Holiday Bazaar Bake Off

Theresa opened the mail, sorting through bills and cards her regular customers had sent to her for the holidays. Among it all was a festive flier for the Port Townsend Holiday Bazaar. Of course she always attended, with a booth full of her bakery’s treats, and entered her famous White Chocolate Torte in the Town Bake Off. She had won first place three years in a row, and considered changing the recipe but decided to stick to what she knew. Better to give the people what they wanted than change it up and risk losing the reigning title to her rival, Nina Corigliano of Negozio di Caramella Bakery. 

It was very early on Monday when her Sous Chef arrived to assist her in the morning routine preparation for the day. 

“Is the coffee fresh?” Matilda asked.

“I haven’t had a chance to make it yet,” Theresa replied.

“What? That’s not like you. Are you feeling okay?” Matilda joked.

“Yeah,” Theresa responded while glancing down at her cell phone, “Just a little distracted.”

“Oh! I almost forgot to ask. How are things going with your prospective dates?” Matilda inquired.

“There are so many apps to use now, I can barely keep my profiles organized!” Theresa laughed.

“You’re a good looking woman. I bet you get tons of messages.”Matilda encouraged. 

“Thanks, but our town seems so small sometimes. I wonder if I should branch out to a larger region.” Theresa concluded while getting the coffee started.

“Yeah, better to cast a wider net to catch a dream of a mermaid,” Matilda teased.

“You’re funny!” Theresa stated sarcastically. “Now let’s get going. We have a lot of work to do.”

Matilda and Theresa began mixing and baking. Their routine was a ‘fine tuned machine’ from working together the past two years. After arriving at 4am and starting things, the other bakery staff arrived at 5:30 to get a quick check-in and count the cash register drawers before the doors opened at 6am. Theresa loved the quiet of the morning on the peninsula; far from the bustle on the other side of the Puget Sound, where she had grown up. 

She moved to Port Townsend five years ago to maintain a perfect distance to her family, but just far enough to move on from her past after coming out. She knew it probably wasn’t necessary, but it felt right. However, after completing her degree in Culinary Art, she went on to work at some fancy bakeries in Seattle. Her move to this new place finally gave her the opportunity to make her dream of owning her bakery come true. She had put so much of herself into running it that a personal life ceased to exist. Now that the business was doing well, she decided to test her luck dating. She had only dated one woman before, Lucy, when she first came out, and that ended in heartbreak. Until now, putting herself out there was not a priority. 

“Ding! Croissants are done.” Matilda exclaimed coincidentally as Theresa’s phone buzzed. 

She picked up her phone to see she had a new message from Carrie, her most recent match on the dating app. A huge grin appeared across her face.

“Is it her?” Matilda asked.

“Yeah, she is suggesting we meet at the Holiday Bazaar.” Theresa replied.

“How exciting!” Matilda squealed.

Theresa and Carrie had been texting through the app messenger for a couple of weeks. After hearing horror stories from Matilda about giving too much information too soon, Theresa was being cautious and keeping things vague. They both had a passion for baking, and the great outdoors. Carrie was originally from Phoenix, but moved up to the Pacific Northwest for school and stayed due to opportunities in her field. They both enjoyed reading similar books and were travel junkies. Feeling the potential, Theresa accepted the offer to meet Carrie in person the following weekend at the Bazaar.

That Saturday morning, Theresa woke up early to bake fresh pastries to add to the other assorted goods for the Bazaar. Her and Matilda loaded up the bakery van, making sure to have the White Chocolate Torte in an ice box ready to go. They drove to the town square and began setting up their tent. The banner they had ordered turned out nicely, with Saint Theresa Bakery beautifully written in large gold and red letters, including the logo and address of the shop. 

The busy day flew by with tons of customers. Before she knew it, the time had come for Theresa to take her break, and go meet Carrie at 6:30 by the gazebo. She waved goodbye to Matilda and agreed to be back by 8 o’clock to hear the announcement for that year’s Town Bake Off winner. 

Her stomach had butterflies while walking through the Bazaar on her way. As she approached the gazebo, Theresa’s face grew hot with anticipation. She had seen Carrie only from the pictures on the dating app profile. She worried about what she looked like in real life. What if those pictures were old, or of someone else?

Then she spotted her. Carrie was petite, with a short, blonde pixie bob hairdo. She wore a big red wool jacket that made her appear even smaller. When their eyes met, huge smiles stretched across each of their faces. They looked like their profile pictures after all. 

As she got closer, Theresa leaned in for a hug. 

“Hello, Carrie?” 

“Thank god it’s you,” Carrie exclaimed. 

“Of course it’s me,” Theresa laughed, “Who else would it be?”

“Oh, I just mean, I’ve been scanning the crowd for a good twenty minutes, and I’m thrilled to finally meet you,” Carrie replied.

“Let’s grab some tea, yeah?” Theresa encouraged as she looped her arm with Carrie’s. 

“Perfect!” said Carrie.

They walked through the Bazaar with their teas, looking at the different booths and items for sale. It felt as if they knew each other already. Easily talking about their lives and interests. Theresa felt great, and the time flew by! 

“I hate to cut this short,” Thersa said, “But I have to get back to my friend.” She lied about having a booth of her own. She really had to get back to Matilda to go hear the Bake Off Winner. 

“Oh, that’s okay. I understand. It was so lovely to meet you and I really hope we get together again soon!” Carrie could barely hide her excitement. 

“I have your number, so let’s set up our next date sometime next week.” Theresa tried to sound coy.

“Great, I’ll talk to you again soon!” Carrie said while leaning in for a hug.

Theresa gave great hugs, and Carrie’s small frame was easy to envelope.

Just as Carrie was about to pull away, Theresa grazed her cheek with a light kiss. Carrie went in for a big kiss on Theresa’s lips but hit her nose on her teeth. They both laughed.

“Bad aim,” Carrie snickered.

“It’s okay,” Theresa tried to assure her “ Talk to you soon.” She was reluctant to leave Carrie in such an awkward way, but something about her gave a feeling of security that they would indeed meet again.

She walked to meet Matilda, and they went to the center of town to hear the announcement. Mayor Williams took to the podium, on the small stage, and held the trophy for the Port Townsend Holiday Bake Off winner in hand. 

“Good evening everyone and thank you to all the competitors in this year's Bake Off Challenge. We had many delicious choices this year, but I’ll cut to the chase. Our Winner this year is Nina Corigliano of Negozio di Caramella Bakery. Congratulations! Please come up to claim your trophy and prize money.”

The crowd cheered while Theresa attempted a congratulatory clap as she watched the crowd part for Nina to make her way to the stage.  The gorgeous, Italian woman bounced as she grabbed the trophy and cash. Then she took the microphone and said a warm “Grazie Mille” to the town’s people. Before she finished her short speech of appreciation, she asked that her Sous Chef join her. Theresa was beginning to yawn, when she noticed a small, blonde pixie haired woman stand up next to Nina on the platform. It was Carrie! 

Little did she know that her date was a Baker at the rival Bakery. She tried to mask her gasp as she covered her mouth with her hand, but Matilda noticed. 

“What’s up? Are you okay Theresa?” she asked.

Theresa stood there. As still as a statue. A shocked look spread across her face.

After a few moments, she came to and looked Matilda in the eyes.

“It seems I’m falling in love with the enemy,” Theresa said as she let out a maniacal laugh. 

She pointed at the stage. 

“That woman. Nina’s Sous Chef is the person I’m dating.”

Matilda did a double take.

“Are you serious!?” Matilda couldn’t believe what she heard.

“Yep,” Theresa said, “no wonder we both love baking.”

After regaining some composure, Theresa and Matilda went over to congratulate the winners. 

“Great job Nina and Carrie!” she exclaimed as she went in for a hug. 

“Thanks so much!” Carrie replied, leaning into Theresa.

“Do you two know each other?” Nina asked, confused.

“Kind of.” Carrie responded.

“We’re dating.” Theresa announced. 

“Oh,” Nina joked “I hope this will be good for business!”

They all laughed and agreed to go out for drinks.