Chapter 4: A New Journey
...
"Me?" he pointed himself in confusion. "Why me, dad?"
"And why not? Gwen here will need to be familiarized with her future school, of course," uncle Steve explained to him.
It was very clear in his face that he doesn't want to give me a little tour that uncle Steve was saying. He kinda looks annoyed by it. And if he doesn't want to, it's fine with me too because I can manage to take care of myself when I'm already there.
"It's okay, uncle Steve. I can handle myself on my first day, I'm sure." I smiled at him so that the conversation with his son won't be long anymore.
...
It was a regular day at the bakery. I put the freshly baked cookies into the glass cabinet. It smells so delicious. Customers were lining up and we were so busy. Until I saw aunt Adelyn entering the bakery. I automatically smiled at her when she sat at one of the tables there. She talked to one of the waiters because I couldn't leave at the register. Customers are still here.
"I'll get a hot cocoa and a strawberry and cream croissant," our customer said to me. "Oh, and I want to add some sugar on the top of the croissant, please," she added.
"Coming up, Ma'am," I said nicely to her as I compute all of her orders. "That would be $9.75, Ma'am." She gave me her card and I swiped in right away to get her payment for her food.
I was about to prepare her order when Edgar, one of the waiters, came to me. "Gwen, I'll make her order. Mrs. Adelyn wants to talk to you right now. She's right there." He pointer her. I removed my apron first before going to her table and sitting in front of her.
"Good morning, aunt Adelyn." I smiled. "What brings you here?" It's a surprise that she's here. She doesn't normally come here at this time.
"I'd like to pull you off from work today. We'll be shopping for your school. And also, we'll talk about some things before you enter school," she told me nicely.
"As in right now, auntie?" I asked just to make it clear.
"If it's okay with you, we can go shopping right now," aunt Adelyn said to me.
I looked around the bakery. There are lots of customers inside and our people can't handle it properly if I choose to leave them. Some people have a lot of orders too and the waiters need an extra hand for that.
"Uhm, auntie?" I called her.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Can we go later? The bakery is full right now. They need me here," I explained to her, hoping she'll understand.
A smile rose from her lips. "You do care for the people here. That's very nice, Gwen."
"You and uncle Steve provided me things like I'm related to your blood even I'm not. And I'm very thankful for that, auntie. I want to work hard for you to see that everything you give me will always be worth it. Besides, I have come to love it already," I said. I've always wanted to keep this bakery stable. In five months of working, I enjoyed working here even in sometimes, it's hard.
"Okay, then. Shall I pick you up at 3:00 PM later?" she asked me.
"Sure, auntie." I smiled.
She said goodbye for now and went away so I could already continue my work. The people who came doubled the number of our customers inside. Fortunately, a lot of them are here for takeouts so we wouldn't worry about adding tables anymore.
Hours have passed and the customers that come here were lessened. I can now rest for a couple of minutes while cleaning the tables. It's a very tiring day, though. It's only fifteen minutes before 3:00 PM. Aunt Adelyn will be here at any time now so I need to fix myself.
I went to the restroom and washed my face. A part of my hair got wet so I wiped it with my face towel. I did my ponytail again because it was messed up lately. I didn't realize I still had my apron. I removed it from me before putting it on the hanging board.
At exactly 3:00 PM, auntie's car was already beeping from the outside. I immediately get my bag and went inside her car. I made sure I was already clean before going inside.
"First thing we need to do is to have your hair be fixed at the salon," she said while driving.
"Huh?" I was confused. "You don't have to, auntie. I'll go to the salon by myself tomorrow," I said because I know she'll pay for it if I go now.
"It's better to go now, Gwen. I know you're worried about me, spending my money on it. I'm rich, remember?" Her humor is everything. I laughed when she said that.
"Okay, auntie," I answered her.
...
"I prefer to cut your hair above your shoulder. That style will suit the shape of your face, dear," the gay barber told me.
"Sure," I answered him right away.
I'm not very sentimental with my hair like other people. If I have long hair and I need to have it cut with a large length, it won't cause a lot of damage to me so I think it's fine.
The cutting process wasn't very long and also he gave me a shampoo that can maintain the smoothness of my hair. I gladly accepted it before thanking him. After auntie paid, we went straight to the mall. I have no idea what we're going to buy.
"You know what, Gwen? I wished you were my son's girlfriend instead of the one he's with now," aunt Adelyn suddenly said while we were walking in the middle of the mall.
At first, I didn't know how to respond to that. I didn't know that Miles have a girlfriend. He doesn't bring her to the bakery, though. Even if he does, I don't care about it. Miles is the type of guy you wouldn't wanna mess with.