Sweet Friendship

Ella was in a hurry. She was going to be late for work and it was her first day. She had just gotten this job, which was good, because she had school to pay for. She was on her way to the bakery, not too far from her small apartment. Ella had always enjoyed baking. It was one of her favorite things to do, so it worked well that she was starting at a bakery. 

Ella grew up in a big family. She had six brothers and sisters, but all of them were older than her. While there were a lot of people in her family, they all got along and loved spending time with one another. Her mom had stayed at home raising all seven children while her dad had worked to support the family. He worked hard and brought home enough income to meet their needs, and he was home every night to kiss them all good night.

Ella had so many good memories from her childhood. She loved her family, the house she grew up in, and so many other things. But she had never had many friends. Ella was one to spend her time alone or with her family. She loved being outdoors, feeling the fresh air and sitting, quietly listening to the birds chirping and the sound of the wind.

Once Ella had graduated high school, she was looking around for a job so that she could start college. She had found an office job, but she quickly decided that that wasn’t for her. While it was a quiet job where she didn't interact with many people, those that she had spoken with weren’t very nice. It was unbearable to sit for eight hours everyday with her eyes glued to a computer screen. She had stayed on until she found a different job, one that suited her more than the stifling office. She was so excited to start at this bakery. It paid well and it was bound to be something she enjoyed. 

Once she arrived at the bakery, Ella quickly opened the door and was greeted with the smell of fresh bread and donuts. 

“Mmm, that smells wonderful!” she thought to herself. She headed to the back of the shop where she met her manager, Stacey.

“Hi Ella. Are you ready for your first day? We have a lot of work to get done.”

Ella nodded with a small smile. While she was excited, she was also nervous, as is everyone when they start a new job. Stacey helped her find a shirt and apron that fit and left her to change. The bakery shirts were pale yellow with pictures of donuts, cookies, and bread all in a basket on the back. Ella thought they were pretty cute. She put her hair up in a bun and slid her visor on and made her way to the front of the store. 

The bakery itself wasn’t very big; there was space for a walk-in refrigerator, a decent sized oven space and a counter up front with the cash register and display cases. There was a small lobby with a few high tables for customers to sit at while they enjoyed their treats with an old jukebox in one corner.   

Besides Ella and Stacey, there were only two other people working at the bakery that day: Theo and Lottie. Ella first noticed Theo. He was manning the register when she made it up front. He was tall and thin with sandy hair that was a little messy. He had blue eyes that seemed to shine and his smile was definitely a ten out of ten. He was so busy helping customers that he barely got in a “Hi Ella” and a smile before he was off again. 

Ella was standing there helplessly, not really knowing what to do, when Lottie came up behind her and smacked her behind! “Come on princess, we’ve got work to do!” Lottie said with a wink.

Ella was so startled that she started to turn a little pink. Laughing, Lottie looped her arm through Ella’s and directed her a little ways into the back where all the goodies were. There were loaves of bread, donuts, cookies, all steaming hot, fresh from the oven. 

“All we actually need to do right now is slice some of this bread for samples and stock the display cases up front,” Lottie instructed Ella. “I just wanted to make it sound like we were busy so we didn’t have to help up front,” she winked again.

Ella watched for a minute as Lottie grabbed herself a large, serrated knife and started slicing the nearest loaf. Lottie was a pretty girl. She was tall and thin, had strawberry red hair and dark green eyes. Freckles spotted her nose and cheeks and she had long, sweeping eyelashes. 

Ella found herself a knife and started slicing bread alongside Lottie. 

“So, how long have you been working here?” Ella asked Lottie.

“I’m coming up on a year,” Lottie said, after some thought. “I was nineteen and hopeless when I got the job. But it seems everything has worked out,” she smiled brightly. 

Ella gave her a quizzical look.

“I wasn’t always this way, happy, I mean. I lost my mom when I was ten and my dad was gone so often with work that I never saw him. I practically raised myself. I hated my life and I hated that Dad never came home. I didn’t have anyone to turn to, really. So I grew up on my own, went to school like a good girl, did my homework, but all the while I was lonely as could be. Especially since we lived in such a small town out in the country.

“When I graduated, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. All I knew was that I wanted to get away from home. I wanted to start over and find a purpose for my life. So I packed up and moved to the city. This place has a huge turn over every couple of months, people coming and going, so I never really got to know people very well. Stacey trusts me since I’ve been here for so long, so she usually schedules me to work the early mornings by myself.” 

Ella was watching Lottie as she sliced her bread and didn’t understand why Lottie was sharing these things with her. She appreciated this instant trust Lottie had put in her and didn’t mind where the conversation was going, but why her? “Why are you telling me all of this? We just met like, five minutes ago. You don’t even know me, let alone know you can trust me!”

Lottie paused in her slicing and smiled at Ella. “Sometimes I just have a gut feeling, you know?” She finished the loaf she was slicing and packed it all into a basket. Before heading into the front, Lottie said, “You’re the only person I’ve told all of that to.”

Ella watched as Lottie disappeared into the front. She continued slicing her second loaf, lost in thought. Ella had never met anybody like Lottie before, but she liked her! 

During the rest of the day, Ella and Lottie joked around with each other and had a good time. Theo stayed out of it, but watched them curiously as they competed to see who could fill and frost donuts the fastest, pushing and bumping each other to throw the other one off. 

They were nearing the end of the work day; Theo’s shift had ended a while ago so it was just Ella and Lottie closing the store. Ella had picked everything up fairly quickly and knew the basics of the store’s functions. Lottie was cleaning up the counter while Ella wiped down the tables and stools in the lobby. Ella really enjoyed her first work day. She was doing something she loved and she had some great people to work with.

Most importantly for her, she had made a new best friend.