a big, burly man. He was the foreman for the contractor and he and I had got to know each other pretty well during the weeks they had been working on my place.

“Miss Bishop. things are going fine. How are you doing today?” he asked. I smiled.

“It’s Hana, Mike. We have talked about this. I’m doing fine. The place looks amazing. I knew it would be nice, but you have exceeded all my expectations,” I told him honestly. He gave me a proud smile.

“It’s very kind of you to say that. I think the choices you made with the cream-coloured wall against the walnut wood work turned out really nice. We should be out of your hair this afternoon.”

“Oh that is good. Not that you will be gone, I have enjoyed having you all here. But that gives me four days to air the place out to rid it of the last smell of paint and wood. I need this place to smell like baked bread and cookies on Saturday for the grand opening. You are of course all welcome, and as a thank you for a work well done, I have doughnuts and coffee set up in the kitchen. You can grab some when you have time,” I told him.

“We’re lucky our work here is done. With all the treats you feed us, my wife is threatening to put me on a diet,” Mike chuckled and slapped the barely visible belly he had. I smiled.

“Tell her that the ‘dad-body’ is in,” I said. I left him to tell the others about the afternoon treat and went upstairs to the small apartment to look how the wallpaper had turned out. It had been put up earlier in the morning and I was curious. The apartment looked like a dream with the light colours that mirrored the bakery with cream and the large wall that was the first thing you saw coming up the stairs, was now cowered in a wallpaper with wildflowers and ferns. It was as perfect as I had hoped. I still didn’t have a clue what to do with the apartment, but at least it was now up to date and ready for whatever I wanted to do. I tried to suppress a yawn. Starting up a business was tiring. Last week I felt drained. I took at least one nap per day and still slept at least nine hours each night and I still felt tired. I blamed it on stress and on trying to do my old job as well as get my business going. Maybe I was coming down with the flu or something. But I didn’t have time to get sick, so I ignored it and made sure to take a nap when I could. I would be scaling down my old job starting next week. I was convinced it would get better after that.

The following day I was back in the bakery. It needed a meticulous cleaning and airing before I could start to bake and get ready. I put on the coffeemaker as I unpacked the cleaning supplies and started cleaning the shop. Soon I could smell the freshly brewed coffee. Instead of feeling happy and enjoying the scent, I felt put off. I crinkled my nose and decided to skip the coffee this morning. The days leading up to the grand opening were filled with activity. I made mockup cakes to display in the windows, I planned and replanned what kind of baked goods I would sell, Wictor helped me put together flyers. Together with Anthony, he helped put them up around the city and they did an online campaign as well. They had also volunteered to help on the day. I received a text from Jason on Friday.

J: Me and Chef are going to stop by tomorrow. Is it okay if we bring the old grump?

I smiled at the message, both at how sweet it was of him to check and because I found myself missing the way he and Hunter always bickered like an old married couple.

Me: The three of you are always welcome. There will be free samples.

J: We will be there and I will skip breakfast.

I laughed at his reply and felt relieved, knowing at least three people would show up. I decided I would go home, make sure to have a nice meal and go to bed early. It would be an early morning and a long day the next day.

Wictor, Anthony and I met up at the bakery the following morning. As I baked and stocked the shelves, the two men decorated the bakery and the outside to make it look festive on its grand opening.

“The place looks fantastic,” Anthony told me as he helped me put mini cupcakes on serving trays as I was busy filling Pitti Choux with savoury fillings. I had decided to keep the catering business going and today would be a good chance to show off what we could offer.

“All the balloons have been inflated and put up, plus there is a bunch of them secured behind the counter to hand out to the kids that come in,” Wictor announced as he entered the kitchen.

“Thank you. I think we are almost done,” I said and put away the last tray of Choux.

“Good job! With half an hour to spare. How about we take a coffee break and relax before we open the doors?” Wictor suggested.

“Sounds good. But I think I will have tea,” I told him.

“No coffee? Is something wrong?” Wictor asked as he poured two cups of coffee and made tea.

“No. I just haven’t been in the mood for it lately. I think it’s the stress. My body doesn't want to give me an ulcer,” I joked. Both men gave me a worried look. “Stop it. I’m fine. This is a happy day,” I reminded them. We sat down for a moment and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Two hours later and I was happy we had taken the break when we had the chance. From the moment we had opened the doors, people had been coming in. It seemed the campaigns and word of mouth had made my bakery the place to be this Saturday. Wictor and Anthony did a great job walking around and handing out free samples and talking to the customers as I was manning the register. In the afternoon I was lyric about the number of customers I had spoken to and who and bought things from me.

“Hello Hana. It looks like your place is a success,” someone said. I looked to my right and saw Mr Smith standing there. He wasn’t dressed as I was used to seeing him, in a suit. Instead he wore jeans and a sweater. He was holding a young girl’s hand. She looked to be about seven or eight. His daughter, I guessed.