Lifeless (Book II)

Going Back In Time

~Chapter Ten~

The car came to a stop just outside a small brick red building, almost invisible to the eye. For a moment they sat there in silence looking at the grey door to the back. Finally Alex spoke with a faint whisper almost as if lost in thought.

"It's where everything started."

"This is the original bakery...the, the one that she owned?" Grace asked looking at him.

Alex simply smiled and unbuckled his seat belt reaching over and doing the same for her.

"Come on, let's go inside," he replied with a faint smile.

They both climbed out of the car heading inside, the bakery was dark, a faint scent of cinnamon hitting their noses as they entered.

"Have they closed it down?" she asked.

"No, we are just making a few repairs before opening the doors again," he replied.

Grace eyed the large wooden table in the center of the kitchen, on it a few boxes of Chinese noodles and a bottle of wine.

"I thought I'd be nice to have lunch here," Alex whispered walking past her.

Grace smiled and shyly made her way towards the stool and took a seat feeling suddenly a wave of nausea hit her. She stumbled a little touching her forehead feeling Alex quickly wrap his hands around her waist.

"Are you okay?" he asked a bit concerned.

Grace looked up only to get captured by the longing in his eyes, but soon snapped out of the daze and pulled away from him. Nodding she tried straightening her workers outfit and looked down to fiddle with her hands.

"I couldn't help but notice that you are wearing contact," Alex said.

Grace couldn't reply she still seemed so captured by his eyes, almost as if she had seen them in her past life.

"Yes," she finally replied.

"Did you wear glasses before?"

"Like I said, I have no recollection of my past, so I may or may have not," she said.

Alex studied Grace's face and then slowly made his way to the other side of the table and took his seat.

"Shall we?" he said popping open the wine bottle.

****

Alex quickly digged into his food and watched as Grace shyly reached out and took the box into her hands and pulled her chopsticks out.

"I don't know how to use these," she chuckled trying to pick up strands of noodles with it.

It took Alex twenty minutes to show her how to use the chopsticks, in the end she had given up.

"I'm sorry, I'm a slow learner," she whispered using a fork instead.

"You'll get the hang of it, later it will feel natural to pick them up and start eating."

She laughed, that wonderful cheerful laugh, filling the hollowness of the kitchen. Alex felt his chest tighten with joy as he looked at her. His lips broke into a huge grin as he watched her lips curve up into that familiar smile.

"So Grace how is it that you know how to bake so well," Alex asked.

"I don't know I guess it was when Lacy was turning one that I decided to bake the cake for her party."

"And Lacy would be?"

"My little sister."

"So what happened, you baked the cake and?"

"I...you'll just think I'm crazy," she sighed.

"Please go on," he whispered pouring the wine.

"I dreamt the cake, for her birthday I mean, and that very same day I was going to the store to pick one up I told myself why not make it? So I did, I went to the store bought everything I needed and made her a chocolate cake with purple frosting and colorful butterflies to go."

"Did you say butterflies?" he asked.

"Yeah, strange I know, it was almost as if I had seen it once." She whispered.

Alex gulped the wine and felt his sink prickle from the chills that were running down his spinal cord. That was the very first cake that he had made for Victoria, as proof that he knew how to bake. He rose from his stool and excused himself quickly pulling out a photo of it. For a moment he hesitated. What if she freaked out? Alex looked down to the photo and forced himself to push past the office door and back to the kitchen.

"Did your cake happen to look like this?" he asked placing the photograph into her hands.

"Wow...yeah," she gasped looking at the picture wide eyed.

"I made that cake for yo...Vicky, it was to prove to her that I could actually bake," he said.

"You must miss her," Grace sighed handing back the photo.

"Like you can't imagine...and if I had her with me right at this moment I would hold her and never let her go." He replied looking straight into her eyes.

They stared at each other for the longest moment, finally Grace begin the one to break the stare.

"Um...Boss it's getting late," she managed to say.

"Alex, remember call me Alex," he said.

"Alex...right," she whispered.

"Grace, if you don't mind, I'd like to have lunch with you again tomorrow, "Alex whispered taking his seat.

"I would like that," she grinned.

Finally after having drank their wine glasses and finished their noodles, they both rose from their stools and headed back to Journey. Deep within himself Alex felt a little disappointed, he had wished that she at least remember something but she hadn't. But no matter what he was not about to give up. The fact that she had baked the butterfly cake was proof enough for him. She was the real deal and now that she was within his grasp he wasn't about to let go much less give up.