Crumbs (a Tom Hiddleston fanfic)

Burnt/Burned

A week passes rather quickly when you get up at 4am, work a 15 hour day, come "home" to a mostly empty shack with only enough energy to eat a Pop Tart, pass out and then do it all over again the next day.  I'm used to waking up early.  It comes with the territory.  I'm also used to working longer hours than most people.  That also comes with the territory.  I'm just not used to everything being in constant upheaval. 

I wake up at 4 am and walk to Tiny Baker.  It's not even light out, but I enjoy the walk.  There are usually still crickets singing, and the damp, warm night air is a nice relief from the scorchingly hot days we've been having.  It gives me time to think.  Time to get ready for the day.  Once at the bakery, I start the morning bread and pastries.  At around eight, Mandy comes in. She always brings coffee with her, though I'm usually already on my second cup by then.  She's sweet like that.  Our morning rush starts around 8:30, and doesn't die down til after 10.  Then, I have time to work on sorting out the tornado of an office I've neglected.  Mandy had done what she could, but a lot of it was Krissy's negligence.  Another downside of trying to run a business from the other side of the country.  Things can seem peachy, but in reality, your head chef was probably fornicating with the pool boy instead of keeping orders straight.

After I work on the piles of paperwork for a few hours, Mandy usually begs me to take a break, or forces me to eat a sandwich, and then it's back to more paperwork or cleaning. I also help her with the lunch crowd, if it gets too crazy. I don't usually leave until six or seven, way after our closing time of 2pm.  I do this every day.  And by day seven, I'm starting to feel a little despondent.  Just a little.  Like, a nice, long walk off a cliff would be a good vacation.

"Don't you want to take a day off? It's waited this long, I think the paperwork can wait a few hours so you can breathe for a second." Mandy says, looking at her nails.  She's just taken a long lunch to get them done.  She has another hot date with Marcus the drummer later tonight.  She's curled her dark hair, and it falls in ringlets around her pretty, excited face.  I can't remember the last time I was so excited about a date that I was practically beaming light. 

"I don't have anything else to do." I shrug, and start filing more papers.  I'm used to Tiny Baker being my life.  It may seem sad to some, but to me it's just who I am.

My hands are shaking a bit.  It may be because of all the coffee I've been drinking.  Today has just felt weird, unsettled.  Like, I've been walking a tightrope all day.  I feel a bit down, and I wonder if I do need to get away from the bakery for a bit.  Who knew bread could be so depressing? 

"You can come with me and Marcus.  We're going to the Ink Pot.  They have a band on Friday nights."  Mandy says, her eyes lighting up.  Ah, the Ink Pot.  One of the only real bars in Havre de Grace.  It is as it's name suggests.  Dark, sort of dirty, and full of shady spots to get lost with a date. 

"Mmm...beer." I sigh, but then I'm shaking my head.  "It's sort of a place for a younger crowd." I'm well aware I'm only three years older than Mandy, but I honestly feel like I could be her grandmother.  She rolls her eyes and jabs me in the shoulder.

"Stop acting like you're so old, Charlie."

"I am." I groan.  "I wonder why the library doesn't have a bar? How great would that be?" I grin.  Mandy considers this for a  minute and then nods.

"Maybe if you actually slept, and ate more than one turkey club a day, you'd feel normal." She leans against the door frame of the office, tucking her arms under her chest.  I lean back in my rolley desk chair, and I swear I hear my bones creaking.

"I eat at least four or five croissants when you leave." I grin.  She rolls her eyes again, and purses her lips.

"Is it because you don't want to see him?" Mandy's voice is quiet.  I can tell she is almost afraid to ask, and I am immediately afraid to answer her. We don't even need to say his name.  I'm almost a little surprised that I've been in Maryland for a week now, and it's the first time anyone has brought him up.