Page 20 of Batter Up!

“Hi, I’m Molly,” I introduced myself and reached out to shake her hand.

“Hi! I’m Lillian Paddington, but everyone calls me Lilly Pad,” she said with a sweet smile. I wasn’t sure if I could call a grown woman Lilly Pad, but I made a note to call her Lilly. She was wearing a blue skirt that went just past her knees with blue ballet slippers and a casual, white blouse. A very nice interview outfit. I was impressed already.

I once again gestured to the cafe table, and she turned the chair back around that Cash had left turned backwards and sat in it like a normal person would.

“I brought my resume with me,” Lilly said as she pulled it out of her purse.

“Great! Thank you!” I said as I looked over the resume. She had job experience at a movie theater. “Your job experience shows me you have customer service skills. I love that.”

“Oh, I just love movies. We got to see free movies. Do we get free donuts here?” she asked as she looked around.

“Um, we could probably work something out. At least a discount,” I said and hoped not everyone thought it was just a donut shop. I wanted to create more than just donuts. “So, other than customer service, what do you think your biggest asset would be for my bakery?”

Lilly thought for a moment and said, “I’m really quick at math! And that’s important when dealing with money.”

I nodded, “Yeah, that is a good skill to have.”

“Ask me a math question, and I’ll answer it super quick,” she said while bouncing in her seat.

I thought for a second, “Okay. Many of my cupcakes are $3.50, and a full cheesecake is $19.75, so what is the total of those two together?”

Lilly looked right at me and quickly said, “Five.”

I once again found myself just blinking at an interviewee and wasn’t sure what to say, “Um, that’s not the correct answer.”

Lilly laughed, “I know, but it sure was a quick answer. It was kind of a joke to show how quick I can do math.”

I just found myself nodding but wasn’t sure where the humor in that answer was or why she had done that. Was she serious? “You know this is just a part time position for now, right?”

Lilly nodded. “Yes. I’m a college student, and I only have time for a part-time job, so that works perfect for me. I hope to be a social media consultant someday.”

I wrote down some information on her resume and felt like a deflated balloon. This interview had gone so much better than the first one, up until the math question.

“Well, I will be in touch,” I said while I pasted a smile on my face. “I still have a few more interviews scheduled.”

Lilly smiled at me nicely. “Ok, great!”

The next interview was with a woman whose kids had just left the nest and was looking for something to keep herself occupied. She wanted a job with more hours than part-time and said she would think about it, but I was sure she’d find something full-time that would suit her life better.

Up next was another college student named Janel Boyher, and I had hoped that she might be a good fit. She said she loved to bake for her family in her spare time and was actually thinking about going to culinary school after she got her general education requirements out of the way at the community college. I asked what she would like about the job, and she said trying the different baked goods. But when I asked what she might not like about the job, she said, “Dealing with people.” I then realized she wasn’t what I needed to hire at the moment. I let her know if I ever needed a baker in the future, I would give her a call.

Lilly appeared to be the best option, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure she was the right person for the job. Out of all the interviewees, though, she had the most potential. I didn’t want to just settle for anyone for my bakery. I was about to lock the door and work on some baking in the back room when there was a knock on the door.

“I’m so sorry, but I’m not open yet. We hope to open in two weeks,” I explained to the young woman standing at the door. She was wearing a simple blue shirt and jeans. Her hair was dark brown and up in one of those messy buns that looked simple but probably took a long time to get perfect.

“I just now saw your ad at the library. I know I didn’t apply or call to set up an interview, but I was wondering if you had time now. If not, I could come back another time.”

“I have a few minutes. Come on in. I’m Molly Green. Welcome to my bakery.”

“Hi. I’m Penelope Benton,” she said as she came in and looked around. “Oh, I love the colors! It looks so welcoming here.”

I smiled as I looked around the bakery at the accents of Raptor blue and my favorite color, purple, splashed around. I loved that she mentioned something positive about the bakery, something all the other interviewers had failed to do.

“Have a seat, Penelope,” I said and pointed at the same cafe table I had been using all day.

“I’m sorry I don’t have a resume or anything, but I really need a job, and this seemed perfect for me. I used to work at a coffee place. I’m not sure if you’ll even be selling coffee here, but I love making coffee drinks. I’m also really great at recommending drinks that pair well with baked goods.” She was rambling, most likely due to nerves, but I liked everything she was saying.

I smiled and looked over at my empty counter, where my espresso machine would be sitting as soon as it arrived. “Yes, I plan to sell coffee drinks, and I don’t have any experience making them, so that would be amazing if you could teach me, too. I had just planned on watching videos or looking up recipes to try.”

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