“Well, it’s a good thing you’re staying with me. You can figure out what to do without worrying about expenses.”
She pulls back her head to look at me. “I’m not doing that.”
I angle my head and give her aDon’t be stubbornlook.
“I'm not going to mooch off you. If I wanted to do that, I would just go live with my parents until I figured things out.”
“You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying here, and you are going to figure out what your next move is. I don’t want you to worry about anything else. That is your job, for now, to figure out what you want to do. Don’t feel any pressure.”
“Do you know who you’re talking to?”
“Fine. Let’s start with the festival. We can sign up right now.”
“Right now?”
I nod. “Right now.”
“Do they have any spots left? I don’t even know when it will happen.”
I click on the vendor signup sheet and sure enough, it’s still open. But the deadline is today.
“It’s next weekend, so you have about a week. And with what I saw in the kitchen this past week, I think you’d be able to do it, especially when it’s dessertsyouwant to make and not for someone else. You already have a town full of people who are familiar with your work, but now you will get to show off to people coming to visit for the festival.
“It’s a great opportunity to see how well you do by selling whatever it is that you want to make. Do you want to make a simple chocolate chip cookie? That will sell out because that’s just how good you are at what you do. I will be there to help you out every step of the way and I’m sure our friends would also pitch in. I’m not the only one here that wants to see you succeed and be genuinely happy.”
She stays quiet and thinks about what I just said.
“The deadline to sign up istoday,” I say to her.
She looks at me with raised brows and says, “Oh, shit. Okay.” She bites the corner of her lip and spins the ring on her finger. “I guess it couldn’t hurt if I’m making simple things, that is. What’s the signup fee?”
I look at my phone and read the information and then I show her.
“Two hundred.” She keeps her eyes on the phone screen. “I don’t know.” She looks at me.
“I’ll pay the fee.” I bring my phone back to me and start to type in her information.
“No, you won’t.” She reaches for my phone, but I snatch it away quickly, holding it toward the opposite side of her.
“Ellie,” I say sternly. “You’re going to let me do this for you. It doesn’t matter if you won’t let me do it now, but I will do it. The moment you’re not around, I’m going to pay the deposit.”
She sits back down on the couch and crosses her arms. “Fine. But I’m paying you back.”
I bring my phone back down and continue to type. “You can pay me back in extra cookies.”
I finish filling out the application, pay the fee, and hit send. I have a giant smile on my face when I look at her and show her the phone screen that it’s been accepted.
“I still need to come up with one more dessert for my boss. Well, ex-boss now.”
“Continue to brainstorm, but not today. Start again tomorrow. You need to give yourself time to rest. Me and the guys will look at the list of everything you will need to bring. I can buy all the baking items you need. I’ll even make sure to put the speed on the mixing stand at one and not five.”
I get a laugh out of her for that, and my heart thrums at the sound of it. She shakes her head and then tilts it. “What would I do without you?”
I get up from the couch while she keeps her eyes on me. I hold out my hand to her, and she looks at it.
“What?” she asks.
“I want to take you somewhere. Come on.” I gesture with my head.
