Giving Blood at the Danton Bakery

7. Ginger Snaps

When the sun sets on main street, the shopping district turns on its lights. Before his recent aspirations of owning a bakery, Theo used to pass by the district on nighttime strolls. He found himself admiring the neon lights and street lamps that didn't need oil. Modern paintings and advanced technologies. Things had come a long way since he was a boy, but the allure of the shopping district under the stars hadn't changed a bit.

Shoppers bustled about, enjoying late meals at the trendy cafes, getting signature cocktails at one of the popular bars, or picking out their next seasonal look at one of the stylish boutiques. And nestled among them all was the sweet and soothing Danton Bakery.

The doorway was trimmed in white flowers and a large sign hung over the crystal clear window that read 'grand opening' in bold letters. Inside could be seen the relaxing seating with attractive table decorations and local artwork on the walls. And the piece-de-resistance, the display case that overflowed with aromatic wonders.

The shelves were lined with cookies, cupcakes, fritters, danishes, and an array of other baked items. Bea had really outdone herself in making it look inviting. She even made individually wrapped ginger snap cookies to hand out on the streets to lure people in for the grand opening.

Theo and Edith were helping to pass the treats out, but wisely sent back by Mason. As the most sociable of the three of them, he took on the duties of passing out the cookies himself. Bea had dressed Biscuit up in a little chef coat and hat and tied his leash to a bike rack near the front door where he could greet the customers but he wasn't close enough to jump up on anyone trying to go inside. All of this was rather unnecessary as Biscuit was more interested in taking a nap.

"What can I do to help?" Theo asked for the eighth time already.

"Theo," Bea giggled. "Just calm down. We've gotten it all set up. The pastries are out, the evening crowd is outside, and Mason is going to send them all our way. There is nothing left to do but smile and wait."

"I just feel like I could be doing something with my hands." Theo fretted.

Bea sighed and put her hands on her hips. "If you must do something, I suppose you could wipe down the tables. Again."

"Yes, right. The tables." Theo took the cleaning cloths and bucket from behind the counter and started at the nearest table. "Thank you, Bea."

"Don't worry, Theo. It will be splendid, I'm sure of it."

The little bell at the top of the door jingled, perking up both Theo and Bea.

"Welcome!" Bea said. "Did you get your sample treat outside?"

A short, curvy woman with a leash smiled and held up her bag with the gingersnap in it. "Got mine, and Loki here wanted to meet the chef outside."

Bra laughed, looking out at her own corgi in his little chef outfit, having the time of his life with the attention he was getting.

"Biscuit? I'm sure he liked that," Bea said. "Come one in, let me know if you have any questions."

"Who made the gingersnaps?" A tall girl in all black with long hair and tattoos down her arms came in right after the woman with the dog. She was holding up half a cookie.

"I'm the baker!" Bea smiled. "If you liked those, you might take a look at these cakes over here."

Bea began helping the customers and Theo continued to fret. Edith sat in the blood room, flipping through a magazine and Mason continued to send people inside. Pretty soon, the room was packed and Theo had to get out of the way. He ended up packing up the pastries while Bea ran the register.