“Oh good,” Charlotte replied gleefully as she rubbed her hands together.“Judith saved my husband’s life and Jacob loves her beyond that, which means she’s organized as hell.You probably have her original wants down to a tee, I assume?”
Naomi nodded.Original wants before Ida came in and forced Naomi to sanitize them all.She handed Charlotte the pages from the binder that Leah had given her, the same ones she’d shown Batya the night before.“Here they are.”
Charlotte took the pages and scanned them briefly.“Got it.Well.It seems I’ve got work on my hands, but that’s okay.That’s why I do this.”
“Thank you,” Naomi said.“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”
“It’s not a problem.And don’t even try to pay me.But, I will sign whatever contract you have, and we’ll talk about working together in the future.”
“I’d love to,” she said, appreciating the commitment for what it really was.“Thank you.”
And then she watched as Charlotte turned to Jason, the business Charlotte had with her clearly concluded.
“Now.If you want to help me out, and appease my mood, Jason, the hamantaschen recipe is out.My usual hamantaschen baker is out of town, so I’ve been needing them.Have Naomi help you fold pastries.Hopefully you won’t get as covered in sugar and flour as my usual guy does.”
And when the instructions sounded like she was scolding or ordering him, Naomi figured Jason would be smart enough to listen to them.“Will do,” he said.And then he turned to her.“Shall we?”
Naomi nodded and took her hand in his.“We shall.”
And she followed Jason behind the counter, through the door and into the small kitchen where the recipe was waiting.
*
Thankfully Naomi wasn’tannoyed with him for not giving her Charlotte’s number to begin with.
“I don’t know her well enough to ask her for something,” he said by way of explanation as he started to look at the recipe Charlotte had left for him.
“I trust you,” she said.“I trust you and your understanding of your contact list.I also suspect that if she was someone you knew well enough to talk to about things, she would have been involved in your trip planning stages.”
Jason nodded as he rinsed his hands.“Yep.Exactly.And I probably would have popped into one of her places if we were on that level.”
She nodded.“It’s important to know who’s in your contact list and what kind of things you can ask them for.”
“Speaking of asking things,” he said, not holding back his amused laughter at the rabbit hole he’d just gone into as he continued to put the dough together.“I’m betting your cousin’s boss is responsible for most of the hamantaschen she sells here.”
“I would not be surprised,” Naomi returned.“The clues were very clear; how her usual baker was out of town and that he usually covered himself in flour.”
“I heard about that,” he said.“I don’t know how I heard that story, about how he left the bakery looking like a snowman, but I did.Unfortunately for all of us, my strength isn’t pastry dough, so it’s going to be fun.”
She laughed.“I’ve made emergency cake fixes but I’m not a good enough baker to actually do something.It’ll definitely be fun to try.”
“You trust me?”
She nodded.“Absolutely.”She paused and he wondered what was going through her mind.“I might be getting closer to…defining what feelings I have for you.”
“I won’t rush you,” he said, knowing how important those words were as he continued to make the dough.“I’m here for you.”
“I appreciate that.”
And then, because he didn’t want to push the situation, he looked down at the recipe.“She said she has filling waiting in the fridge for me, so can you grab it?”
Naomi nodded.“I’m glad to help you with this,” she said.“I’m looking for jars?”
Jason looked at the handwritten notes before looking back up at her.“Yes.Three different jars, all labeled.”
He heard her footsteps on the tile, heading toward the refrigerator.And then the slight release of suction and the creaking hinge as the door opened.“I see them,” she said.“I mean they’re labeled so it helps.”
He laughed, but the fact that they were working together, to make pastries that were so important to both Charlotte’s business and their culture warmed his heart.
