Just as the door was closing, she found her voice. “Elkhean, wait.” The door stopped, and he reappeared on her side of it, making sure it was shut so the cold air wouldn’t blow in. “Before you go... Yes. I do want to have a relationship with you, and not just a friendship. I don’t want to stop seeing you every day when you’re done and I want to be around you as much as I can. You’re amazing and wonderful and sweet and kind. Even if you don’t show it. You make me feel warm and fuzzy. And safe. You make me feel safe. And I’m sorry it has taken all night to find the words to say it out loud to you. Unless you’ve changed your mind since earlier this evening. If that’s the case then-”
“Kaida. Please stop talkin’. You’re ramblin’, Kaida Love. I haven’t changed my mind but if you don’t stop tryin’ to get me to, then I’m goin’ to have to grab a han’ful of snow an’ throw it at you,” he replied, smiling and he leaned in a kissed her forehead. “I’ll see ya in the mornin’ at the bakery.”
Before the cold air could even reach where she stood, he had closed the door behind him, and she heard his name benign chanted when he’d caught up with the rest of the dwarves. For a moment, Kaida could have sworn she’d heard the sounds of the dwarves singing their mountain songs as they walked down the road. With a sigh of happiness, Kaida walked into the den where Eilaen sat on the sofa, snuggled up with a cozy blanket, their cups of tea on the small table in front of her. The two halflings squealed in delight as Kaida filled her in on all of the details from the two conversations she’d had with Elkhean since he had arrived at their home.
Moments before the clock struck twelve and her birthday officially ended, Kaida and Eilaen slowly drifted up the stairs, bid one another goodnight, and slipped off into their rooms. She slept peacefully, her dreams filled with happy thoughts of a certain dwarf and a certain halfling living happily ever after, baking cookies and cakes for the rest of their days.
Twelve
Three weeks had passed since her birthday, and it was finally time for Kaida to stand inside of the finally finished kitchen in Kaida’s Place for the first time. Her eyes were lined with tears as she turned in a full circle to see everything in its place. It was so much better than she could have even imagined it would have been. Both of the stoves were positioned against the wall where the door was, their placement perfect for moving things back and forth from the counters or island. To the side of one, the counters stretched across the length of the kitchen wall, her shiny stainless-steel sink settled directly in the middle. Beside the other sat the giant cold box for her cold ingredients such as butter, milk, and cream.
In the center of the room sat the island of her dreams. It stood to her hip with the butcher’s countertop stained in the darkest, richest brown she’d ever seen. Specialty crafted shelves lined each of the four sides where her bowls, pans, and other baking dishes could stack perfectly. Her brand-new utensils from Ms. Kestrel rested on top, right in the middle for all to see. Every one of her most used ingredients had their own place, the shelves still needing to be stocked with the actual ingredients. Even with all of the beautiful work that each member of the dwarven crew had worked their heart as soul to accomplish, Kaida still could not deny that her favorite addition to the kitchen was the sign crafted just for her by the most wonderful dwarf of all.
A knock on the door startled her as it informed her that she wasn’t alone. It swung opened as she turned, and Eilaen popped into the kitchen. “It’s beautiful, Kaida. Absolutely beautiful. I can already smell the cookies and pies baking. And the space. Look at all of this space!”
“You know what the best part of it all is, Ellie?” Kaida asked with a smile on her face.
“No. More. Kitchen. Tillard,” the two halflings said at the same time before erupting into a fit of giggles.
“Oh. By the by, Ellie. I don’t suppose you happened to see whether a delivery had been made when you got here?” Kaida asked.
“I didn’t. But then again, I didn’t look very hard either. There are so many boxes in there that need to be unpacked that I could have easily missed anything new,” Eilaen replied, looping her arm around Kaida’s.
The two of them left the kitchen and walked around the dining area, unpacking and placing items on tables, walls, and the hot chocolate bar that Kaida had positioned behind the register counter. The beautiful glass pastry cases had been delivered the day before, and the dwarves had helped Kaida line them up against the wall closest to the door. Elkhean and Jareth had then spent the entire afternoon hanging curtains and the faerie lights over the large front windows so that Kaida and Eilaen could put the tables and chairs in front of it.
After they’d unpacked all of the crates and had put everything in its place, Eilaen told Kaida she was leaving and would see her at home for dinner. “Make sure you invite Elkhean over tonight! Ms. Kestrel said she misses him. He’s not been over in a week and I think she loves him more than us at this point,” she yelled as the door closed behind her.
Kaida shook her head and laughed. Elkhean had been fully grafted into their little family without any hesitation, as had the rest of his little group. Everything was coming together so beautifully, and Kaida couldn’t remember the last time that she felt so happy and whole. Her dream bakery was so close to being ready for its grand opening. All it was missing was ingredients and a few more things she was waiting to be delivered. Not only had she come to Smallburrow less than six months ago and had immediately been accepted by everyone in town for who she was instead of what she could do, but she’d been able to piece together an amazing family with her best friend. The cherry on top of it all was that she had even been able to find someone who cherished her for being herself when she’s almost given up on anyone deciding she was worthy of their love and attention.
Taking a step back, she smiled and sighed. This truly was a beautiful life she was living. She walked to the register counter and opened up the two crates that had been placed there when she arrived that morning. They were both stamped with the word “fragile” in bold red lettering and she had a good idea of what was included inside of them. She squealed loudly when she lifted the item from the first one, delighted that her hunch had been proven to be correct. Inside each of the crates was a custom-made glass cake dome that would be placed on either side of the register that sat on top of the counter.
Placing them where she had envisioned them, she clapped her hands in excitement. Now all that was missing was the register itself, which should have been delivered the week before but had yet to make its appearance. She’d decided the night before that if it hadn’t arrived by the time she was leaving the bakery that day, she would have Elkhean go with her to stop by The Gnomish Goods when she went to to Lyrica so she could get the rest of the utensils and bakeware, as well as place bulk orders for all of the ingredients she needed to prep the bakery for opening day.
Kaida smiled when she heard the sounds of dwarvish cursing outside the bakery and shook her head. The bell over the door rang as Elkhean walked in with a large crate in his hands. “Where can I put this down at, Kaida Love?” he asked. His voice was slightly strained as he struggled under the weight of the crate in his hands as he hoisted it across the room.
“The register counter. Please mind the cake domes! They just came in and they are gorgeous!” she replied in her sing-song way.
When he placed it on the counter, he stepped back and took a deep breath. “Ya know, I’m not sayin’ I’m the strongest dwarf on this side o’ the moun’in, but I didn’t expect that box to be so heavy. What’s in it, anyway?”
“I have a sneaky suspicion that I know what it is, but I’m not really sure. Let’s find out together!” she replied enthusiastically.
She pulled a chair over to the counter and stood up in it so she could see, and Elkhean held her hand as she stepped up on it to keep her steady. The top of the crate was barely secured, making it easy to pull off. The moment Elkhean had it dislodged from the crate, she threw it to the side. When she saw the crate’s contents, she let out a squeal so loud that it could have broken the windows.
“My register!” she exclaimed. Without remembering she was standing in a slightly unstable chair, she did a happy dance, only to cause the chair to wobble. Just as she was falling off of it, Elkhean’s hands caught her. After helping her stand on the ground and making sure she was steady on the ground, he looked at her with his eyebrow cocked.
“You gotta be more careful than that, Kaida. You coulda fallen and cracked your head open. Then you may have forgotten all about me and I woulda had to woo you all over again,” he said, attempting to assume a stern facial expression and stance.
With her hands on her hips, Kaida stuck her tongue at him. “I’ll have you know, Mister Dwarf, that I am very graceful. And even if I would have fallen and forgotten you, you managed to woo me once. Couldn’t you have done it again?”
“Aye. I’m sure I could. But that’s a lot of work, ya know. I di’n’t think I’d ever actually get to say the words to ya. Opportunity just presented itself, I suppose,” he said, tilting his head to the side.
She smiled and wrapped her hand around his. “I suppose it did.” She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Do you think you could pretty, pretty please get it out of the crate for me?”
Even though she couldn’t have been absolutely certain, she thought she’d seen his cheeks turn pink as he nodded and smiled back at her. He went into the kitchen to grab a ladder the dwarves had left the week before. He unfolded it and guided it over until he was right next to the crate before climbing up the first three steps. With a few grunts and groans, he had the register lifted and asked Kaida to move the crate. He quickly sat it in place as soon as the crate had been moved, the register coming down with a thud. The cake domes shook and Kaida held her breath, terrified that they were going to fall before she would be able to reach them. Thankfully, they stopped shaking just before she could even move a finger and she released a breath of relief.
With the cake domes positioned on either side of the register, Kaida took a step back to see the final result. Everything looked perfect! All that was missing were the cookies and pastries she was planning on putting under the glass lids. Elkhean descended the ladder, replacing it in the kitchen.
When he’d come back into the dining area, she looked at him, visibly confused. “Aren’t you going to take your ladder with you?”
“No. We have plenty of ‘em over in the shop. Thought I’d leave it here so I don’t have to haul one around when you need one. Besides, I think I may be ready and willin’ to stop workin’ with the rest o’ the crew,” he admitted, looking at the floor.
“Stop working with the crew? Why? Did something happen? Is everything alright?” Kaida asked. Her heart started to race and her mind began to churn frantically.
“No, no. Nothin’ happened. Nothin’s wrong. I just see my life movin’ in a diff’rent direction. That’s all it is. I promise,” he assured her, lacing his fingers through hers the best that he could.
“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.
“Well, it seems real likely that you’ll be busy with the bakery an’ you’re likely to be bitin’ off more than you can chew workin’ alone and such. I was thinkin’ that, if you wanted me to, I’d help you run this place. After all, I know how to run a business an’ manage orders an’ invoices an’ such. Lighten your load so you can focus your heart on the parts that I know you love the most,” he replied.
Yet again, this dwarf standing in front of her left her speechless. She was utterly stunned by his offer and the changes it would mean for him. He was willing to give everything up under the mountain so he could work here with her? Not just willing, she said to herself. But he actually wanted to. He was offering to. She found herself being surprised more and more every day by this beautiful, wonderful soul standing in front of her. She could feel herself falling more in love with him at the very idea of working together, side by side like she had been dreaming of since the night of her birthday. Three months ago, she never would have thought that they would have been standing where they were now. But now? Now she could see it as if it were already happening.
“Are... Are you sure? You don’t- don’t have to,” she began, stumbling over her words. She hoped he was about to shut her up because she knew once she started rambling, it would be very difficult to stop.
Elkhean stepped closer to her, wrapping her within his arms and resting his bearded chin on the top of her head. “I know I don’t have to. You should know by now that there’s nothin’ I do that I don’t want to do. I want to do this. I want to spend every day with you, in whatev’r way I can. I don’t know if you noticed this or not, Kaida. But I am really fond of ya, whether you think I am or not. An’ I can easily see myself spendin’ the rest of my life with ya, if you’d want me to,” he said without moving.
“You- you want to- to spend the rest of your life with me?” she asked, tears forming in her eyes.
“Aye. I do,” he replied, pulling back to look at her face.
