I Know Something You Don't Know - Wewrite freewrite Week 3

I Know Something You Don't Know

This Week’s Prompt

The smell of cinnamon and fresh fruit wafted lovingly through the kitchen, drifting between the bakers and through the hallway leading to the storefront. The scent tempted the awaiting patrons, each lining up before the display case of assorted pastries, pies, and cream-filled confections. Lucas, in his white apron and pastel name tag, saw that the ever-popular eclairs were running low. He left Beverly to tend to the customers as he went to gather more. Smiling, he reached into one of the racks in the kitchen and pulled out the fresh pastries to fill the empty tray.

“We’re going to need more eclairs ,” Lucas mused, “they’re almost all gone back here, too.”

“Well, what else is new?” Jonah laughed. “I’ll get someone on it once we’re done with these pies,” he said as he gestured loosely to the delectables around him. Lucas had helped unload the giant crates of peaches and blueberries that morning, and seeing their baked form made his mouth water. More than that, he longed to make one, perhaps with a cracker crust, carefully baked and topped with a little sugar. No, drizzled honey.

Jonah saw Lucas’ eager stare and questioned, “How long have you worked here now?”

“Oh, uh, about six months.” Lucas had briefly forgotten that he worked front of the house, not in the wonders of the kitchen, and began loading the eclairs again.

“Well, when you’re done refilling those come back. There’s something I want to show you.”

••.•´•.••My Part••.•´•.••

Once Lucas had refilled the case with éclairs, he told Beverly that Jonah wanted him to come back to be shown something in the kitchen. She smiled and said, “Were nearing the end of the morning rush now, so you can take your time with Jonah. It sounds like it might be really important.” Lucas thought Beverly seemed to be acting like she knew something.

“I don’t think I’m in trouble for anything, but maybe Jonah thinks I’m a slacker or something,” he thought, as he walked toward the kitchen. “When he asked me how long I’ve been working here, maybe it was a dig on me for not keeping my mind on my duties.” Otherwise, he had no idea why Jonah wanted to see him.

In the kitchen’s office, Jonah said, “Lucas, It’s time that you know that our pastry chef, Pops, has decided it’s time for him to retire,” Jonah said. Lucas recognized this was going to be a big deal because Pops was well-known as one of the most expert pastry chefs in the world.

If that wasn’t enough, Pops’ pies were what gave the bakery its history and popularity. Without Pops making the pies anymore, the bakery may be in for a decline in business. He felt like Jonah was setting him up for the bad news - he’d have to be let go.

“Now, I did tell you I had something to show you, and I’ll be honest with you; we thought long and hard about this, even before you’d interviewed with us for a job,” Jonah said. Lucas thought about what he might have done to cause them to see red flags before his interview, but nothing clicked. “Sit tight Lucas, and I’ll be right back.”

When Jonah returned to the office he was carrying a uniform that looked like it had been at the cleaners in one hand, (it was in one of those plastic bags cleaners put clothes in), and a folder with papers in the other hand. He hung the uniform on a hook, sat down, and then pulled out some papers. Lucas recognized his resume.

“When we looked at your resume for the first time, we saw that you’d attended Orsacha Culinary School. This was why we’d decided to hire you even before your interview,” Jonah said. His saying this didn’t make Lucas feel any better, as Orsacha Culinary School was not regarded as a top school in the country. He still had no clue as to where this was going.

“This all has to do with Pops, his retirement, and Jacques D’Amboise, who was your mentor at Orsacha. Jacques and Pops have been best friends since they attended culinary school in France. Pops talked to Jacques about you when he saw your resume, as Pops says Jacques is the best pastry chef ever. To make a long story short Lucas, you will be taking Pops’ place as our new head pastry chef, and this is your new uniform.”

Source of images used in this post:

_{Topper: Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay
Pie crust: Image by MorningbirdPhoto from Pixabay
Pastry chef: Image by skeeze from Pixabay}