Page 8 of Heaven Leigh’s Little Halloween

The older woman shook her head, her gray curls bouncing. “No, no, don’t worry about that. You know, when I heard you singing ‘Amazing Grace,’ it took me all the way back to my childhood in church. You’ve got a lovely voice.”

“Th-thank you.”

“What’s your name, sweetie?”

“Heaven.” She cleared her throat. “Heaven Leigh Robertson.” She’d considered changing it for a whole new start, but that felt too much like hiding who she was. So, since she’d left home, she’d changed the pronunciation of her middle name. It helped a lot once it didn’t sound so much like “heavenly”.

“Pretty name, Heaven. So you know how to bake, and you want a job.” It wasn’t a question, but Heaven nodded anyway. “You have a place to live?”

She considered lying, but honesty was still so heavily engrained in her, and she couldn’t quite do it. “No, ma’am. I stay at a shelter most nights unless they fill up.”

Barbara made a hmm sound. “Well, I can’t have an employee living on the streets. That wouldn’t do at all.”

Of course it wouldn’t. With a sigh, Heaven stood up. “That’s what I thought. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

The older woman blinked. “What? Oh no, honey, that’s not what I meant at all.” She waved her hands at Heaven. “Of course you can have the job. I just need to put you up too. I’ve got just the idea if you don’t mind trusting a stranger.” She paused, frowned. “You really shouldn’t you know. It’s not safe, but in this case…”

What else had Heaven done since she’d run away, but trust strangers. She just wasn’t exactly sure what Barbara was offering. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“Sorry, dear. My thoughts get ahead of me sometimes. You need a place to live, and I was just remembering that there’s a little apartment upstairs.” Her pointer finger went ceilingward. “It’s just being used for storage right now and I have no idea what all is up there, but probably nothing of importance.”

Heaven was floored. “You… you’re going to rent me an apartment and give me a job?” She couldn’t believe she was that lucky.

“Don’t be silly. I’m not charging you rent for an unused attic. But there is a bathroom up there along with a microwave and a mini-fridge. I’m sure it would be more comfortable than a shelter.”

Heaven’s eyes widened like dinner plates, and she just stared speechless. Never in her life had anyone been so kind.

But there was a hitch.

Barbara pursed her lips as she examined Heaven. “Hmm. How old are you, Heaven? Tell me the truth now.”

Heaven had hoped to avoid that question too. She hesitated and then, “Sixteen.”

The older woman sighed. “Well, that’s a bit of a hitch.”

The hope and happiness that had swelled in Heaven’s chest started to deflate. Of course it was a hitch. She was a minor. That was always going to be a problem. Barbara could get in trouble for helping her. “It’s okay, ma’am.”

“Well, it’s not okay.” Barbara shook her head. A young girl on the streets is never okay, but don’t you worry. I know exactly who to call.”

And she did. Barbara, Heaven would find out, was very well known in the area for her charity work. She had contacts all over the place. And she wasn’t just the owner of one small bakery, but several scattered around the city.

Within an hour she’d drawn out Heaven’s life story, and then she’d gone into action. After multiple calls, she’d arranged to be assigned as an emergency foster guardian for Heaven, until the paperwork could be sorted. “It’s just temporary,” she explained. “But I’d be happy to keep you until you’re eighteen, of course. Lord knows I have plenty of room in my house, but with you being a runaway… it’s going to be safer to get you emancipated.”

“Emancipated?” Heaven asked hesitantly.

“Yes, you’ll be a minor who is recognized to be responsible enough to manage your own affairs. Once we settle that, then you can have your own apartment here, if you’d like. Until then you’ll stay with me and work part time.”

It sounded wonderful. She couldn’t believe any of it would happen, but it did. Everything Barbara promised came true over the next year. She even tried going to school for the first time in her life, but that didn’t last long.

Heaven didn’t deal well with the rules and structure of a public high school. She’d always been homeschooled and was easily able to keep up with the other students in most areas, but the classes made her feel hemmed in. A strict schedule for schoolwork, rather than fitting it in wherever, was a real struggle.

“Never mind,” Barbara said. “No sense driving yourself crazy. We’ll get you materials to study for the GED.”

By the time she was eighteen, she had her GED, was emancipated, living above the bakery, and her basic baking skills had really taken off. She could be trusted with even the most complicated cakes. Soon after that, Barbara made her a partner with a share in the business, and they expanded together, opening a few more bakeries in the state.

Barbara was more than just a friend and mentor by then. She’d basically become Heaven’s mom in every way that mattered. But she was getting up there in age and once she was sure that Heaven had mastered running the business, she began to step back slowly.

She wanted to keep baking and she always kept her hand in at the original bakery, the one Heaven had entered that first day. And Heaven, despite taking on all the responsibilities of dealing with managing a cluster of stores, still found time to bake there too. It was mostly just for fun at that point, and something they could do together, but she began to narrow her focus to learn more of the craft.

---