Clean but cluttered. At the end of the room, she found a set of stairs. “Is that for storage?”
“It’s accommodation, but we don’t use it, so it’s for storage at the moment. Where are you staying, Lani?”
“Ah, I… I, well, I’m good, thanks.” The question had caught her off guard. She’d pretty much lived in her Bronco now for four years. Only taking a room when Lani wanted one night of luxury and could afford it.
“That room is yours if you want it. We can negotiate terms when you’ve had your first week’s wage. Here’s the key. You go on and move in when you want.” Mrs. Cribbins was digging into the pockets of her apron. She pulled out a key ring with a pink fluffy pom pom on the end.
“I can’t move in here!” Lani actually took a step back, as the thought was far too appealing. A roof over her head so that the nights she woke scared she’d be safe, not locked in her Bronco. “You don’t know me,” she said again.
“Is this going to be a problem, me not knowing you? Because you’ve said that plenty since coming inside the shop.” Mrs. Cribbins’s long fake lashes fluttered.
“Only twice,” Lani pointed out.
“Which is one too many. Okay?”
Lani nodded.
“Good. Now, how about you bake me that recipe on the bench there, then ice it for Mary Beth Sydney’s second birthday. She wants that character there.” Mrs. Cribbins pointed to a photo beside the recipe. “They always try and get me to do things like that, but to be honest I’m not good with anything but flowers and the occasional vegetable.”
“Okay,” Lani didn’t know how else to answer that.
“We have Rose O’Donnell’s to do tomorrow.”
Lani read the recipe. It didn’t look hard, and a doll cake shouldn’t tax her overly. She’d watched so many videos and spent hours learning about cake decorating. Usually in libraries, as they were free and didn’t kick you out until the doors closed.
Why she’d chosen to learn cake decorating, she had no idea, it was just something that appealed to her.
“We’re open Tuesday to Saturday if you want those days, and you’d be doing me a favor if you did. I’m tired, Lani. Thanksgiving is close, and I’ve neglected my family for too long. I need to clean my house and get ready for the relatives that descend like a plague. So you can take any or all the hours that suit you. I bake at home when I have to, but you could bake the cakes here if you’re staying above.”
It was almost too good to be true, and suddenly Lani felt the old panic well up inside her. “I—ah, I don’t know.”
Something changed in Mrs. Cribbins’s face, and it softened beneath the coating of flour. “Well now, you do what suits you and I’ll just leave you to think about that while you bake the cake. If it’s no good I won’t hire you, will that make you feel better?”
Lani forced out a laugh as the tightness in her chest eased a little.
“Plenty of soda in the fridge, because my Hank likes them. A pot of coffee is usually brewing too, but I mostly get mine from Buster because I like to annoy him at least twice a day.”
Why did she like this woman so much already?
“Now you head on upstairs and have a quick look, then get to that cake, and I’ll be out front cleaning. The Lord alone knows I need to,” Mrs. Cribbins sighed.
“Ah… I could tidy that if I stay, if you want, Mrs. Cribbins.”
“You call me Mrs. C like the rest of them, and I’m not gonna lie, Lani, that actually excites me more than the baking. Tidying and getting things aesthetically appealing are not my thing.”
“Okay, well, I’ll do it for you.”
Her cheek was patted by a surprisingly soft hand. “I think you and I are going to get along just fine, sweetie.”
A simple pat on the cheek and you fall apart. Lani sniffed as Mrs. C went back into the shop.
Looking around, she made herself breathe slowly. She’d learned how to counter the panic attacks by doing that before they got out of control. “In and out,” Lani whispered, walking around the room and breathing slowly.
The appliances were relatively modern, and she could see everything was here that was needed for the business Mrs. C ran. Looking at the stairs, she made herself walk up them. The room at the top was long, the length of the shop. A few boxes were stacked about the place and there was a bed by the window. Another door lead to a bathroom that had a shower, which would have hot and cold running water. The thought was blissful.
This could be a place for you to feel safe, if only for a while.
Could she stay? Lani decided to leave that decision until she’d worked here a few days. For now, she had a cake to bake.
