chapter 2

May stood in front of Bakery D and gazed into the light coming from the back kitchen. She could see silhouettes flitting about, carrying heavy bags of flour and sugar to and fro. She sighed and held her head in her hand. “Am I really going to be okay...?” She wondered inwardly. “I can’t afford to mess up yet another job opportunity with my lack of sanity.”

Suddenly, May heard a large pair of boots clopping down the sidewalk.

“Is that you, May?”

It was Donte, carrying two, two-layer cake cases full of baked goods. “I hope you’re hungry!”

May stepped aside as Donte unlocked the front door and ushered her in towards his office. He set down his cake carriers and gently pushed May by the shoulder into the back kitchen to meet the morning staff, who’d paused their work to greet her.

Donte had a relatively large kitchen, perfect for allowing multiple tasks to be done at once. May warmed herself briefly in front of the industrial ovens which we already burning hot and in use. After their introductions, everyone got back to work quickly, having their stations and tasks for the day memorized by heart.

Donte took May back to his office and sat her down with a cup of fresh brewed tea which he made using an electric kettle at his desk.

“I’m trying out scones today. We usually open at 9 and close at 7, but I’ve been wanting to catch the early-morning risers on their way to work. We’re going to experiment with a 5 AM to 5 PM weekly schedule.” He opened the first cake carrier to reveal a large variety of different scones, which Donte began to plate for May. He slid the first scone across the table.

“Now, you don’t have to eat the whole thing right away. Anything you don’t finish you can take home.”

May nodded and picked up the first scone. She brought it to her nose and took a deep inhale of its aroma and examined the crumb structure carefully by breaking a piece off. It was a blueberry scone with tart, lemon icing. A true classic. She brought the scone to her mouth and took a small bite. Immediately, the scone crumbled well onto her tongue. The short and moist texture indicated a good base recipe, which encouraged her to take another bite. The tart lemon icing tingled on May’s tongue and sent a small zap of sourness to her brain. The soft, subtle blueberry flavor came next.

“This one is good. The flavors all come through well, and the texture is perfect.”

Donte took notes of her description and slid the next one over.

“Oh, it’s a ham and green onion one?” May asked before taking a bite. The meatiness of the fresh cubed ham and savory, hint-of-sweet-ness of the green onion mixed well together in May’s mouth. “This one is perfect for breakfast! Maybe offer to heat them up like you would a morning croissant?”

Over the next hour, May took a bite of a pumpkin scone, a plain chocolate chip scone, a cranberry orange scone with vanilla icing, and finally, an apple cinnamon scone with caramel icing, all between sips of Earl Grey. Donte jotted down many notes onto a note pad and scratched his chin as May washed down her last bite of scone with some tea.

“This is all really helpful, May. Thank you. I’ll pack these up for you so you can take them home. Are you up for more tasting?” He asked in a hopeful tone. He still had another carrying case filled with baked goods left.

May stifled a delicate burp and stopped sucking in her gut. Now pressed against the waistband of her jeans, May could feel the effects of her poor eating over the past several months on her biggest clothes. She didn’t have anything else to do today, though, and she knew she needed food at home.

“Yeah, I can try some more!” She asserted. Donte snorted gently and smiled amusedly at her. “Actually, I have an idea for you, Donte!”

He pulled up the second carrying case onto the table and began to unload it. This one was filled with breakfast pastries of all sorts. Donte began to plate them one by one. “Oh? What’s your idea?” He asked, a bit surprised that his brand-new hire could be so helpful.

“What if you made bakes that were sort of like... a whole meal in one? You know, like how a ham and cheese croissant is a whole breakfast? I think a lot of people who work early mornings will go to a bakery like this and grab something quick like a muffin, but what if they could also choose from some breakfast items?” May offered as Donte pushed over the first pastry, a cheese and strawberry Danish.

Donte tapped his blue ink pen against his chin as May took a bite of the Danish. “That’s actually not a bad idea. Good thinking, May!” He scribbled her idea down on his note pad and listened to her notes on the most recent pastry.

After another hour, Donte put his pen down. “I’ve run out of pastries for you today! You’re probably full, so why don’t you take the ones you didn’t finish home with you? I need to go check on my workers. I’ll see you tomorrow, same time!”

May nodded and watched Donte’s athletic body rise from his seat and pass her on his way to the back kitchen. She noted the subtle spiced scent of his cologne as he passed by. She picked up the carrying case full of partially eaten goods and left.

“That went much better than I expected,” May thought to herself as she headed to the door. At 6:15 AM, the bakery already had its first few customers, one of which she accidentally body-slammed into as she exited the store. A tall, thin man with short red hair raised his hands above her head in surprise.

“Oh! Excuse me, miss.” Said a light, friendly voice. May looked up into the man’s handsome face and was met with a warm smile. She backed away quickly, realizing this guy must be some bigwig at a local company by his high-end suit and fancy haircut.

“I’m so sorry! I hope I didn’t mess up your suit...” May felt so embarrassed, her normally golden-tan skin turned a soft shade of pink.

The man put his hands in his suit pockets and chuckled. “Not at all!” He looked May up and down, taking in her pleasant, chubby features. “You must be the new taste tester Donte was talking about.”

May’s eyes widened in surprise. “You know about me...?!” She cleared her throat quickly, hoping to hide her horror/excitement.

The man smiled pleasantly at her again. “I’m good friends with Donte.”

Not knowing what to say, May stuttered. “I’ll get out of your way. Nice to meet you!” she got out quickly before running down the street towards the light rail station.

“Why did I run?” May thought to herself as she boarded the rail. Now, a few hours later, the rail is full of people commuting in and out of town. May took a seat in the back corner of the car and adjusts her jeans waistband.

“Note to self- wear leggings to work tomorrow!” May could feel her waistband digging in to her chubby tummy. “Between being mentally ill and getting fatter and fatter, I’m never going to find a boyfriend!” She cried inwardly.

~

Back in her apartment, May took the carrying case and set it down on her bed before walking to the other side of her mattress and opening a moving box. Empty, bright orange pill bottles greet her as she opens the box and sweeps them all to one side. As she dug down into the box, passing by headache and cold medicines, bandages, and antibiotic cream, she reaches the bottom. At the very bottom of the box lay a scale.

“I need to know how much I weigh now,” May thought. “I’ve been gaining weight steadily from my meds but now I’m going to be eating super yummy baked stuff every day.”

May pulled the scale out and turned it on. Taking a deep breath, May stood on the scale and waited for the beep to alert her to her new weight.

“173 pounds?! How?! I’m only 5 feet tall!” She cried out loud. Groaning and throwing herself onto her mattress, she whined into her pillow about her weight. She weighed just 110 just a year ago before starting meds for her illness.

May’s stomach hurt more the longer she kept her tight jeans on, so she rolled over and unbuttoned them, allowed her bloated belly to be free of constraint.

“That’s so much better,” she sighed as she rubbed her tummy. She slipped off her jeans and put on a pair of soft PJ bottoms- much looser and more comfortable than her jeans.

“I guess I should get to work on the rest of these scones... I’ll get a can of tea first.”

May grabbed her laptop and sat on her bed for the rest of the day, finishing off every last scone and pastry.

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