Though Erza considered June and August through October to be her bread and butter months, that didn't mean she enjoyed them. The end result – happy clients, new clients, numbers going from red to black – was all fine and good, but weddings were exhausting. In one week she could have as many as five to seven multi-tiered cakes as well as her typical fare of various pastries. Usually she brought in a third assistant to help out with all the extra work. She let her delivery driver, Natsu, hire his own team because she trusted him to handle her creations properly. He, Gray, and Lucy had been with her since she'd opened the bakery five years prior and even in the worst of times she hadn't been willing to let any of them go. They always made do.
Her newest employee, Levy, was a smallish girl and initially Erza'd had her doubts she could hold her own in the hectic environment of her kitchens. Over the last few weeks, though, Levy had proven herself. Besides her sweet and charming way with even the most stressful of brides, Levy was a talented sculptor. She handled molding chocolate like a pro. When asked how she'd come by such a skill Levy's cheeks flushed and she admitted art school hadn't panned out the way she'd expected. Erza was only grateful she'd managed to find such an adept person as it opened the doors for more intricate designs.
The evenings in Magnolia were becoming less balmy and ever chillier as August drew to a close. It had been two months since Mirajane bullied her onto Spark, and Erza tried to tell herself she was relieved that nothing had come of it. It almost embarrassed her that she'd taken the time to answer so many personality questions. Some of them served only to raise her eyebrows.
Do you feel you have a social obligation to shave your legs?
_Yes
_No
Do you believe that a man should be the head of the household?
_Yes
_No
In a certain light wouldn't nuclear war be exciting?
_Yes
_No
Nevertheless, Erza answered hundreds of such questions. Mostly while under the influence of a cheap bottle of wine. She didn't take the situation seriously enough to apply more than a buzzed effort. The messages she received on a daily basis justified her lack of respect for the system. The only person who'd contacted her more than once was the incredibly creepy PowerParfume, who acted as if they were in an established relationship already. Never mind that she'd never actually responded to his increasingly odd communiqués.
As the three month mark approached, Erza couldn't help the hard knot of disappointment that lodged itself in her stomach. She didn't want to admit she'd been hoping, however faintly, for what Mira had called a positive experience. Fantasies of meeting someone she could allow herself to fall for had managed to sneak in without her permission, and she'd began to indulge. The harsh reality remained, though, that she was alone and it was starting to look like even the arena of online dating held no magic for her. A depression took hold before she even noticed it was there.
Usually wedding season didn't pass without at least one enraged bride screaming her ear off about a dissatisfactory cake. So when Erza walked out into the storefront carrying a tray of cookies to find Levy near tears with the phone receiver several inches from her ear, she simply sighed and held her hand out for the phone. Levy looked at Erza helplessly, shaking her head.
"Here, Levy, I'll take it," She whispered.
"But –"
"It's fine. Go help Lucy roll out some fondant." Levy smiled gratefully but Erza saw her swallow back frustrated tears.
"Are you even listening to me, Miss?" The angry woman on the other end of the phone screeched.
"Minerva, right? This is Erza, and I'm the owner of the bakery. I apologize for the mix up." Erza glanced over the notes Levy had scratched on the pad of order forms they kept near the phone. "I understand you're upset about the groom's cake, and I assure you the situation has already been rectified. There's-"
"Rectified?! My reception starts in thirty minutes and this… thing is still on the table here. How can you call this rectification?"
Erza waved wildly at Natsu who happened to wander into the lobby. He'd snatched a cookie and guiltily gulped it down. Minerva continued to voice her anger as Erza jotted the address for the reception hall onto a scrap of paper. She covered the mouthpiece with her free hand.
"I need you to grab that chocolate strawberry cake from the back cooler and get it to Northwood Hall in the next twenty minutes. Can you do that?" She whispered harshly. "I fucked up your route earlier and the wrong cake is at the wrong place!"
"I don't know, I'm kinda on lunch, Erza –" Natsu trailed off at the downright murderous glare she fixed him with. "But I suppose I could just eat in the truck. Chocolate strawberry, back cooler. Got it!" He grabbed the scrap of paper and disappeared.
"Minerva, my driver has already been rerouted and will be there very shortly. I promise you that when your guests arrive everything will be perfect."
"It had better be! This is my day!" The woman promptly hung up. Erza slouched against the counter and forced her lurking and unwanted emotions back. The very angry Minerva seemed to be a tipping point and, like Levy, she felt on the verge of hot tears.
Levy apologized no less than three times before they closed the shop that evening. Erza squeezed her shoulder and reminded her that she was the one to blame for the situation as she pushed everyone out the door. Only Lucy remained.
"You okay, Erza?"
"Huh?" She glanced up from the pile of invoices she'd been carding through. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's just been a day."
"You've been… I don't know… off lately." Lucy gently placed her shoulder bag on the table. "Even Mira is worried."
"Oh, you know Mira. She's always been a bit of a busybody."
"Erza –" She paused and leaned into the tabletop. "We've been friends for a long time. You and Mirajane are pretty much the closest thing I've ever had to sisters, and don't think I can't tell when something's up with you."
Erza's eyes closed for a brief second before she plastered a smile on for Lucy. "I promise I'm fine. You know how wedding season gets to me. I'm just stressed out and there's a never ending pile of work." She sighed heavily and swallowed hard. "That woman on the phone today just irritated me more than I thought."
Lucy didn't say anything and Erza squirmed under her gaze. "For the record, I don't believe you." She grabbed her bag and slung it over her head. "But, it has been a shitty day. So I'll let it go. For now."
"I'm really okay. Just tired." Her smile was only half-hearted. Lucy already knew she wasn't okay, so there wasn't a point in keeping up the act. "Go on and get out of here. Natsu is going to start eating his own arms off if you don't feed him soon."
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Ugh, probably. I'll see you tomorrow."
Erza waited until the kitchen was silent to sink to the floor. Her tears flowed freely and she hated every one of them. The overwhelming sense of inadequacy confused her and that confusion made the low even lower. Being yelled at by an angry client wasn't anything new – though Natsu claimed the woman had been all smiles and gratitude when the correct cake had been delivered – so why the upset?
Because you're alone now, and you'll be going home to an empty apartment. There's nothing in your fridge but leftover cake and wine. You have a bed that remains half-empty, and the only man who seems to find you remotely interesting is a delusional weirdo on the internet.
Erza choked out a bitter laugh and wiped her tears on the nearest apron. Damp flour smeared across her face. Perfect. She didn't bother to gather the dirty aprons or tidy her stack of invoices before locking up the bakery and leaving.
"I should get a cat." Erza said out loud to no one. She tossed the used cake box over the edge of her bed and set aside the empty wine bottle. She giggled and reached for her phone. "I'll put that on my profile. Likes cats."
Once she had the Spark app opened though, second thoughts rolled in. The last thing she wanted was to open the door for potential pussy jokes. The birthday cakes comments were bad enough. She deleted the three messages in her inbox and started to flip through profiles of men situated geographically close to her. Magnolia wasn't a small town, but it wasn't the metropolis Crocus was. Her choices would run out eventually, she supposed. Erza leaned back against her pillows and rapidly swiped left.
No, no, nope, no, never… wow.
If she'd been any more intoxicated she'd have passed him. Her thumb hovered over the man's picture. He was handsome and his grin had an appealing awkward charm that made her smile despite herself.
"Oh, what the hell…" she muttered before tapping the heart next to his screen name and swiping right That night Erza dreamed of ultramarine hair, and a red tattoo that swirled around a set of smiling green eyes.