Chapter Seven Madison

F rom the moment I wake up, I find myself feeling a little lighter than I usually do, but still going through the motions of everything. Though I can’t begin to understand where it’s coming from, especially after everything that’s happened over the last two days. But nonetheless, it’s as if Mrs. Kendall herself is pushing me to get on with things. Which, deep down, I know is exactly what she would say to me.

She’d tell me to stop moping around and to get her a coffee. Just thinking about her coming in and saying that brings a soft smile to my face, even if the tears I hold back threaten to fall; an image of Mrs. Kendall with a smirk on her lips as she takes her seat at the corner table fills my mind.

“Good Morning!” I try to say cheerfully to my mother the moment I step into the bakery. Her eyes shift to me, looking slightly duller than usual as she lets out a heavy sigh and shakes her head .

“How much coffee have you had this morning?”

“None,” I remark, matching her vibe. “But on that note, I could go for some.”

She rolls her eyes, causing me to smile. Our mornings together usually went like this. Although right now both of us are still very much grieving from the loss of Mrs. Kendall. Now, the lightness I woke up with is more forced than anything.

“I was thinking about the service,” she finally says after a few moments, her words making me pause mid-step in the process of placing coffee grounds within the white filter.

“Oh?” The service isn’t something I honestly want to consider right now, but it’s clear that my mother has it on her mind. I’m not about to cut her off if she wants to talk about it. “What about it?”

The last thing I expected was to discuss this first thing in the morning, but I can understand why it may be on her mind. My mother has always been the planner, and with Mrs. Kendall having no other family, it doesn’t surprise me she wants to make sure everything is in order.

Though discussing it sure is a damper on the happy mood I woke up in this morning.

“Well, I was thinking that maybe we should make it a bit larger because of how involved with the community she was. Maybe I can reach out to the school?”

Pushing the start button, I turn to face her. There’s much I’d like to say on this topic starting with how she needs to let someone else handle this no matter how close we were to her. My mother isn’t in the best position to take on this task. After my grandmother died, she barely held it together. Mrs. Kendall was the glue that helped us keep going. And now with her gone… a surrogate mother to my mother in a way… I can only imagine how hard she is taking it, so I choose my words carefully.

“Mom, maybe before you start planning we should wait to see what her lawyer says.” I smile gently. “I mean, she had it already planned out with me and my friends getting her place without anyone knowing. So I can only assume she may have her funeral planned out too. I don’t want you going too heavily into planning, only to have things change.”

Standing quietly, I watch her expression soften as she nods. “You’re right. I just can’t stop thinking about it all. ”

“I know, Mom. Why don’t we dive into baking and try and relax? You’ve always said that any negative emotion can be cured with freshly baked bread… and looking at this kitchen… I think we need your blueberry scones.”

My exaggerated comment causes a small smile and laugh to escape her as she shakes her head and nods once more. “Very well… scones it is.”

Half an hour later, with a hot cup of coffee in my system, I am ready and prepared for a day, doing what I love the most. The kitchen is my studio, and the ingredients in front of me are the paint for my edible canvas.

Or at least that’s what I like to tell people.

“Hey, Mom,” I call out, looking over my shoulder to where she stood by the large steel mixing bowl preparing the dough for the batch of daily fresh bread. “I had this idea for a new pasty we could try that I saw on that Premium Pastries show I watch. I was thinking maybe I could try them in the store?”

Her eyes meet mine for a brief moment before she lets out a heavy sigh and shakes her head. “You know how I feel about that kind of stuff, Madi. If we were in a large city, maybe. But the customers around here like easy things. Not the fancy stuff.”

“I know,” I reply with irritation as I continue to put the puff pastries on the baking sheet. “But I think you might be surprised… I mean, it doesn’t hurt to try just once.”

The sound of the mixer dies with the silence that fills the area between us. Glancing over my shoulder at her once more, I watch her quietly pull out the dough moving it towards the wooden block countertop next to it. “Madi, one day when you have your own bakery, or when you take over this one, then you can cook whatever you want. But until then… we do it my way.”

For fuck sake… Why does she always use that line? It’s so annoying.

“Very well,” I reply, biting back my irritation. “How about some music then?”

This time, she turns to me with a smile and nods. “Now that sounds like a plan.”

“ Alexa! ” I yell, watching the blue light glow from the speaker station. “Play today’s best hits. ”

Alexa chimes and then quickly replies, “Turning on the playlist, Today’s Best Hits.”

The sound of Beyonce comes blaring through the speakers and I can’t help but laugh as I hear my mother groan, regretting her decision to allow me to control the music. Though, I know her well enough to know that the dramatic way in which she acted when the music turned on was only for show. Because her hips start to sway with mine and we quickly continue with our morning routine preparing every recipe she has for when the store opens.

The moment the store opens, it’s a mad rush. Some people are coming and going as they grab what they need for the day while others decide to linger around enjoying their breakfast or gossiping with friends. It isn’t until 9:30 in the morning that a familiar face walks in and my smile lights up.

“Knox… you ready for your usual?”

He saunters up to the counter, his eyes a little heavier than usual as he nods. “Yeah, but make that coffee extra large. I need all the caffeine I can get.”

Frowning, I raise a brow but say nothing as I make his coffee and grab two old-fashioned cake donuts he loves before returning to him at the counter. The moment I place the coffee down, he lifts it and takes a sip groaning with satisfaction.

“Are you going to tell me what’s got you so flustered? Or are you just going to moan over that coffee like a sweet piece of ass?”

“Madi!” my mother exclaims in a hushed tone as she comes up next to me. “Don’t talk like that here.”

Both Knox and I laugh as I apologize and gesture for him to step out front with me. My mother knows how I can be, and as much as I can be a pain in the butt—I would never be disrespectful towards her. However, the moment Knox and I step outside the bakery I turn to him with a pointed gaze, expecting an answer. “So—explain.”

“It’s nothing really,” he laughs, pulling out a donut. “I stopped by the attorney’s office this morning to discuss some things about the property. She said that no matter what, Mrs. Kendall’s things will need to be packed up and/or donated. And if we’re going to do anything with the property regardless, the stuff has to be moved anyways. ”

I half expected something really bad to be wrong considering the way he looked when he walked in. But to hear it’s about the property, it stops me. My mind buzzed over the information, and the fact that packing her stuff meant she really was gone.

“Um, okay… Well, I can’t leave right now. But I’m pretty sure I can skip out after the morning rush around eleven.”

Knox nods, smiling at me as he finishes the last bite of his first donut and takes another sip of his coffee. “Sounds good to me. I was going to go pick up some boxes and tape and whatnot then swing by the lawyer’s office to grab the keys after.”

“Have you told anyone else yet?”

“No,” he replies, shaking his head. “I was planning to call Kylie as soon as I left here.”

“Okay, well, let me finish helping Mom and then I’ll meet you over there when I’m done.” I tell him, running my hand through the bottom of my ponytail before brushing it back over my shoulder.

“No worries. I’ll see you in a bit.”

With Knox gone and my workflow back on track the moment I get back inside, I find my mind wandering once more to Mrs. Kendall and the entire situation with her will. She’d left the house to the six of us, but the reason behind doing it escapes me.

“Everything okay with Knox?” my mom asks as she brings another basket of freshly baked bread towards the front counter. “He seemed… off when he came in.”

“Um, yeah…” I reply hesitantly, my mind processing what Knox just told me. “He uh—went to the lawyer’s today to discuss the property.”

“Oh?”

When I turn to face her, I can see the concern and curiosity in her eyes. As soon as I found out about Mrs. Kendall leaving us the house yesterday I called my mom. There was so much going on, and considering how close she and Mrs. Kendall were, she had to know.

Her positive attitude about the entire situation, as well as the reassurance that everything would work out for the best, was definitely what I needed. But now, hearing that we need to clean out the house makes me feel awkward. It feels invasive.

“Madison? ”

My mother’s voice pulls me from my thoughts as I shake my head, forcing a smile. “Sorry, I just zoned out a bit. Um—he said the house needs to be packed up before we can do anything. That Mrs. Kendall had asked us to donate, or get rid of, everything we didn’t want.”

“Oh, did she?” she replies, her eyes drifting back towards the pastries she had been working with. “Well, I suppose the lawyer is also trying to close this up pretty quickly. And with Mrs. Kendall being so well organized, it shouldn’t take long.”

Every part of the conversation felt wrong.

“It shouldn’t be like that though,” I finally mutter, her eyes meeting mine as my fist clenches at my side. “All of this is going way too fast… it just feels… I hate it.”

Laying down her spatula, she wipes her hands on her apron before clearing the space between us. Her arms wrap around me as she pulls me into a hug, the tears finally flowing freely down my face once more.

Great. Now I’m crying in front of the entire bakery. I have two personalities: I’m either happy, bubbly and ready to go, or I’m crying my fucking eyes out and refusing to get out of bed. I pull back and wipe my cheeks.

“Everything is going to be okay, Madison.” Mom gives me an encouraging smile. “Regardless of how fast or slowly we think things should be… that isn’t how it goes. So, if the lawyer told Knox that you guys have to get the place packed up… then so be it.”

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck,” I mutter. “When I’m there, is there anything you want me to keep for you? Maybe photo albums or something?”

When her eyes meet mine, I see how deeply the pain is getting to her. They’re glazed over, and tears prick the corners as she nods. “That would be lovely, sweetheart.”