THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF SWEETNESS
Aidan is the proud owner of The Sugar Stop, a café in Pine Grove, and has dedicated his life to baking and selling delicious pastries.
Keith left Pine Grove directly after High School, glad to escape the small town. Now...
Thursday was a pleasant surprise. The clouds finally disappeared and albeit the sunlight was pale and stood no chance against the still icy wind, the streets were full of people and some who had bought a sweet treat at The Sugar Stop even leaned outside against the building's brick wall and soaked up the sparse rays while they enjoyed their food. Everybody was just so much more cheerful and April was humming some tune no matter what she was currently occupied with.
He planned to take full advantage of the warm weather and once he had washed all the sticky homemade marzipan off of his hands he grabbed his bag and keys and closed the office door behind himself as he left. Granny arranged the Pumpkin Cupcakes in the display while April chatted with a young couple - tourists judging by their attire and the confused looks at the road map in front of them.
"Thank you," he sighed, feeling guilty although Granny had threatened to never reveal her baking secrets if he didn't leave right now, and she waved her hand.
"Don't worry, Aidan. I enjoy working here occasionally and I can't leave you hanging, can I?" She grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "And you invited me for dinner so you're repaying me."
"Still," he grumbled and she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Listen to me, young man; I'm your Granny and if I want to help you I'll do so and you have nothing to say about it, understood?"
His lips twitched as he held back the laugh at her resolute speech. "I'll pick you up at six, okay?"
She gave him a flat look that made him squirm uncomfortably. "I'm old, Aidan, not senile. I'll find my way to your apartment."
"But it'll be dark!" he protested solicitously.
Granny's expression became soft and she patted his shoulder. "You're a great young man." She smiled at his confused face. "I'll be at yours at quarter past six. If I'm a minute late you're allowed to call the troops."
He blew out a defeated breath and nodded, making her preen in victory.
She shooed him out of The Sugar Stop and he complied because there was simply nothing he could do to change her mind. He breathed in the fresh air which was saturated with the scent of dry leaves and the slightly salty wind from the sea before he walked down the sidewalk, smiling into the scarf around his neck.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The sea was calm today, waves gently rolling up onto the shore, gravel glistening in the sunlight. Some birds were fighting for food nearby, picking at whatever they had found.
Aidan stretched his legs with a groan, the burn of the exertion not exactly comfortable, however he still felt amazing after that long overdue run. He stepped closer to the water, crouching down to stick his hand in though it was freezing cold and he quickly pulled his fingers back out.
With a huff he turned around and made his way to the trail that would lead him back to the parking lot where he had left his car. He needed to pick up a few more things at the supermarket for dinner on his way home. Not to mention actually cooking dinner instead of becoming one with the sofa.
