~ Six - Season I ~

Our conversation was interrupted when an old man came out from the bakery.

He walked towards Laura’s direction, and he didn’t show any signs of anger.

He was merely confused and perhaps curious.

“Oh, Grandpa Ben!” Laura ran up to him and pecked his cheek. “I bought the ingredients you told me,” she said as she showed the basket that was filled with different fruits. “Also, I bumped into someone on my way home,” she added before she pointed in my direction.

I took a good look at Grandpa Ben, and he didn’t look like a grandfather at all. True, his hair was grey, and it shone underneath the mild sunlight. His overall appearance, however, was too young to be a grandfather. He wore a humble attire: a white shirt with brown pants, brown suspenders, and finished off with a pair of black shoes. His greyish-white beard was beautifully placed on his chin, and on his chin alone. The rest of his face was clean.

I could already tell that this man mattered to Laura by her demeanour. For her to act as if she was a young, innocent child around him, it was visible how much she adored Grandpa Ben, and how much he adored her. He might also have spoiled her in whatever ways that he could.

“And who is this fine fellow that you’ve brought with you, child?” he asked with a smile.

“Oh, um, this is–”

“How are you today, good sir? My name is Robert,” I bowed as I introduced myself, cutting Laura in the middle of her introduction. She stuttered throughout, struggling with her words. I stood properly, held out my hand for a shake and added, “It’s an honour to meet you, sir.”

Grandpa Ben moved his cane to his empty right hand, and shook hands with me by his left. “I’m Grandpa Ben, and it’s a pleasure to meet you as well,” he replied, smiling. After we put our hands down, he asked, “Are you a friend of Laura?”

“He is an acquaintance, Grandpa Ben,” Laura interrupted as she entered the conversation. “We just met a while ago.”

“Laura, haven’t I told you that once you introduce someone to me, I will consider them as your friend?” he asked as he turned to Laura.

At this point, it seemed like this conversation was only between the two of them. I slowly cleared my throat, immediately catching their attention. I said, “If you don’t mind, I shall take my leave now. I’m only here to ensure Laura’s safe return to the bakery.” I had to choose my words very carefully, as I didn’t want to sound rude because I was leaving them in the middle of a conversation. I did what I had to do for Laura. And now that it has been accomplished, I had to go.

“Thank you once again, Robert,” Laura approached me and smiled her gentle smile.

I nodded as I returned a faint smile. “It was my pleasure,” I replied. I took one last look at her and turned to Lady.

“Wait,” Grandpa Ben suddenly spoke, stopping me as I was about to mount Lady. “Who said you were going home?” he smirked as he put his cane in front of him. He then rested his hands on top of the handle, with one hand on top of the other.

Right away, Laura turned around and slightly whispered to Grandpa Ben, “Please, don’t do this.”

“You, young lady,” he briefly pointed a finger at her, “You need to work on having better socialising skills.”

“What?” she asked, in absolute disbelief.

“And as for you, young man,” Grandpa Ben then turned to me, and walked towards me, “You are not going anywhere until you have tasted some of Laura’s specialty in this bakery. And it’s none other than her own version of an apple pie.”

“There is no need for that, Grandpa Ben. I’m quite certain that Robert still has important matters to attend to,” Laura continued to protest behind him.

“Oh, shush, Laura,” Grandpa Ben briefly turned his head to her direction, “There’s no need to be shy about your talents.” He returned to me and smiled as he stepped aside. “Come on in, son,” he added as he showed the way to their bakery.

~*~*~*~

As I entered the bakery, the atmosphere was very light and cheerful. Everyone smiled at one another, seemingly on good terms with each other. The huge window pane at the front brought so much light and openness into the shop. There were five to seven tables, with four chairs each. And there was a long counter in front. Half of it was for dining, and the other half was for those who took their orders on the road.

This sort of interaction was too perfect, unrealistic. This would rarely happen in our realm. Everyone was always serious about their kingdoms, how they kept everyone in check. And that alone made us forget how to smile at times. And for me, who has been in that sort of environment for the longest time, this was refreshing to me.

“Robert!” Grandpa Ben shouted from the counter used for dining. “Please, sit here. We have a long chat ahead of us,” he continued, pointing to the chair in front of him.

I rushed over to the counter and quickly made myself comfortable on the last stool. Grandpa Ben then handed me a list of what they had in the bakery.

“What would you like, son? Choose anything you want,” he said.

As I read down the menu, everything looked… delicious. The list contained the name of each meal. At the bottom of the name was a short description of its ingredients, and on the right side were beautifully hand-drawn illustrations of each meal. Such careful planning has been incorporated in this menu, and it reflected how radiant the atmosphere was inside the bakery, even its effect on its customers.

I would buy all of these, just to make sure that I tried every single one. Unfortunately, I couldn’t. I shouldn’t spend all of my money, and I couldn’t spend any more after I gave seven pieces to that bastard a while ago. It might also cause another riot inside here, and I wouldn’t want to disturb the peace.

“Is there something wrong, son?” he asked, a hint of worry reflected on his face as he leaned closer to me.

“Grandpa Ben, all of these appear to be quite scrumptious,” I replied with a smile as I lifted the menu for a quick second. “Just by their names, and their ingredients, it’s enough to make one’s mouth water.”

“Then, how come you haven’t chosen anything yet?” he asked another. “You seemed to be in deep thoughts. You can’t possibly be thinking about this too hard.”

“I would like to buy one of everything on your menu. However, the money I have with me isn’t enough to let me do so,” I lowered my voice as I scratched the back of my neck.

Grandpa Ben suddenly burst into laughter. He enjoyed it for a few seconds then stopped, wiping a tear from his left eye. “Oh, my dear boy, you just made me cry,” he snickered, stifling his laughter. “Don’t worry about it, Robert. You won’t have to pay for anything,” he explained once he has calmed down. “It’s a rule here that if it’s your visit, you can order what you want without paying.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to lose profit because of me,” I replied, worried that I might cause trouble.

“Calm down, young man,” he answered, stopping me from speaking as he tapped my shoulder. “You don’t have to worry about anything. Just choose what you want, and you can have it.”

I stared down at the menu once again, trying to decide if I should order the whole menu or to simply choose a few.

Grandpa Ben then put his hands on each of my shoulders. “Don’t stress yourself over this, Robert. Just choose anything that catches your attention,” he said. He pulled his hands back to give me space to think.

A few seconds had passed when I finally decided, “I would like to try your special tea, and the apple pie that you mentioned that Laura makes.” I then returned the menu to Grandpa Ben.

He turned to his staff and gave out instructions. “Rodrigo, I need one of your tea creations,” he raised his voice as he faced the kitchen. He then turned to Laura and continued, “And you, little one, I need one of your pies.”

“As you wish, Grandpa Ben,” she nodded enthusiastically and went straight to work.

Grandpa Ben pulled a chair and sat right in front of me. “I’m very delighted to see that my granddaughter has finally found a friend around here,” he said.

My brows furrowed. Did I hear him correctly? Did he just call Laura his granddaughter?” I asked, incredibly baffled. Laura said she was an orphan. How could they be relatives?