Page 26 of Help Wanted: Wife

“Only existing customers see it. We’ll walk around the cozi and reach new customers. We won’t earn any money on the freebies, but if they start patronizing the bakery, we’ll recoup our loss.”

“You’re not just beautiful, you’re smart.”What would I do without you?He couldn’t imagine life without Pru anymore. It wasn’t just what she’d done for the business but the way she brightened his life.

“Thank you. It’s nice to have my ideas respected.”

She’d enabled him to find humor in a calamity and then turned it into an opportunity. She’d brought lightness and joy to his life. Grief had faded into a memory, and Prudence occupied his thoughts more often than Sala did. He didn’t know how to handle his growing attachment and the conflict it stirred.I promised I’d be loyal forever, and now I’m falling for another woman.

Not any woman. My wife.

He’d assumed he’d be able to compartmentalize, use sex to blunt the grief. It had blunted the grief all right. Before his first marriage, he’d slept with other women without getting emotionally involved, but sexwith Prudence had become intensely personal. Intimate.

I love—“I don’t know what Sala’s Bakery would do without you.”

“I’m going to count how many bags of coffee we have.” She left the kitchen.

Chapter Twelve

Five days later

Prudence settled in the office cubbyhole of the crowded apartment and booted up the DataDrive. She needed a baseline snapshot of their financial picture so they could better evaluate the success of the grand opening in two days.

Sales from yesterday, the last day of operation at the cozi, had been uploaded, so the data was current. Larth had gotten teary-eyed at the close of the day when they rolled down the shutters on the booth. Other vendors had rushed over to wish them luck in their upward endeavor.

“You are doing what we all hope to achieve,” Adar said. “You’re an inspiration to us all. I hope we can be as successful as you.”

“You can be,” Larth had replied in a hoarse voice. “Keep working hard and don’t give up. I’m excited for the new shop, but I’m a little sad to leave the cozi because the dream started here.” He’d wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “The cozi was always intendedto be just the first step. Pru helped me turn the dream into a reality. She’s the best wife a guy could have.”

She’d teared up a little then herself.

Larth had gone to clean and clear out the stall, to ready it for the next vendor. Krogan had opened a fourth marketplace this year, but the waiting list remained long. The tenant would be thrilled to get a space. While Larth was taking care of the booth, she’d stayed home to review their financials.

Something had changed since he’d taken her to the finished bakery, and they discovered the android’s snafu. Their nightly sex had always been hot, but lately it seemed imbued with increasing affection and tenderness. She often caught him watching her. He touched her in a myriad of ways throughout the day. Compliments were frequent. He smiled and laughed more. Mentioned Sala far less often.

It’s like he’s wooing me.

She couldn’t help but respond to the attention, like a flower turning toward the light. He had become her sun, and her life had started to revolve around him. If their relationship had improved to this degree now, how would it be in a year? Might he actually love her by then? She already loved him, but held off telling him until she was more confident of his affections.

But hopeful? Oh, yes, she was optimistic about the future for the first time.

The fly in the ointment was the damn bakery name. She knew she was wrong to resent it. If she and Larth were growing closer, why did it matter what he called the shop—especially since he’d decided on the name before she married him. Furthermore, she truly did not begrudge Larth’s former marital happiness. On the contrary, it proved how deeply hecouldlove. Second wife didn’t necessarily mean second best.

But she’d come in second place before, and the signage suggested she might never quite measure up to the sainted Sala. Death had beatified her. How could she compete with that?

I have to get over the name. Have to accept it.But that was easier said than done when the name was emblazoned two feet high across the shop wall where she’d see it every day.

Let it go.

She accessed their DataDrive and perused the general ledger of assets, revenue, capital, and expenses. Operating capital had dwindled, but they shouldn’t need to purchase anything else for a while. They had no employees to pay. Her salary would be delivered as a year-end bonus. And, hopefully, saleswould take off like a rocket. However,a couple of construction contractors still needed to be paid. All profits had been invested back in the business. They had no reserves. It was sink-or-swim time.

Please let the bakery be a success!From this point forward, they would incur expenses they’d never had before like sky-high rent and the huge loan payments on Donna.

She closed the file and shut down the DataDrive.

There was so much risk in opening or expanding a business. Like the android. Pru had been shocked to discover how much Donna had cost. It would take them years to repay the astronomical loan. But, in the long-term, having a robo would save them money.Provided we keep baking snafus to a minimum.

She chuckled. Although the excess production had been an expense they couldn’t afford, given their slim profit margin, it was still funny. Donna had produced enough baked goods to fill the cozi, the new bakery, and another shop—with leftovers! But they’d learned something important—be precise in their instructions; don’t assume anything. Donna would doexactlywhat they told her to. Nothing more, nothing less.

But she was optimistic the snafu would turn in their favor. They had canvassed the businesses in theircloudtopper and in several others nearby, dropping off cakes, pies, sweet rolls, and breads. Darn near every customer in the cozi the next day had received a sample of something. If only a fraction of the people they’d reached attended the grand opening and bought something, they could recover the cost of the giveaways. And, hopefully, repeat business would result.

---