Page 21 of Batter Up!

Penelope laughed. “I love trying new combinations of flavors. We could come up with special drinks to go with different baked goods that people haven’t tried before.” Her nervousness was going away, and I saw real excitement in her chocolate brown eyes. “That is if I get the job, of course.”

“You do know this is only part-time, right?” I asked, worried that she would say she needed more hours since she said she needed work. I was really feeling like we clicked already.

“Yeah, I do. I also work at the diner down the street, so part-time would be perfect,” she replied, and I found myself sighing with relief.

“Do you ever bake?” I asked.

“I haven’t really tried, but I’m willing to learn,” she said, and I loved that response. “I love working with customers, so I could handle up here while you are baking in the back if needed.”

“How are you with cash handling skills?”

“I have to cash people out at the diner. I don’t know how your register works, but I’m good at entering the charges and giving back change. I’m not the best at doing math in my head, but I can figure it out on paper, if needed.”

“That’s pretty much what my machine does, too,” I said and was grateful she didn’t ask me to come up with a math problem.

We talked some more about the bakery and how it was similar to the diner and other job experiences she had. I really liked Penelope. I could tell that she and I would work well together. I suddenly found myself saying, “When can you start?”

Penelope got a huge grin on her face, “Are you serious? I can start tomorrow if you need me.”

I had to laugh. “That would be awesome! I am finishing up organizing everything and still have a few more deliveries coming in. If you want to help with that kind of stuff, you are more than welcome to start tomorrow.”

“I’ll be here bright and early, boss,” she said. “Thank you so much!”

The next morning, I woke up and ran to the bathroom to throw up. No! No! No! I thought to myself. I had way too much to do and didn’t have time to get sick. I sat on my bathroom floor, closed my eyes for a minute, and sighed. I was feeling a little better now that I had thrown up. I got up from the floor, brushed my teeth, and went on with my day.

Penelope showed up right on time and was a huge help. She was great at organization and quickly learned how to make fondant items for cupcakes and cakes.

We made tons of little, blue fondant Raptors for my Raptor cupcakes. Since the mascot is blue, I decided to make the cupcakes blue with white buttercream frosting, so the Raptor would stand out. I also wanted to make vanilla and peanut butter cake baseball cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting flattened down with the red laces done with my piping bag. I planned to make plenty of baseball items to celebrate the opening season of the Raptors.

“Once we get these done, I’m going to my AF kitchen to make these same cupcakes but without the peanut butter and using my special flours.”

“Do you really think there will be a need for allergy-friendly baked items in this small town?” Penelope asked.

“I’m not sure,” I said with a shrug. “But if I’m able to give one kid with a nut allergy or a person with Celiac Disease a baked good that they can eat without worry, it’s worth it to me.”

“Do you have an allergy yourself, or do you know someone close to you who does?” Penelope began putting the finished baked goods on trays to store in the fridge.

“Nope. One time, I gave a cute boy a hazelnut cookie and didn’t know he was allergic to tree nuts. It really left an impact on me.”

“Oh, he was cute, huh? He really did leave an impact.”

I found myself blushing. “I was 11, Pen. He was my first crush. I’m pretty sure he was my first kiss, too, if you count a kiss on the cheek.”

“You are too adorable!” Penelope said as she began to fill another tray. “It's totally up to you if it counts as your first kiss. I think if he meant enough for you to have a second kitchen that is AF, then it counts.”

Penelope’s phone rang, and she looked at the caller ID. “Is it okay if I take this outside?”

I gave her a nod and finished putting the cupcakes on the tray. A few minutes later, she came back into the kitchen. She was ringing her hands together and looked nervous.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“I am so sorry. That was my sister, Shiloh, calling, and one of my kids has a fever.”

“I didn’t know you have kids. How old are they, and what are their names?” I asked. I also wondered where their father was, but I didn’t know her well enough yet to ask that kind of question.

Penelope reached for her phone and pulled up a picture of herself with an adorable little boy with a brown mohawk and a little girl with a round face and brown pigtails. “Camden is almost seven, and Peyton just turned four. They are my everything. I am lucky enough that my sister is taking online courses, and in exchange for living with us and free internet, she watches my kids for me.”

“I’m glad you have that support. Family definitely comes first. Go! You’ve been a great help today.”

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