Page 26 of Dragons & Dumplings

"Yes."

My whole body feels weird as I try to take in the news. "I see."

"Yes," he repeats, looking down at his knees.

I might not always be able to read situations right, but I can work out this one. He wants me to ask him to stay, and I want to ask him that, but we both know that I can't and that I shouldn't. "You'll learn a lot," I say instead, breaking my heart as I do.

His shoulders slump. "That's what my father says. He thinks I have the potential to be an even better pastry chef than he is."

"You're already a better pastry chef than your father," I say, meaning every word. I know that a lot of Mr Matthews' best creations in the past couple of years have actually been things that Nate came up with. He's just not allowed to tell anyone else that.

"That's a matter of debate," Nate says.

"I can't believe you're going to be gone for years," I whisper, my voice cracking as I do.

Nate looks up, a pained expression on his face, as if my reaction has told him something. I'm not sure what. He already knows he's my best friend and that I'm going to miss spending time with him. It isn't any kind of revelation to him.

"When do you leave?" I ask.

"Next week."

"Next week?" A strange squeak escapes from me. "Sorry."

"It's all right, my reaction was the same."

"That's so soon." I watch him continue to fuss Ember and think about all the time we're going to miss with one another.

"It's sooner than I'd like," he admits. "I thought maybe we could make some of our favourite bakes. You know, a good way to say goodbye."

A lump forms in my throat. "I would like that." I'd like it better if he wasn't going, but I'm not selfish enough to suggest that. He could have an amazing career ahead of him as oneof Falhaven's best pastry chefs, I'm not about to ruin that just because I might be a bit lonely. "Do you know what you want to make?" I ask him instead of voicing any of my thoughts.

"Apple and blackberry pie."

"That's the first thing we made together."

He nods. "We overfilled the pie and it ended up overflowing in the oven."

I laugh as I remember the mess we made. "Your father wasn't happy."

"And he was amazed when you helped me clean it up. I think he expected you to run away at the first hint of getting your hands dirty." The smile on his face almost chases away the hurt.

"I wasn't going to abandon you when it was my mess too," I point out. "If I can make the mess, then I can tidy it up."

"I think he knows that now," Nate responds. "But then he wasn't so sure."

"I'm glad I proved him wrong."

"What do you think you want to bake?" he asks.

"I'm not sure," I admit. "We've made so many tasty things. And a couple of disasters."

He laughs. "The Eve's Pudding?"

"I don't know what went wrong, it was cooked in the middle when I tested it with the skewer," I protest. "It was only when I turned it out that it fell apart."

Ember decides she's bored with our conversation and makes her way back over to the fire, stretching her wings as she hops back into it.

"You know what, we should make Eve's Pudding," I say. "A do-over."

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