“Hmmm. What to make, what to make?” she mused out loud, contemplating what recipe to start with for their breakfast.
As she glanced around the island, she raised her hands, summoning each ingredient to start to float into the air with her baker’s magic. She flicked her fingers back and forth as if she were scanning through a catalog, stopping only when she found what she was looking for. By the time she’d finished, she had placed the flour, baking soda, brown sugar, salt, curled chocolate shavings, and marshmallows on the top of the island before turning to summon the bowls, whisks, and pans she needed.
As she combined ingredients and worked her way through her recipe, she lost herself in her art, as well as lost track of kitchen and oven space. It wasn’t until Eilaen stepped through the door that Kaida realized she’d created a lot more than she had room in the oven for. This is gonna take a lot of baking time, she thought to herself before giggling.
“Kaida,” Eilaen said as she stepped through the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen. “What are your thoughts about checking out the bakery today?”
Kaida stopped halfway to the stove and spun around to face her friend. “Today? As in today, today?” she squealed. The excitement was almost enough to cause her to drop the pan of muffins in her hand.
Eilaen laughed and nodded. “Yes, Kai. Today. After breakfast, maybe?”
Kaida squealed again before rushing to the oven and sliding the muffin pan into its center. The two halflings worked together as they finished cooking their breakfast and making their cups of tea. After their work was done, they decided to sit in the den to eat in the comfort of their big, cozy chairs where the fire had made the air nice and toasty. The air smelled of freshly baked muffins and the bacon and eggs that were on their plates mixed with that of the burning fire. It created the perfect cozy atmosphere, and for a moment, Kaida debated on whether she truly wanted to leave the comfort of the farmhouse or not. Ultimately, she decided that it would be more than worth it to endure a few moments of icy temperatures if it meant being able to lay eyes on her new passion project.
While Kaida waited for the final round of muffins to bake, she cleaned the kitchen and slid the other three dozen of muffins into the ice box they’d recently gotten to store their food in for later. After they had cleaned up from breakfast and gotten dressed, the duo set off to the stables so they could saddle Mable and Sorrel and head into town. They chatted as well as they could, but between the chill that frosted over their lips and the jostling from their transportation, it was hard to keep up a steady, uninterrupted conversation. A groan escaped Kaida at this. There was little that she hated more than to be forced into riding in silence. Her brain would start running nonstop, and before too long it would end up being filled to the top with all kinds of thoughts and ideas.
As they journeyed, she tried to keep her mind trained on thoughts of what she wanted the bakery to look like. Just as she’d predicted, by the time they reached where the dirt road turned into cobblestone, Kaida’s mind was a jumbled mess. She knew that she’d have to see what she was working with before she’d be able to know what it was that she would do with the place. Excitement took hold of her once more, and an infectious smile swept across her face. Taking a deep breath to clear her mind, the jumbled thoughts within her quickly cleared, stopping just as they reached the storefront’s sidewalk and took in the sight in front of them.
Two
It had been two weeks since Eilaen had presented Kaida with the paperwork for the bakery they would co-own. Now, they were finally standing in front of the building together. Eilaen’s slight unease at not knowing what to look for or where to start was visible on her face. Kaida’s face, however, was lit up with excitement at the blank canvas in front of her.
“Are you ready?” Eilaen asked her.
“Ready,” she replied with a smile, her sapphire eyes twinkling like stars.
She inhaled a deep breath and slowly took a step towards the door, her hands and legs trembling in anticipation. With shaking hands, she slid the key into the lock and turned it until she heard the click of the mechanisms. Easing the door open, she slowly stepped in and began to look around.
As soon as she stepped through the door, she stumbled down the small slope into a large, mostly bare room. She walked to the middle of the room before stopping, turning around in a complete circle to get a view of it as a whole. From where she stood, she could see perfectly through the large ceiling to floor windows that stretched from the side of the door to where the corner of the building was. In her mind, she could picture patrons sitting at tables next to the window, the falling snow illuminated by the soft glow of faerie lights.
Looking to her left, Kaida’s eyes trailed down the interior long wall that would be perfect for lining up at least four self-serve glass cases for cookies, muffins, and small pastries. Spinning quickly to the wall on the right of the window, she saw four tables and twelve chairs stacked together as they lined the wall. The wall directly in front of her, which was opposite the window, was the only painted wall in the room. It was the same, delectable shade of brown as the dark chocolate she loved to bake with, especially when combining marshmallows in the center of croissants, with a doorway close to the corner. This wall, she decided, would be the best place for a long counter to be built in front of it, and directly behind it would be a large mural painted on the wall. It would be the perfect place for a new register to be centered.
Eilaen stepped up beside her, interrupting her thoughts. “I see your mind turning, Kai. What are you thinking?”
Kaida turned to look at her friend and grasped her hands tightly. “It’s perfect, Ellie. Absolutely perfect.”
“You haven’t even seen the kitchen, Kai. What if-” Eilaen started to ask but Kaida stopped her.
“I already know,” she said with a smile, “that it’s going to be just as wonderful as you are. I know I have only said this a zillion times in the last two days, but I am so thankful to have you as my chosen sister, and constantly grateful to have you at my side to support my dreams as if they’re your own.”
Tears began to in Eilaen’s eyes at Kaida’s words, and she tightly embraced her friend. When she released Kaida, she sniffled and wiped her eyes. “Ready to go see, then?”
With a laugh, Kaida pranced toward the door on the dark chocolate colored wall and opened it with an exaggerated flourish. She took two steps into the room before stopping abruptly, a loud gasp escaping her. Concern washed over Eilaen’s face at the sound. Not knowing what had surprised Kaida, she walked in only a handful of steps behind her when she, too, stood in shock. Where they had expected a working kitchen was, instead, was something reminiscent of a desolate shack left to rot.
Kaida was shocked to her very core. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the state of the kitchen, especially since the room they’d just been in looked like it was in perfect condition. Remodeling the kitchen could take weeks, if not months, and that would just be so they could get it in working order. Not to mention the financial costs that would accompany the work and the time it would take to complete such a project. Contractors, equipment, appliances… Kaida ran down the mental list she had from when she opened her Galbassi bakery. Her stomach knotted up as she began to fill with dread.
Without looking, she knew Eilaen was staring, patiently waiting for her response. Silently, she reached over and looped her index finger around Eilaen’s pinky. It was a gesture she hadn’t made since the halflings were young, only using it when one of them sought comfort.
Eilaen was the first to speak. “Ya know, Kai, with some hard work and a little extra grit, I know we can turn this into the kitchen of your dreams.”
Kaida nodded as she blinked the tears away, trying to collect her thoughts. After a few moments, she wiped away the tear that had escaped and cleared her throat. “You’re right, Ellie. All I need is a plan. Once I have that, we can turn this mess into everything I’ve ever dreamed of.” She turned once more to face Eilaen and smiled weakly. “Now let's go home. We’ve got a kitchen to design.”
🍪🍪🍪🍪
After a sullen trip back to their home on the farm, Eilaen decided to make quick work to walk Mable and Sorrel to the stable to feed them and rub them down while Kaida made her way to the study. She was appalled by the sight of the bakery’s kitchen and needed to write down the things she’d need to reconstruct it. After she fully processed the situation and had her plan of action laid out, she’d be okay. It would take a lot of time, and even more money, to build it back into a functional kitchen, much less into the kitchen of her dreams.
As she sat at the old wooden desk in the study, she began to make a list of the things she knew off the top of her head the kitchen needed. She knew that the counters would need to be ripped out and completely rebuilt. She’d need a stove, although two would be ideal. She knew that the gnomish community a few towns over specialized in new, more efficient ovens and she began to wonder how much it would cost her to get one. As she wrote down the appliances on her list, she made sure to write an asterisk next to “new stove?” before moving it lower on her list. The walls needed to be repainted and the floors…
“Ugh. The floors,” she audibly groaned as she closed her eyes, tossing her head back.
The existing floors weren’t awful but they weren’t in the best condition, either. In her mind, she was thinking of having slick, dark brown cobblestone on the floor. Just enough to fit the aesthetic she was going for but still giving her the ease of cleaning when she’d inevitably spill or drop something on them.
She continued to work on her floor plan even after she heard Eilaen open and close the front door making her way towards the kitchen. Even from the study, she could hear Eilaen ranting about Tillard squashing the acorn squash and mashing the pea plants. It wasn’t long before the aroma of something delicious began to make its way into the study and Kaida felt her stomach grumble in response. She’d just finished drawing out her blueprint for the kitchen in the bakery when Eilaen knocked on the study door, letting her know dinner was done.
“Okay but come here first. I want your thoughts on this,” Kaida said, rising from the chair with a stretch. She hadn’t realized how long she’d been sitting in the chair until she felt the tingling in her lower legs as she stood. She shook her head hoping the wives’ tales she’d heard about it helping the feeling going away were true.
Eilaen nodded and crossed the room, and Kaida excitedly showed her the floor plan. Then, she pulled out the list of things she knew they would need to buy and accomplish. After scanning the list twice and marking down a few objects of her own, Eilaen looked up and smiled. “I guess we have some shopping to do!”
Three
The next afternoon, the two halflings happily made the trip three towns over to visit Lyrica that way they could make a day of visiting the largest shopping center that Kaida had ever laid eyes on. She held Eilaen’s hand as they both looked around, wide-eyed and amazed by the sheer number of beings. Kaida had never seen so many storefronts, which was saying something as she’d made several journeys to towns known for having exotic or other hard to find ingredients.
They roamed around for a short time, stopping when they found The Gnomish Goods, a store that specialized in new appliances and other fascinating mechanical contraptions. They stepped inside slowly, not knowing what they’d be walking into. The store was unlike anything they’d experienced in Galbassi or Smallburrow, and they were both taken aback by their surroundings. It was as if they’d just walked into another world entirely. There were machines and appliances that they’d never before seen the likes of. Kaida let out a loud gasp as she looked around. Everything was so shiny and looked so complex. Suddenly, she felt small and unsure, which was extremely rare for the incredibly outgoing halfling.
As they slowly strolled down each aisle, they grew increasingly curious by the vast amount of things they were seeing. Finally, a male gnome found them and stopped. “May I help you two halflings with something?” he asked as he looked at them through a pair of thick, round spectacles.
“Yes. Hi, I’m Kaida, and this is Eilaen. We’re from Smallburrow, and we’re opening a bakery. We’re in need of appliances and were wondering if you’d be able to help us decide what would fit our needs in the best way? Everything is so shiny and big and incredible,” Kaida replied with a wide smile that had her eyes shining with excitement.
