“Ya, Jade. You don’t want a sad vagina, do you?” Sarah bumps my hip and looks like she’s going to combust with laughter at any moment.
“I promise, Mrs. Ira, my vagina won’t be sad,” I tell her, wanting this conversation to end immediately.
“ And this isn’t really appropriate talk for the bakery.”
“Just one date with my nephew and I’ll take my order and leave.” She raises her chin and stares me down.
I sigh and can’t believe I’m about to do this, but I feel like I have no other choice. She knows where I live after all. “Fine. All right. One date.” I appease her.
Her entire face lights up. “Perfect! I’ll let him know. He’ll be here tomorrow.” She grabs her regular tea from Sarah and quickly shuffles out of the shop.
“What did I just get myself into?” I mumble, shoulders slumping.
Not only is Mrs. Ira my seventy-year-old neighbour, she’s also the town meddler. Her and her group of knitters are always in everyone’s business. She is very sweet, but she’s incredibly nosy, and sometimes a bit pushy.
“Why couldn’t she have picked on you instead? At least you like to date.” I grumble, looking at Sarah.
“Because the last time she tried to set me up, I told her I was going to join her knitting club just to learn how to make a fancy noose and hang her from it.”
I laugh as I recall the time Mrs. Ira set Sarah up with the one person in town she cannot stand. She knew exactly what she was doing, so she shouldn’t have been surprised by Sarah’s response. Everyone in town knows Sarah Walker and Hayes Donovan do not get along.
Later in the day, I’m busy in the back when the hairs on my arms begin to rise. The feeling of being watched snakes its way up my skin, and I slowly walk over to the window at the back, my blood racing as I peek out. When my eyes catch on a shadow, I drop to the floor, curling into a ball.
Just breathe,I tell myself, counting my breaths the way my old therapist taught me.
I try to calm my racing heart when Sarah swings open the doors. “Jade?” I hear the clicking of her heels and feel the soft touch of her hand as she squats down next to me. “Hey, are you okay?”
“I-I’m fine. A shadow outside spooked me is all.”
I feel Sarah get up and open the back door, and my senses are screaming at her to shut it.
“It’s just the garbage man,” she tells me. “ Are you sure that’s all it was?”
My breathing finally slows, and I feel embarrassed over my freak out.
Just the garbage man, I repeat her words back to me, hoping they’ll calm me.
“I’m sure. Must just be from the lack of sleep.” I stand up and brush off my apron, giving Sarah a small smile.
“Okay then. I’m going to head back out front if you’re sure you’re fine.”
When the doors swing close behind her, I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. It’s been so long since I’ve been so jumpy, but today being the ten-year anniversary is really messing with me. This morning I swore someone was following me on the way to work, and now this.
I shake it off, sure it’s just the reminder of what today is that’s making me on edge. I allowed myself to grieve this morning and now, my family has been on my mind all day.
Just the garbage man, I remind myself, getting back to baking.
There’s a skip to my step the whole way back to the station. I can’t get the thought of dating Jade out of my head. I could tell by her wide eyes and red cheeks that she didn’t mean to bate me the way she did, but fuck, am I glad she did. I was tempted to ask her out right then and there, damn phone. I don’t know what it is about the mysterious baker, but something just calls to me. I didn’t believe in love at first sight until her. But I swear, that very first day I walked into that bakery, I knew. She was the girl of my dreams. I’ve tried flirting every day since, but she’s always been a little shy.
I enter the building and greet our receptionist, handing her the coffee I bought, and make my way past Ian and Garrett, two of my deputies. As I head back towards my office, my brother steps out of the lunch room.
“Nice face, loser.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I scowl.
He waves his hand in a circular motion around my face. “You look like a love-sick puppy.”
“Fuck off.” I swat his hand, giving him an irritated look before continuing my way to my office.
