"How do you ever expect to meet a husband when you have frosting in your hair and flour all over your face?" Chided Betty Tabor as she reached for a towel.
Claudia laughed as she reached out and took the towel from Betty. "I really don't see any eligible bachelors kicking down the door to my kitchen do you?"
"Well it wouldn't hurt you to take on a more active social life!" said Betty as she clucked her tongue at Claudia.
Claudia sighed as she looked into Betty's kind, soft blue eyes. "Betty, I just don't have time. Wedding season is upon us and with Renee out on maternity leave we are going to be slammed!" She reached out and squeezed Betty's hand then kissed her cheek leaving a dusting of flour across her face.
"I appreciate you looking out for me and being my second mom AND my confidante. But I really am not interested in dating right now."
"Don't think you've heard the last from me honey child." Said Betty wagging her finger. "You go home and get some sleep. You look like shit. What kind of husband are you going to meet with bags the size of luggage under your eyes?" She giggled as she grabbed her purse, waved goodbye and exited through the side door.
Claudia grinned as she sank into a chair. As tired as she was most days she was proud of her little wedding cake business. She had graduated high school but unlike most of her friends, college wasn't an option for her. She knew she hated school, why torture herself with 4-5 more years of it? She by chance happened to get a part time job in a bakery in town which was run by a wonderful, supportive couple with no children of their own. The Gould's took notice of Claudia's artistic ability and encouraged her to take culinary classes. They willingly worked around her schedule and offered her support and encouragement whenever needed. Once she found her niche, in her pastry and dessert classes Claudia was hooked. As a graduation present, the Gould's who had sold their business loaned her enough money to establish a wedding cake business. The Gould's were so much more supportive of me than my parents ever were thought Claudia darkly. Her sister Janine had become one of the leading forensics experts in Connecticut. She had met a forensic pathologist and they had quickly married and had a son, Edison William Walker. Claudia grinned as she thought of her nephew's initials. EWW was right with a name like Edison. As if having a dad who performed autopsies and a mom who combed crime scenes for blood and spit wasn't bad enough, he had one hell of a name to deal with.
Truthfully, Claudia was proud of her sister, and her brother in law, Bill, albeit kind of nerdy, was a decent guy. Edison was adorable, he was in the toddling stages now, always asking why. Her family was supportive of her, but Janine's accomplishments always seemed to overshadow hers. She didn't care though, after nearly 8 years, Cakes by Claudia had plenty of clients and was even featured on the website The Knot as well as in a local Bridal magazine. She had hired Betty right away when she opened. Betty, although in her mid-fifties, was spunky, fun, dedicated and most importantly passionate about her work. Several part-timers worked there as well but it was Claudia who designed every single cake after meeting with the bride & groom.
At 33 years of age, she had moved her business from a rented kitchen to a small bakery just outside of Stoneybrook. She just celebrated her first year of being a homeowner and had completely paid the Gould's back the money they loaned her. She kept in touch with her high school friends as much as she could but they had all kind of separated after high school. It was mostly Holiday cards and email forwards these days. She still talked to Stacey regularly and would go to visit her in Hartford whenever she had time.
Stacey was always on her case about settling down also. She had graduated from NYU with an accounting degree and had found an excellent job with a renowned CPA in Hartford, CT. She had moved up to an assistant vice-president and wasn't going to stop until she had the deluxe corner office. She had married right out of college to her boyfriend of 3 years. After 6 months, they realized what a huge mistake they had made and divorced.
Claudia grinned as she thought of Jason, who was Stacey's current boyfriend. About 2 years ago, she had gone up to visit Stacey and they had gone to a dive bar that featured Karaoke. After warbling their way through a Shania Twain song, they were surprised to see that two shots had been bought for them by a group of guys at the back of the bar. They ended up talking with these guys all night and having a great time. They were construction workers who just happened to stop in for one beer. Apparently Jason had insisted they weren't leaving until he met Stacey. And the rest was fate she thought as she stood up and began cleaning the tops of the counters.
"I really need to call Stacey tonight and see how the big move went" Claudia muttered aloud. Last weekend, Jason was officially moving into Stacey's house. She was startled out of her thoughts by the phone ringing.
"Hello Cakes by Claudia!" she said into the phone.
"May I speak to Claudia Kishi please?"
Claudia frowned, the voice sounded vaguely familiar but she couldn't place it.
"This is Claudia? Can I help you?"
"I'm getting married in 11 months, and I need a wedding cake. We can discuss that later. My question is this. Do you know if it's proper for the bride to wear jeans, and a turtleneck with a sweater over it and a baseball hat with a picture of a collie on it?" The voice began laughing as Claudia screamed.
"Kristin Amanda Thomas! Are you telling me you are getting married?" shouted Claudia into the phone.