Fixing a Friendship

Lora beat the dough with all her might. She and her friend were having a fight, and she didn’t even know what it was about anymore. So she was baking bread, one of her favorite things to do when she was mad or sad or just having a bad day. She was trying to end this fight one step at a time. So this was her first step, beating her anger into the bread dough. Her second step, she thought, would be to buy a basket and blank cards and write a note to Eleanor. She would also buy a dishtowel, just a small cute one, to put into the basket. Then the bread would be cooled off, and she could assemble her gift. She might be overdoing it, but she wanted her friendship back.

So Lora baked her bread and put it out to cool. She felt a lot better; calmer. Making bread works wonders, she thought. Then she washed up and grabbed her bike to go to the market. She could have taken her car, but it was a beautiful day and she loved biking. She really only used her car when it was too hot or too cold. The cobblestone road was bumpy beneath the wheels of her bicycle, but she was used to it by now. Her bag was bouncing around in the basket on the front of her bike, but the noise was more soothing than it was annoying by now. She soon got to the market, because her house was not far from the square where the market was located.

First was the basket. There were many vendors who sold them because most people in the village used baskets in everyday use. The question was what size? What color? What shape? There were so many to choose from! Lora looked around at all the different types of baskets. Small, medium, large? White, pink, brown? After looking around for a while, Lora chose a medium, circular white basket that would fit her bread perfectly.

Now Lora looked for the cards. She was thinking maybe a floral pattern for the front, but she wanted a blank inside so she could write her own message inside of it. There weren’t many options, because there was just one vendor who sold cards. There were different categories and a whole section for floral cards. She finally found one she liked and bought it from the owner of the stall.

After she bought her card she went to the towel vendor. The whole stall was full of towels, and Lora had to look for a while before she decided on a dishtowel to buy. It was black, to contrast to the white of the basket, with a border of white dots. 

When Lora had made all of her purchases she loaded them up onto her bike and headed home. The rhythmic sound of the wheels of her bike on the cobblestone made her very calm indeed, and when she got home to her small house, she checked the bread, because she only spent 30 minutes at the market. The bread was just a little warm, so Lora started putting her gift together. She put her pretty dishtowel in the basket and stood back to observe the effect. It looked awesome, so she arranged the bread so that it complimented the basket and towel. She went to her desk and wrote in the card a very heartfelt note, and she hoped that this gift would end their fight, the fight she didn’t even know the reason behind. 

When Lora was done, she put her note in the basket and got ready to leave to go to Eleanor’s house. It was on the other side of the small village, but that did not matter to Lora, she wanted to get this gift to Eleanor as soon as possible. So she took her bike and rode it all the way to Eleanor’s house.

Lora got there in about 7 minutes, and she was glad that it had not taken her longer. She walked up to the front door and knocked on the door. Lora kept knocking for 5 minutes, but no one answered. So Lora left the basket on Eleanor’s front step and went back home. She was disappointed that Eleanor had not been home, she wanted to talk with her in person. But, Lora thought, it might be better this way. It might be better that I did not have to talk to her. Maybe she is still mad, and it would be best that I left her alone.

When she got home, Lora got ready for bed, as it was already late, and Lora wanted to read before bed. What a day this has been, she thought. Trying to fix a friendship that is falling apart.

The next day, Lora was up early. Early enough to be awake when the postman delivered the mail. And to her surprise, there was a letter from Eleanor! The letter was in a white envelope, but the card was floral, Lora’s favorite. The letter read:

Dear Lora,                                  

Thank you for the bread! And the note too. You are too right; this fight has gone on far too long. I do not remember what it was about in the first place like you said, and it was probably something silly. I am sorry for ignoring you, sorry for dragging this petty fight on for far too long. When can we hang out again soon? I am free on Friday, maybe then? 

Your Best Friend,

Eleanor

Lora was so surprised by the note that her eyes popped out of her head. After she had made a breakfast consisting of sweet rice and bacon, and thoroughly enjoyed it, she wrote a response, saying that Friday was a great time to hang out and that she was so glad that their fight was over. Lora put on her favorite outfit and went out to bike the streets of her village, and have some time to think. After all, her friendship was fixed, and she was so glad because of it.