Thank Christmas

If you asked the townspeople of King’s Landing where the best place to eat in town would be, they’d probably ask you if two places were okay. If you responded yes, they would smile and immediately give you directions to the two best bakeries the town had to offer. If you responded with a no, they would shrug and roll their eyes, directing you to one or the other.

If one would inquire why the bakeries were so far away from each other, the townspeople would nod as if used to answering this question. “The owners are polar opposites,” they would chuckle, “always bickering like Tom and Jerry.”

“How so?” you might ask. 

“You’ll see once you meet them,” the townspeople would reply, smiling a strange smile.

And so you would. 

The owners were like the sun and moon, and they possessed strong dislike for the other. 

The Slice’s owner Henry was an avuncular guy, with a cheerful disposition and a bright smile on his face that never seemed to disappear or fade. The cozy bakery that sported a rustic and countryside aesthetic seemed to reflect the owner’s personality, with soft jazz music playing in the background and neutral colors as the main theme of the bakery. Usually a small lagniappe would be slipped in your order to promote Henry's motto: sharing is caring!

In contrast, Milk Bar was a very sophisticated and elegant bakery with delicate, very carefully crafted confections; nothing short of perfection. The owner, Richard, was a perfectionist and put up a rather cold front; he let his guard down when it came to children, which many people found rather cute when they witnessed this rare sight. The townspeople all respected him for his professionalism and elegance, but often were intimidated by his blank face.

How would these two people fall in love?

Our story starts two weeks before King’s Landing’s annual holiday festival. It was a surprise when Henry pranced into Milk Bar, with one of his annoying smiles plastered on his face. The two almost never visited each other - especially when an important event was taking place later.

“Hello Richard,” he crooned at the owner of Milk Bar, who was busily examining a few freshly baked macarons in the back of the store. “How are you doing on this fine day?”

“Henry,” Richard rolled his eyes, “I’m busy.”

“Busy with what?” Henry raised an eyebrow at a shaking employee in the background. “Working your poor employees to death?”

Richard scoffed. “Unlike you, I don’t accept anything less than perfection.”

“Loosen up!” Henry exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. “A few flat soufflés won’t destroy the entire place.”

There was a cough and a snicker. The arguing pair both turned to look at the employee, who quickly cleared their throat and looked everywhere except for Richard.

The flustered male grabbed Henry by the ear and dragged him towards the door, ignoring the yelps and ruckus made in their wake.

Richard flung Henry out of Milk Bar, slamming the doors of the store behind him, leaving a gaping Henry staring after him. After a while he regained his senses, standing up and brushing the dust off his pants, glaring at the closed doors.

“He's such a pompous ass.”

~

Soon it was the day of King’s Landing’s annual holiday festival. The entire town was abuzz with excitement; everyone was busy with preparing and getting into the festive mood, eager for the night to come quickly.

In The Slice, Henry hummed softly as he took a large sheet pan filled with brown and crispy buns out of the oven, sniffing at the toasty smell they gave off. He had closed the bakery in order to have time to prepare for the festival.

Henry picked up a few buns and placed them gently in a small basket, tying a red bow on the handle. When the festival started, he, Richard, and many other storekeepers would be handing out free goods because it was a day of giving, according to the town mayor. Henry could remember the look on Richard’s face when he found out.

Only day he gives free stuff out, Henry snorted, untying his apron and hanging it on a hook nearby. He thought about when the rivalry between the two started as he started to fill the remaining empty baskets with bread, buns, bagels, doughnuts, muffins, and more. If he had to be honest, he didn't even know why they suddenly hated each other.

Just gotta roll with the punches, Henry shrugged to himself, picking up a couple baskets and bringing them outside, placing them gently in the backseat of his car. He continued in this fashion until all you could see when you looked through the car window was baskets and baskets full of delicious-smelling pastries. Henry beamed proudly at the car, brushing his hands on his jeans.

“To the festival!”

~

Every year, the town would hold the festival at the same place: Burgundy Square. Henry had been there so many times that he knew the road there like the back of his palm. In fact, he could probably drive there blindfolded - extremely dangerous as it may seem.

As soon as he drove into the parking lot, Henry was stunned by the sight of Richard already there, setting up his bakery’s booth.

Isn't he supposed to be grumpy? he wondered as he got out of his car and grabbed five baskets in each hand, slowly making his way to The Slice’s booth. Henry placed the baskets down in a row.

He was even more startled when he spotted Richard smiling at a child, patting their head softly.

Had the world ended? Was he still alive? Was Richard possessed by aliens? Did he get a lover?

Why did Richard suddenly have this bright glow about him?

Henry slapped his cheeks, snapping his gaze from the strange man laughing with the child to the humongous tree that was being decorated by a dozen volunteers. He needed to focus. They were rivals of all things! This wasn't some sort of cliché love story that his sister loved to sob her heart out over. This was reality.

There was a funny tingle in his chest as he looked at Richard again, beaming, glowing, radiating. Henry could feel the sides of his lips creeping up at the sight of him. His stomach churned, and he could feel his mind thanking Christmas over and over again.

Maybe Richard wasn’t so bad.