12. HENRY
I hadn’t realized how big a deal the end of summer festival was going to be. I’d seen a couple of events happen in the middle of town, one I’d managed to walk around on the first weekend I was here, and then there was another event following which I’d been too busy to attend because of the kitchen being installed. They always had fun themes and names to them. This was my first event, though, knowing how big a deal it actually was and with my own stall to man.
Leo had been putting a lot of work into organizing the festival with the town mayor. He was up early the morning of, and what a gorgeous morning it was, not just because of Leo’s thousand-watt smile, but the sky was clear, the sun was out, and I got to close the bakery. It meant I wasn’t offering quite the selection I usually did, and I was able to rest a little more.
Pineberry Falls made me feel welcome and at home at every turn. It felt like this town had been blessed, or maybe there was something in the water. At this point, I’d drunk the Kool-Aid, and if it turned out to be a cult, then that was it, but I was staying put.
Today was going to be special for other reasons, and I was going to have to wait all day to get to that special part.
Leo helped me out early, but the moment the festival got into full swing, I didn’t really see him. I was focused on getting people to taste my desserts and asking them if they had suggestions for what I should put in the bakery. I also had a s’mores area where people could make their own. I saw the way it brought happiness to Leo’s face when we made them, and I knew the same thing would be true for the town.
Two older women stopped by my stall, dressed in their white floral blouses and carrying large wicker bags. “We’re nothappy,” one of them said, pulling me from the big smile I’d fixed to my face.
“No? Why not?” I asked.
“Oh, don’t toy with the man, Jemima,” the other woman said, glancing over the bakes and cakes. “When are you going to do a banoffee pie?” she asked.
It was difficult keeping track of names, especially when I saw so many people. Jemima smacked her lips. “Yes, when are you going to make one?”
I recalled them, vaguely. They’d asked in the bakery about a banoffee pie, and I had thought about it, but like most thoughts, they were right there one minute and gone the next. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I promise to make one, and you two can have the first slices. How does that sound?”
They looked at each other, grinning. “I suppose we could make that work.”
“I’ll remember that as well, Henry,” Jemima said. “I might be old, and Alf might say I’m forgetful, but I’ll always remember a promise like that.”
At that point, Leo came over to join us. Rushed off his feet, he brushed a hand through the purple front swish of color in his hair. “I hope you’re enjoying your day,” he said to them. “Nice to see you two, Jemima, Jilly.” He nodded to each of them, as if giving me pointers on who each of them were. And it was desperately needed.
“We were just giving him hell about banoffee pie,” Jilly said. “But we love everything we’ve tasted from your bakery. Anyway, we’ll take our slices and get out of your hair.”
“And I think it’s amazing that you and Leo have found each other.”
Leo blushed bright red, mixed with the sun he’d caught from walking around under the heat all day. “I—” he said,stuttering for words. “Thank you. I think, more than anything, I found him. Forced myself to find him.”
“I think I was part of that force. I’d been chasing him around with cupcakes, pies, and all sorts for days before we—” I’d started, but I wasn’t going to continue. I didn’t want to scandalize them. “Anyway, let me get you something on one of these paper plates, and you remember to recycle them.”
Once I was done serving them, I could see Leo beaming at me, and he was finally able to say whatever he’d stopped his tongue from going on with. “You’ve been telling everyone about the recycling?”
“Of course. It’s important, isn’t it?”
“It is, but I didn’t think you’d bother yourself with that.”
I pressed a hand to his cheek. He was really warm. “You put sunscreen on, right?” I asked. We’d both been swamped this morning, and I hadn’t remembered to tell him before he left.
“Yes, Oliver has some with him,” he said.
“I also brought some,” I said. “I want to top you up.”
He giggled. “Yes, Daddy,” he whispered as I dipped beneath the table of my stall to rummage through the box I’d brought from the bakery. It was inside the first aid kit... a bottle of sunscreen. It was important to stay topped up, especially for him. I had an umbrella of shade over me; he was in the direct no-cloud-cover sunlight. “Everyone’s going to be watching.”
“Good, then hopefully it’ll remind other people how important it is,” I said, squirting the liquid into my hand and fingerpainting his face with the cream. I got the back of his neck, the exposed parts of his shoulders, and then down his arms. “Perfect.”
“I know I am,” he giggled. “But what about the coverage?”
The urge to give him a big kiss had to be forced from my mind. There were plenty of things I didn’t mind tasting on mylips, but the somewhat chemical scent of sunscreen wasn’t one of them.
Oliver and his husband, Mason, arrived just as Leo was sighing and telling me he would have to go off and do official organizer stuff. He got all giddy. “Or I can stay right here,” he said.
“I think it’s time I try one of these desserts Oliver’s been going on about,” Mason said, patting his stomach. “Apparently I’m not allowed a lot of sweet stuff anymore.”
