"Elli," a soft gentleman's voice vibrated inside her ears. "Elli...
get up, honey."
Dad? she wondered groggily the next morning. No, it can't be. Her creamy eyelids fluttered open and the new bakery master's beady little eyes looked back at her, and he was smiling softly.
"JEFF?!?!?!" Elli practically yelled. She knew he was trying to be polite about waking her up but she couldn't help being annoyed. She sprung up and then drew the quilt over her bosom. "Wh-what are you doing, Jeff? I'm in my nightgown!"
"I'm sorry Elli, it's just that it's 8:55. You overslept." He backed away a few steps from her bed.
"Where's Grandma? Shouldn't she have woken me up?" Elli's eyes widened and adjusted to the lamplight.
"She got up early to take her medicine and then went outside at about six. I'm sorry, Elli, I should have knocked," Jeff's face wilted as he realized his absentmindedness, then he walked out of her room.
How did I oversleep? she asked herself as she pulled the nightgown up over her head and searched for a clean dress from the oak chest at the foot of the bed. Stockings, petticoats, and other things went on in a flash and then the blue dress itself. The mirror in the corner of her room reflected a rather charming young woman. Her reflection made her meditate deeply on her past and present. As a child she had been plump and chubby, and over the years she had become thinner, curvier, and all the more innocent and clean-looking. She admitted to herself that she wasn't glamorous like Popuri-- the look about Elli was feminine and somewhat motherly. Elli was typically a down-to-earth girl whose thoughts were on what really mattered in life, especially the near future, with obstacles like the new boy in town to face.
As she slipped on her apron and tied the large bow in the back of it, she came out of the back room and unlocked the door to the shop. Jeff looked busier than ever counting cakes and stickers for service cards. The flourescent lights beamed on the polished wood floor, reflecting everything like a mirror, and she could tell that he had cleaned the floor too this morning. It took awhile for Elli to get into the flow of things since she'd overslept two hours and fifty-five minutes. Then she remembered the fresh cakes that had to be made and quickly scuttled into the back room.
"We really need to get some fresh eggs and milk around here," she complained, looking at so little there was to choose from. Tubes of frosting hung in a rack above her head, strawberries were plentiful, and the floor in the kitchen was practically angel-white from all the baking powder, but there were so little eggs and not much milk left either. It was a disappointment too, because the trader had came back from another town recently with a crate of baking chocolate, so she wanted to try baking chocolate cakes.
"Elli! We have a customer out here; could you take care of him while I make some tea?" Jeff hollered from behind the counter.
"Already?? Well, all right." Elli made her way out of the kitchen and into the bright flourescent light, seeing none other than Jack himself. She eyed him strangely, almost as if studying him, and took notice that he seemed to be out of breath from running. Sweat poured down his face from working so hard, and she was thrilled to see such a hungry-looking customer.
"Howdy. Is everything going good, restoring the farm, I mean?" Elli greeted him casually, leaning against the counter with her hands folded.
"Yeah, it's great. I'd like to 'come by for a bite', if the offer still stands," Jack grinned, taking off his blue cap as a gesture of politeness. Elli thought him cute and cunning at the same time, and then noticed all that cinder-brown hair under the cap, as only a little bit of it had been sticking out.
"Well, sure. You look like you've been working hard," she grinned, and held her hand out in the direction of the one table of the bakery. "Here, have a seat, and take a look at the menu."
"Thanks, I feel special," he said, making Elli wonder if he was being nice or sarcastic. Subconsciously she paid close attention to the way he settled in and folded the napkin around his neck, and he didn't slouch. His dark eyes swept over the menu at a constant rate, almost like the flow of a river. Then with interest he looked up and asked, "How is the veryberry pie?"
Elli stifled a giggle, thinking how odd it was for someone of the village to ask that. Veryberry pie was veryberry pie and that was that. At first she didn't rightly know how to respond to this bizarre question but she simply folded her hands and replied with, "The veryberry pie here is served with a light, flaky crust and the freshest, ripe springtime veryberries inside, and you can get scoops of ice cream on the side for an extra 10 Gold pieces, and I would also recommend a cup of iced tea, which will be out in just a minute."
"That sounds delicious," said Jack enthusiastically as if he were in a gourmet restaurant back where he had come from. "I haven't had veryberry pie in a very long time."
"Really," she declared more than asked, just to make conversation. "Oh, and did you want ice cream, tea...?"
"Yes, I'd like both, please," he added, searching his pockets for money.
Jeff came out of the back room with a pitcher of iced tea and a cup, and nearly stumbled on a loose board in the floor. Elli sighed and rolled her eyes in a way so that he couldn't see, and went on to fetch the rest of Jack's order. Maybe this wouldn't be such a boring Sunday, at least they were doing just a little business.
"So, how are you, Jack?" Jeff asked, pouring him tea.
"Good, good. Getting used to the routine. I tell you what, it's sure a great repast to have a bakery so close by in between jobs," Jack responded in a lively manner. Elli liked how he was so fun to talk to, and how he so naturally evaded the "hi-how-are-you" and "oh-I'm-fine-thanks" and other such monotonous forms of polite conversation. Flower Bud Village, she admitted to herself, was so boring that such phrases were unavoidable every single day, sometimes even during the few days of amusements. With her hand almost leading the pie spatula astray, she fought back a laugh seeing Jeff's face; she knew that his kind of reply wasn't exactly what Jeff had been expecting.
"Well, here ya go. Enjoy," Elli said nicely, almost in a sugary-tone when Jeff was gone. "Oh, and your total's 560 G."
"Sure, hang on......... Uhmm...." Jack scrounged the pockets of his overalls and his finger went straight through a hole. "Oh, crap!!!!! Is there a way I can pay you back? You see, I-- money's tight for me and I--- uh--- I'm so sorry.... You see, there's a hole in my pocket and I think all my extra pocket money's scattered all across the village," he sulked, blushing a bright red.
"That's okay," she smiled warmly, although she knew it wasn't helping, just making him all the more embarrassed. "I'll pay for you. It'll be okay."
"I'll pay you back, I swear!" His face was still burning red.
"It's okay, it's okay. It's no big deal. Things like this never happen in this relaxed village, just calm down." Elli removed a coin purse from the pocket of her blue dress and gathered the amount, laying it on the table for Jeff to collect. "Just don't tell Jeff I did that."
"I can't thank you enough..." Jack's face was still pink and he scratched the back of his neck.
"It's no problem. From one friend to another," she said kindly. "Oh, and I've forgotten to tell you my name. Call me Elli, okay?"
"Elli," he tried it out. "Well, thank you Elli, and I'll be sure to make up for it somehow."
Elli thrust her tongue into her cheek and tapped it thoughtfully with her index fingertip. "You know.... Hmm.... Do you think you only lost it this morning?"
Jack was so flustered he hadn't taken a bite of what he'd ordered. "Yes, just on my way here. I didn't make any stops."
"Stay here, okay?" she asked of him, keeping her thoughtful look. "You can finish eating. I'll be back in a moment to put on my shoes." Leaving him to eat in peace, Elli walked into her bedroom and changed from her good shoes to her outside shoes. Sitting on her bed, she thought that he truly wasn't such a bad character. She'd definitely have to think of him as more than just "the new guy in town". He had personality, just like Karen and Popuri, and everybody else, and more importantly, he was just.... Jack!
"Going somewhere, Elli?" Jeff's brow furrowed as he heard her footsteps click across the wood floor.
"I've got a favor to do for someone," she said almost irritably. She wasn't cross with him, but at times Jeff was much too inquisitive for her tastes. Wiping her hands on her apron, she collected Jack's empty plate, handed them to Jeff and beckoned for Jack to come outside with her.
"Now, let's retrace your steps," she said when they were out in the open. "You took that path, didn't you?" She pointed to the dirt path leading out of the main part of the village. "Let's see..." She began walking slowly in that direction, not waiting for his answer. "Oh! A coin! Come here, Jack." Her new acquaintance followed her all the way out onto that dirt path where they scattered coins all about the place.
Bending in crouched positions and standing back up again, they rarely had time for saying anything, but when they saw three children out playing in the center, they both stopped and watched.
The little girl, May, had her brow furrowed as she counted on her fingers and pondered what to do with the gold coin in her hand. "Well," her brunette pigtails moved as she turned to look at the two boys and her lips puckered slightly, "I suppose we could try to divide a cookie from the bakery."
"Are you sure? What about these?" Stu held out three coins in his flat little palm. The black-haired little boy counted the total. "I think that's enough for one slice of pie, but I'm not quite sure. I don't think we learned enough about counting money in school yet. I can try to read a menu, if you want, but you might have to help me."
Stu's auburn-haired brother Kent spoke to both of them. "Well, we could always just each get a scoop of ice cream. But... I don't know.... Don't you think we ought to try returning these to someone? Somebody could be missing all this money and wanted to buy a cake for himself."
Elli tilted her head and observed Jack as he approached the three children, who apparently knew and liked him already. "Here," he said to them, picking out a few gold coins that he had picked up, "Elli and I found these too, and I figured that the person who dropped them wanted you to have them. This should be enough for you to buy a slice of veryberry pie and a scoop of ice cream each. I recommend it too, because Elli's veryberry pie is fantastic!" Elli blushed, folded her hands in her apron, and watched in astonishment as the children cried, "Thank you, Brother!!" in delight and skipped down the path while Jack made his way back to her.
"Jack, that was so generous!" she praised him. "I've never seen anyone do such a thing."
"Yeah, well... they're good kids. And thank you so much for the pie... and your help, too. It was nice meeting you, Elli, but I think I'm behind schedule." Jack offered her his hand and she shook it firmly and energetically.
"You should go. It was nice meeting you too, but don't let me get you behind in your work. Oh, and don't worry about the money. I had fun." She flipped a loose lock of hair out of her face and grinned.
"Okay, but don't forget-- I promised I would pay you back for that favor!! Bye!!" he went off like he was also a merry child before she could refuse. Elli couldn't help but wonder just what it was he was thinking just then-- from being a cool and casual cucumber to being embarrassed in front of a girl to being a saint and then a child himself.
Dad? she wondered groggily the next morning. No, it can't be. Her creamy eyelids fluttered open and the new bakery master's beady little eyes looked back at her, and he was smiling softly.
"JEFF?!?!?!" Elli practically yelled. She knew he was trying to be polite about waking her up but she couldn't help being annoyed. She sprung up and then drew the quilt over her bosom. "Wh-what are you doing, Jeff? I'm in my nightgown!"
"I'm sorry Elli, it's just that it's 8:55. You overslept." He backed away a few steps from her bed.
"Where's Grandma? Shouldn't she have woken me up?" Elli's eyes widened and adjusted to the lamplight.
"She got up early to take her medicine and then went outside at about six. I'm sorry, Elli, I should have knocked," Jeff's face wilted as he realized his absentmindedness, then he walked out of her room.
How did I oversleep? she asked herself as she pulled the nightgown up over her head and searched for a clean dress from the oak chest at the foot of the bed. Stockings, petticoats, and other things went on in a flash and then the blue dress itself. The mirror in the corner of her room reflected a rather charming young woman. Her reflection made her meditate deeply on her past and present. As a child she had been plump and chubby, and over the years she had become thinner, curvier, and all the more innocent and clean-looking. She admitted to herself that she wasn't glamorous like Popuri-- the look about Elli was feminine and somewhat motherly. Elli was typically a down-to-earth girl whose thoughts were on what really mattered in life, especially the near future, with obstacles like the new boy in town to face.
As she slipped on her apron and tied the large bow in the back of it, she came out of the back room and unlocked the door to the shop. Jeff looked busier than ever counting cakes and stickers for service cards. The flourescent lights beamed on the polished wood floor, reflecting everything like a mirror, and she could tell that he had cleaned the floor too this morning. It took awhile for Elli to get into the flow of things since she'd overslept two hours and fifty-five minutes. Then she remembered the fresh cakes that had to be made and quickly scuttled into the back room.
"We really need to get some fresh eggs and milk around here," she complained, looking at so little there was to choose from. Tubes of frosting hung in a rack above her head, strawberries were plentiful, and the floor in the kitchen was practically angel-white from all the baking powder, but there were so little eggs and not much milk left either. It was a disappointment too, because the trader had came back from another town recently with a crate of baking chocolate, so she wanted to try baking chocolate cakes.
"Elli! We have a customer out here; could you take care of him while I make some tea?" Jeff hollered from behind the counter.
"Already?? Well, all right." Elli made her way out of the kitchen and into the bright flourescent light, seeing none other than Jack himself. She eyed him strangely, almost as if studying him, and took notice that he seemed to be out of breath from running. Sweat poured down his face from working so hard, and she was thrilled to see such a hungry-looking customer.
"Howdy. Is everything going good, restoring the farm, I mean?" Elli greeted him casually, leaning against the counter with her hands folded.
"Yeah, it's great. I'd like to 'come by for a bite', if the offer still stands," Jack grinned, taking off his blue cap as a gesture of politeness. Elli thought him cute and cunning at the same time, and then noticed all that cinder-brown hair under the cap, as only a little bit of it had been sticking out.
"Well, sure. You look like you've been working hard," she grinned, and held her hand out in the direction of the one table of the bakery. "Here, have a seat, and take a look at the menu."
"Thanks, I feel special," he said, making Elli wonder if he was being nice or sarcastic. Subconsciously she paid close attention to the way he settled in and folded the napkin around his neck, and he didn't slouch. His dark eyes swept over the menu at a constant rate, almost like the flow of a river. Then with interest he looked up and asked, "How is the veryberry pie?"
Elli stifled a giggle, thinking how odd it was for someone of the village to ask that. Veryberry pie was veryberry pie and that was that. At first she didn't rightly know how to respond to this bizarre question but she simply folded her hands and replied with, "The veryberry pie here is served with a light, flaky crust and the freshest, ripe springtime veryberries inside, and you can get scoops of ice cream on the side for an extra 10 Gold pieces, and I would also recommend a cup of iced tea, which will be out in just a minute."
"That sounds delicious," said Jack enthusiastically as if he were in a gourmet restaurant back where he had come from. "I haven't had veryberry pie in a very long time."
"Really," she declared more than asked, just to make conversation. "Oh, and did you want ice cream, tea...?"
"Yes, I'd like both, please," he added, searching his pockets for money.
Jeff came out of the back room with a pitcher of iced tea and a cup, and nearly stumbled on a loose board in the floor. Elli sighed and rolled her eyes in a way so that he couldn't see, and went on to fetch the rest of Jack's order. Maybe this wouldn't be such a boring Sunday, at least they were doing just a little business.
"So, how are you, Jack?" Jeff asked, pouring him tea.
"Good, good. Getting used to the routine. I tell you what, it's sure a great repast to have a bakery so close by in between jobs," Jack responded in a lively manner. Elli liked how he was so fun to talk to, and how he so naturally evaded the "hi-how-are-you" and "oh-I'm-fine-thanks" and other such monotonous forms of polite conversation. Flower Bud Village, she admitted to herself, was so boring that such phrases were unavoidable every single day, sometimes even during the few days of amusements. With her hand almost leading the pie spatula astray, she fought back a laugh seeing Jeff's face; she knew that his kind of reply wasn't exactly what Jeff had been expecting.
"Well, here ya go. Enjoy," Elli said nicely, almost in a sugary-tone when Jeff was gone. "Oh, and your total's 560 G."
"Sure, hang on......... Uhmm...." Jack scrounged the pockets of his overalls and his finger went straight through a hole. "Oh, crap!!!!! Is there a way I can pay you back? You see, I-- money's tight for me and I--- uh--- I'm so sorry.... You see, there's a hole in my pocket and I think all my extra pocket money's scattered all across the village," he sulked, blushing a bright red.
"That's okay," she smiled warmly, although she knew it wasn't helping, just making him all the more embarrassed. "I'll pay for you. It'll be okay."
"I'll pay you back, I swear!" His face was still burning red.
"It's okay, it's okay. It's no big deal. Things like this never happen in this relaxed village, just calm down." Elli removed a coin purse from the pocket of her blue dress and gathered the amount, laying it on the table for Jeff to collect. "Just don't tell Jeff I did that."
"I can't thank you enough..." Jack's face was still pink and he scratched the back of his neck.
"It's no problem. From one friend to another," she said kindly. "Oh, and I've forgotten to tell you my name. Call me Elli, okay?"
"Elli," he tried it out. "Well, thank you Elli, and I'll be sure to make up for it somehow."
Elli thrust her tongue into her cheek and tapped it thoughtfully with her index fingertip. "You know.... Hmm.... Do you think you only lost it this morning?"
Jack was so flustered he hadn't taken a bite of what he'd ordered. "Yes, just on my way here. I didn't make any stops."
"Stay here, okay?" she asked of him, keeping her thoughtful look. "You can finish eating. I'll be back in a moment to put on my shoes." Leaving him to eat in peace, Elli walked into her bedroom and changed from her good shoes to her outside shoes. Sitting on her bed, she thought that he truly wasn't such a bad character. She'd definitely have to think of him as more than just "the new guy in town". He had personality, just like Karen and Popuri, and everybody else, and more importantly, he was just.... Jack!
"Going somewhere, Elli?" Jeff's brow furrowed as he heard her footsteps click across the wood floor.
"I've got a favor to do for someone," she said almost irritably. She wasn't cross with him, but at times Jeff was much too inquisitive for her tastes. Wiping her hands on her apron, she collected Jack's empty plate, handed them to Jeff and beckoned for Jack to come outside with her.
"Now, let's retrace your steps," she said when they were out in the open. "You took that path, didn't you?" She pointed to the dirt path leading out of the main part of the village. "Let's see..." She began walking slowly in that direction, not waiting for his answer. "Oh! A coin! Come here, Jack." Her new acquaintance followed her all the way out onto that dirt path where they scattered coins all about the place.
Bending in crouched positions and standing back up again, they rarely had time for saying anything, but when they saw three children out playing in the center, they both stopped and watched.
The little girl, May, had her brow furrowed as she counted on her fingers and pondered what to do with the gold coin in her hand. "Well," her brunette pigtails moved as she turned to look at the two boys and her lips puckered slightly, "I suppose we could try to divide a cookie from the bakery."
"Are you sure? What about these?" Stu held out three coins in his flat little palm. The black-haired little boy counted the total. "I think that's enough for one slice of pie, but I'm not quite sure. I don't think we learned enough about counting money in school yet. I can try to read a menu, if you want, but you might have to help me."
Stu's auburn-haired brother Kent spoke to both of them. "Well, we could always just each get a scoop of ice cream. But... I don't know.... Don't you think we ought to try returning these to someone? Somebody could be missing all this money and wanted to buy a cake for himself."
Elli tilted her head and observed Jack as he approached the three children, who apparently knew and liked him already. "Here," he said to them, picking out a few gold coins that he had picked up, "Elli and I found these too, and I figured that the person who dropped them wanted you to have them. This should be enough for you to buy a slice of veryberry pie and a scoop of ice cream each. I recommend it too, because Elli's veryberry pie is fantastic!" Elli blushed, folded her hands in her apron, and watched in astonishment as the children cried, "Thank you, Brother!!" in delight and skipped down the path while Jack made his way back to her.
"Jack, that was so generous!" she praised him. "I've never seen anyone do such a thing."
"Yeah, well... they're good kids. And thank you so much for the pie... and your help, too. It was nice meeting you, Elli, but I think I'm behind schedule." Jack offered her his hand and she shook it firmly and energetically.
"You should go. It was nice meeting you too, but don't let me get you behind in your work. Oh, and don't worry about the money. I had fun." She flipped a loose lock of hair out of her face and grinned.
"Okay, but don't forget-- I promised I would pay you back for that favor!! Bye!!" he went off like he was also a merry child before she could refuse. Elli couldn't help but wonder just what it was he was thinking just then-- from being a cool and casual cucumber to being embarrassed in front of a girl to being a saint and then a child himself.