Cookies and Christmas trees

The new girl at the bakery looked a little anxious and Carla couldn’t blame her. She didn’t look a day over 20 and her documents had confirmed this. She had applied for a holiday job at the spice factory which Carla’s family-owned and had managed for many years.

The holiday season had come and the festive air was contagious. Christmas decorations and lights decorated the streets and began to set the mood. Christmas was only a month away and Carla wasn’t sure she was ready for it. She had sent out vacancy announcements earlier in the week because she felt that she needed all the extra help she could get at this time. There was so much to be done, so much baking to be done and the annual town festival was coming up with its annual baking competition.

Her passion for her work wasn’t the only thing driving her at this time, she also had a point to prove, someone to beat. The thought of Jim the owner of her rival bakery annoyed her, she would show him.

 “You can start working tomorrow”, she said to the new girl. “Today you can just go round and see how things are done around here, Carmen will show you around” she continued beckoning to her assistant who stood by the door to her office.

Carmen, a nice-looking girl with glasses that permanently remained perched on her nose offered a reassuring smile to the new girl and led her out of the office. Carla walked over to the huge glass windows of her office and stared at the bakery across the street for the longest time, fiddling with her pearls, she was sure she was going to win.

“I want this mess cleaned up before I get back” Jim instructed angrily, he couldn’t believe his staff was getting sloppy a month to the festivals. He walked back to his office and slammed the door shut very loudly. He sunk into his couch and let out a deep sigh. If they kept this up they would never be able to win the competition and they had to. His father had called earlier that morning to discuss his shortcomings as per usual.

“I can only hope that you don’t run that bakery into the ground” he had said before he hung up the phone. Jim had been furious. He could never be good enough for his dad no matter what he did. Somehow it just wasn’t enough. He had gotten almost straight A’s, almost been the class valedictorian, almost there most of the time but somehow never there.

The bakery had been given to him to handle because his mother had been insistent on it. His father had wanted to hand over the bakery and the family company to his little brother whom he had always seen to be more, intelligent, more capable, and more competent. Everything he thought Jim wasn’t

If he failed the competition it would only give his father more ammunition against him and he dreaded the possibility of that so much, he was going to make sure he had this on lock. To prove to his father that he could do something, and do it right.

On the way home from the bakery the car had passed before the rival bakery and he caught a glance of Carla standing at the front of her bakery, probably on her way home too he thought.

“There goes your best friend”, his brother teased, purposefully slowing down the car as they got close to where she stood. She looked very disturbed and he liked that, trouble with the competition he hoped.

Her disturbed look turned smug quickly the minute she saw their car approach, she would not let him see her sweat. She straightened her hair with her hand as the car came to a halt while wondering why they stopped, to brag and sneer? After all, that was his trademark, the cocky bastard. He was such a brat, rich boy that had everything handed over to him. He saw everything as his right.

She wondered why he hated her so much. His brother chatted mildly with her while he looked away the whole time, refusing to even meet her eyes. She felt offended. She often felt that he didn’t consider her a worthy opponent even when she won. But that didn’t matter to her anymore, or at least so she convinced herself.

She said her goodbyes to his brother and started to stroll to the church which was only a few blocks away. The Christmas carol practice was getting frequent and she made it a point of duty to show up every now and then. She simply enjoyed the carols and liked to spend some time in the church before going home. She took a basket of cookies to the church each time she went for the kids and the aged who could handle a little sugar.

When she arrived at the church she met the reverend father at the door scolding the little kids engaged in some rough play in the churchyard

“Ah Carla, I’m happy to see you here”, he said, turning his attention away from the little kids who took the opportunity to run away from Father’s scolding. She laughed slightly and assisted father with the bag he held which looked slightly heavy as they walked into the church together.

Carla was met with eager children the minute they stepped in. she handed the basket of cookies over to the sister who stood by the door seemingly anticipating her arrival

“They’ve been waiting for you”, the sister said with a warm smile caressing her hand ever so slightly, “they look forward to your cookies each time”. Carla smiled and walked forward to sit on one of the pews close to the altar.

The choir sounded heavenly, Christmas was truly almost here.

Dinner was everything Jim thought it would be and more. His father going on and on without a care for what anyone else had to say, his mother unaffected and going about her business her merry way, and a sprinkle of jabs at Jim by his father

“Michael is getting married this Christmas,” his father said with a proud pat on Michael’s back. Jim mentally rolled his eyes and congratulated his brother who eagerly accepted it. Michael had always been such a sport, he wondered why his father had always attempted to put them against each other.

“I assume we won’t be saying that about you anytime soon” his father chipped in, his mother shot him an apologetic glance and cast her husband a stern look.

“We don’t need that now Sean”, she chided “let the boys eat”. His father didn’t seem concerned and continued with his dinner. Jim avoided his mother’s eyes and hurriedly finished off his dinner. He couldn’t wait to get out of there

“Maybe if you stopped wasting time with numerous women you could get married before you turn 40” he heard his dad mutter under his breath as he walked out of the house.

Instead of going to his place he decided to drop by the most popular bar in town. The Christmas decorations littered the door so much that he had a hard time locating the door of the bar.

Inside the bar was packed, and everyone seemed in a good mood. Well, a good drink could do that to a man. Plus the festive air was infectious and the deejay had some Christmas songs playing too. He walked straight to the bar and took a seat, the bartender immediately turned to him and took his order.

He ordered more alcohol than usual, after all, it had been a tough night and the next morning was about to be tougher.

Carla decided to take a walk to clear her head. Her best friend Mya was on the phone with her, ranting about the Christmas trip Brad her boyfriend had planned for Christmas.

“I thought it was supposed to be a surprise trip, are you supposed to know about this?” she laughed at Mya’s excitement, It was contagious. Mya had been going steady with Brad for two years and had been hoping that eventually he would come around and make things very official between them

“What if he proposes?” Mya squealed “that’s probably why he wants us to go away, it’s so romantic” she sighed.

“If he does propose what are you going to say?” she asked Mya.

“If you were in my shoes what would you say?” Mya asked surprised

“Well that’s not happening anytime soon”, she replied Mya coolly. “You have to get a man first before thinking about marriage” she laughed dismissively.

“Girl till when?” Mya asked seriously, “all the men around you are a no-go isn’t it?” Mya sympathized.

“Well not all of them,” she said. Her mind going back to Jim for some reason. As if Mya knew who she thought of she immediately mentioned Jim having known him before she moved away. Jim was obviously not an option as the man practically hated her, or at least acted like he did.

“His brother is quite charming though, a perfect gentleman,” she told Mya. The Johnson brothers were not to be considered and she knew this. Nothing seemed to please their father, and this rivalry had made her relationship with the family somewhat awkward. The Town festival was coming up soon and she wondered how it would be. Spending it alone again stung a little. The town Christmas dinner would come up on Christmas Eve on the day after the baking competition. This year she would go alone again.

“Hey” a familiar male voice called out. Jim? She was surprised to see him out there at this time. She felt a little embarrassed at the fact that she had been thinking about him moments before. And also, why was he speaking to her?

She walked closer to where his car was parked before the bar, taking small steps. He had a slight grin on his face “going for a drink?’ he asked, “The energy in there is so contagious man, I can feel the Christmas spirit already”. The cheerfulness in his voice startled her and had her a little worried. Did he know who he was talking to?

“Come on, go in” he urged. “The bartender is giving free cocktails to pretty ladies”, he winked.

She let out a surprised laugh. What on earth was happening tonight? She studied him a little more closely and realized that his eyes were a little glassy. He had a lot to drink, which explained the awfully good mood. She reached out to keep him steady when she noticed him stagger a bit, he smiled.

Up close and smiling he was even more handsome than she thought.

“Are you sure you can go home yourself?” She asked a little worried.

“Aww Carla is this you being worried about me?” he smirked. So he knew it was her she thought.

“I’m not sure it’s safe for you to go on like that,” she said. He looked at her thoughtfully for a minute and then locked his car.

“Walk it off?” he suggested, “Yes” she agreed.

Jim had insisted on dropping her off first before strolling to his house, assuring her that he would pick up his car the next morning. Her mother had been surprised to see her at the front door with Jim of all people. Her surprise was even greater when he greeted her cheerfully and wished her a good night before he left. Her mother had questioned her about this new budding friendship which she didn’t understand either. During their walk, they had spoken so freely, about so many things. Each time he spoke she stole a glance at his face because she couldn’t help but wonder if tonight was real.

He had spoken about his father, the bakery, and his plans for the coming year. She saw another side of him that she had never seen, the thoughtful, down-to-earth person that actually had troubles like everyone else and when she had asked why he didn’t like her she was surprised at his answer.

“I thought you hated me, and most times when we met you always ignored me and spoke to my brother” he had said. “I thought you took a liking to him” he teased before telling her that he was getting married this Christmas. When she told him that she felt the exact same way they both laughed. He told her that she had a pretty smile.

Later in bed that night she wondered how a strained relationship of 10 years took a great turn for the better in just one night. Was it the alcohol? Were they truly friends now? Or would morning come and everything go back to the way things were?

Things went back to the way they were like she had feared. It was like that night had ever happened.

Days turned into weeks and finally, the festival had come. The weeks leading to it were full of preparations and so much hustle and bustle. She barely had time to do any other thing than bake. The orders were coming in thrice their normal size and business was good for the bakery. The whole town had been excited about the Christmas dinner and the festival so much that it was all everyone talked about.

The night before the baking competition while she prepared to leave for home she heard a knock on the door of her office and Jim walked in

“Sorry I didn’t come earlier, I figured that we needed to finalize the plans for tomorrow,” he said coolly.

She paused for a minute before speaking “I will have one of my staff send our materials over tomorrow morning”. He fiddled with the stapler on her table, “our materials are not good enough for you?’ he asked.

“You know that is how it’s done every year and you have never offered before,” she said.

“I’m kidding,” he said with a smile, “so tomorrow eh? It’s finally here…”

She waited for him to continue. She wondered if this would be like the other night, then the next day they would become total strangers again. He seemed like he had something to say but couldn’t quite put the words together.

“You found someone to go to dinner with yet? Or is it the same old?” he asked.

“You found someone to marry yet? Or is it the same old?’ she retorted and they burst into laughter. “Good luck tomorrow,” he said before they parted ways. She wished him the same, feeling slightly uneasy that the competitive spirit seemed absent this year. She wondered how the next day would go.

Her team worked at their normal pace, mixing, kneading, and baking. The whole town had gathered after the carnival earlier that day to watch the two biggest bakeries battle each other for the winning spot.

Carla put in her best, she had to win this. Her opponent seemed rather relaxed although he worked steadily. But this time the energy was different. The occasional smiles he sent her threw her off balance, it seemed more like a friendly match than a competition.

As he watched her bake so seriously he realized something. This was very important to her. She was passionate about it because she loved it and not because she wanted to prove a point to anyone. He almost found himself rooting for her?

Things were definitely strange between them. As the finish time neared he found himself more enamored with her, this meant something real to her and she was good at it.

So what if his father didn’t believe he could achieve anything?

An annoyed look crossed her face and she marched over to his side and demanded to speak to him in private. “I can’t believe you would do this,” she said accusingly.

“Do what?’ he asked genuinely surprised.

“You could at least put in some effort” she continued “why are you doing this? Do you think I can’t take you? Because I can. I don’t need pity or handouts from you. I need you to be a worthy competitor right now”. Before he had a chance to reply she stormed out and went back to her stall. The competition would be over in a matter of minutes now and they both knew who was going to come out on top.

The moment her name was announced and the crowd began to cheer she shot him an angry look and stormed into the storage room to begin packing her things he assumed. He ran in after her and met her sorting out her stuff with a somewhat sad look on her face.

“Hey” he started “I’m sorry if you wanted that competitive, spiteful, and victory hungry person today because I don’t want to be that person anymore. And I also know how much this meant to you, I can see your passion. You deserve this more than I do. Way more than I do and I don’t want to stand in your way anymore”

He noticed her expression begin to soften “I didn’t do you a favor, you won because you’re great at this, and you’re passionate…” he stepped closer and took her hands in his “I’ve seen those kids at the church fight over your cookies” she laughed at this. Content with her reaction he eased into a smile too.

“Don’t get me wrong I love to bake too. I just want to start doing it for the right reasons, and maybe you can help me with that” he said then kissed her softly on the lips.

“Does this mean you have a date for the Christmas Eve dinner?’ she heard her dad say. Startled they turned to the door and saw Carla’s family there with huge grins on their faces

“Maybe” she replied.