The Quiet Ever After

Croissant City - 3

He couldn't find a way to improve the croissants. He tried telling himself it wasn't about proving the doubters wrong, not about getting Carla to shut up or call off the hounds because she was upset about something Axel was doing.

Yet he couldn't deny the voice in his mind urging him to move forward with whatever he could do, to not allow Carla and the others to walk away thinking they could ignore the hard work he'd put into the croissants.

Unfortunately, he realized, the only way he could truly make the croissants both better and an experience they'd never forget was to do something a tad drastic. Using magic wasn't going to help him, but baking with magic? A whole different ball game, Axel figured.

Nina arrived back home to find Axel with his bags packed up—one little travel bag and a backpack.

"Oh?" was all she could muster.

"I need to go to Itucz," Axel said.

Urgency overcame Nina. She moved toward her closet to also start packing. "Is something wrong?"

"No. But they'll have better ingredients there, I know it. I'm going to figure out the best croissant recipe. I'll be back Thursday."

He'd been rehearsing how to say that all day. How to break it to her that he was crossing the boundary between worlds, traveling to a city they'd called home for a few months...to ensure he made the best croissants.

"Is our oven broken?" Nina asked.

"No. And I know what I did was enough. But I can do better. And I want them to know. It's petty, I get it. This is way over-the-top but...Nina, I can barely sleep at night thinking about how these people get off with insulting me and everyone else who cares about this brunch. I need to take a stand."

"Ah." Nina nodded and crossed the room. She grabbed his hands. "Well, at least you won't have service over there to see more posts, right?"

"I'm sorry about this. I should've asked you but I'd only started thinking about it today and the next thing I knew I was packed."

"No," Nina said, shaking her head. "Go. Figure it out. I want you to prove them wrong and for them to see you how the rest of us do. I'll hold down the fort here. But when you get back I want first dibs, you hear?"

"Are you sure?" Axel asked.

"I'm a little upset," Nina said. "But mostly with the suddenness of it. I'll see if I can swing by after work one of these days. Axel, your heart is in the right place, and I'd never stop you from following it because I know you'd do the same for me."

He kissed her. She grabbed his face and kissed him back.

"Thank you," he said.

When they were younger, they hated when the other had to do something drastic, something that, with a bit more thought, probably was going to seem more prepared, calculated, and not carry such a potent urgency. But, as it was even then, Axel didn't have much time. In time, Axel and Nina came to trust one another with these decisions.

After all, one of those decisions came with a suddenness to propose to Nina, something she happily accepted. So, they weren't all idiotic moves.

Axel couldn't stand the thought of Nina being left alone, but she wouldn't be. There were all the neighbors, there was Dave and Lindsay's family, and all the other animals that came to the house. There were her great friends at work. Once, maybe, Nina would have been all alone. But she'd helped foster a community that loved her. It did tear at his heart to think he wouldn't be able to see her over something so silly, though. She was the driving force in him sticking around. Without her in this world, he'd likely have done as Linda did and disappeared into the rest of the world.