Breadbasket Case

Amara and Andrew kissed their hellos as they entered the coffee shop. It had been weeks since they last met and were excited for Saturday. Amara had gotten something in the mail and Andrew was eager to check it out. They found their spot in the corner was empty as usual and sat down to negotiate. 

“So. Saturday.” Amara said in a hushed tone as she unzipped her heavy down coat. “How are you feeling about it?”

Andrew smiled conspiratorially as he dusted the snow off his shoulders. “Positively jubilistic.” he said. “Have you had a chance to try it out?”

“I was hoping that we could-”

“Amara?” A vaguely familiar voice asked. “Is that you?”

Amara and Andrew turned their heads simultaneously towards the speaker.

Before them stood a short, middle aged woman with a curious expression and fogged glasses.

They both stared blankly at her. Andrew took on a deer in a headlights glare while Amara was lost in thought as she tried to place the woman.

After a moment, the speaker frowned. “It’s Barbara.” She said, helping to try to coax Amara’s memory. “From work?”

Amara's eyes lit up. “Right! From work.” Everything clicked into place. Barbara and Amara worked on the same team but had opposing jobs so they rarely interacted outside of meetings. Amara didn’t know Barbara that well but she knew she liked to insert herself into people's conversations whenever she got the chance.

“What are you doing here?” Amara asked, she eyed Andrew with suspicion.

Andrew quickly shook his head. 

“I started coming to this coffee shop last week. It’s a great place to go while my husband plays with his model trains.“ Barbara replied innocently “The staff are just so darling! Have you been coming here long?”

“Hello, Barbara was it?” Andrew interjected. “We’re actually in the middle of something so if you could just-”

“Who is this?” Barb asked, eyeing Andrew with disapproval. “Amara, do you have some special relationship with this man?”

Amara cursed inwardly. Barbara knew she was married and was probing for gossip. 

 “This is Andrew. He’s a friend from highschool. We were just discussing plans for a party.” Amara said, hoping the half truth would be enough to sate her.

“A party. How fun!” Barbara replied, a little too eagerly.

“It’s a surprise party.” Andrew offered, unhelpfully. “Where I’ll be proposing to my... boyfriend?”

He looked to Amara to see if she’d give his imaginatively concocted lie an approving look. She didn’t.

“Oh, that kind of party.” Barbara said knowingly, now understanding where she fit in. This party was too personal to invite herself along but naturally she would still offer her wisdom. “Well, I’ll just leave you two alone.”

The barista apperated behind Amara and Andrew and set down their drinks with his usual flourish along with a sly wink. Before he returned to the bar, he spun around and placed a final drink on the table nearby, where Barbara proceeded to sit.

The pair slumped into their chairs in defeat. Saturday was tomorrow and they had no other time to talk. Amara looked through the window and saw the blizzard raging outside. She was glad the coffee shop was walking distance for both of them but going somewhere else wasn’t an option. This was going to be difficult. 

“This new breadbasket you’re bringing.” Andrew started. “Do you think it’ll be OK to put my bread in?”

Amara looked at him in confusion. Andrew subtly nodded his head towards Barbara who was playing on her phone and drinking her coffee, trying her best to act like she wasn’t listening. A look of understanding crossed Amara's face.

“Right! Of course. The breadbasket. It just arrived yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to break it in yet.”

“Weren’t you and Alex baking yesterday?” Andrew asked, sniffing his coffee.

Barbara perked up when she heard the name of Amara’s husband. She is eavesdropping. Amara thought bitterly as she took a sip of her drink. 

“Alex and I baked last night but,” Amara struggled to find the right words. “the basket wasn’t the right size. Not for the bread we were baking. Besides. I promised I’d wait to use it on your bread first.”

Andrew looked surprised but smiled warmly and placed his hand over his heart. “Thank you Amara. I had completely forgotten, That’s what I like about you.” He said, sassily adding “girlfriend.”

 Amara giggled. “Well of course, girlfriend. I wanted to talk to you about kneading the dough first.”

Andrew's eyes twinkled. “I’m down for some kneading. Maybe not too long though? I don’t want to overproof the dough the first time we use the new breadbasket.”

“I’m glad you agree, I have other loaves I wanted to bake tomorrow.” 

“Excuse me.” Barbara interrupted. “I’m sorry but I couldn’t help overhearing. Is this some sort of bread baking party?” 

Andrew stuttered at the sudden question but Amara managed to step in and take control. “Yep, a bread baking party. We’re all really into baking. That’s why we’re talking about this new basket. It’s really good for baking sourdough.”

Barbara, a long time bake sale mom looked at them credulously yet said nothing. She sipped her coffee and returned to her phone. 

Amara breathed a sigh of relief. “I wanted to check to see if you’d be interested in trying something new.” 

Andrew looked at Amara with curiosity but drank from his cup to signal her to continue.

“Would you be OK if we used a bu-bu-bu” Amara tripped over her words but rebounded quickly. “a Bulgarian spice. Like spearmint. We could insert it into the dough before we start kneading.” 

Andrew's eyes bulged out mid-swig and he started coughing manically. 

“A Bulgarian... spearmint?” He said between gasps. 

“Yeah. We talked about-”

“No, you talked about it! I said that was something I wanted to try in private.”

“What, are you afraid of overcooking it in front of others?” Amara replied slyly.

“No, I just don’t want to try mint in my bread right now.”

“Actually, mint bread is a thing.” Barbara chimed in. “Although I’m afraid I’ll have to agree with you friend, Amara. Sourdough has a particular flavor and mint would clash far too much if you don’t know what you’re doing.” 

She took another sip from her drink as she mentally congratulated her sagely knowledge of spices.

Amara looked back at Andrew, who was smiling triumphantly.

“Fine.” She said in a huff. “No spearmint.”

“So we’re in agreement?” Andrew asked, hopeful to be done and away from Barb. “Start with some light kneading then we’ll crank up the heat in the, um, oven.”

“What about after we take it out of the oven? Does the bread need any further handling?”

“No, it’s fine. Once we’re done, just let the bread sit for a bit. I prefer to let my bread rest by itself after a good baking.”

“Good, I think that’s everything.” Amara said with an air of relief. 

They spent the next few minutes chatting about everything and nothing before Andrew finished his drink and slammed it on the table. “Alright. Well, this snow isn’t letting up anytime soon so I need to get home and feed my cats.” 

“Because your boyfriend is so forgetful?” Amara offered playfully. 

“Yes. Because my boyfriend never remembers and I like to feed the cats myself.” Andrew said with daggers in his eyes “I will see you tomorrow.”

The two friends donned their winter coats and left in a hurry.

“Goodness. That man was very odd.” Barbara though. “I’m glad he found someone, men of that persuasion can be very picky sometimes.” 

She stayed a few minutes more before finishing her drink. Andrew was right, it was getting late and the snow was piling up.

She gave the barista a nice tip who gave her another sly wink. She zipped up her jacket and headed to the door. 

Trudging out into the snow towards home, Barbara wondered if her husband was still playing with his ‘trains’ or if he had finished and needed some help cleaning up.