Day 31: 8 December 2025

Short Story -- Angelo's 

It was magic. 

The warmth. The smells. The colours.

There was nothing quite like the bakery on the corner of Main St and 13th Ave. 

Eddie had been coming here for as long as she could remember. Mr Angelo had made her christening cake -- vanilla cake with white fluffy vanilla buttercream --, first birthday cake -- a chocolate cake decorated to look like a kitten --, and most recently, the cake for her graduation -- lemon cake with whipped cream topping and fresh raspberries. 

"Here she is!" Mrs Angelo cried out joyfully from behind the till. "Our girl come home." 

Eddie had been studying patisserie in Italy for the past few years. 

"Hi, Mrs Angelo," Eddie answered warmly. Mrs Angelo was already coming out from behind the counter to wrap her in a hug. 

"How are you feeling?" Mrs Angelo asked, a twinkle in her eye. For being in her 80s, nothing got past her and she loved a bit of excitement and sometimes mischief as much as the next person. 

"Eddie!" Mr Angelo's voice boomed as he entered from the back. "Welcome home, sweetheart." And he wrapped her in a bear hug as well. 

"I can't tell you how excited I am to be here," Eddie said grinning. "As a kid, eating all of those cakes and cookies and pastries... I never would have imagined that one day I'd be working at the wonderful Angelo's Bakery! It's a dream come true!" 

"You say that now," laughed Tony who had just came out front and was still wiping the flour from his hands onto his apron. "This one's a real task master!" He jerked his thumb lovingly towards Mr Angelo. 

"Only because you need a lot of guidance," Mr Angelo retorted. 

Their banter was all in good fun and Eddie knew it. 

"Let's get you an apron and give you the tour!" Mr Angelo exclaimed. 

Mrs Angelo was already bringing one around. It was black with the bakery's logo on the front. She handed it to Eddie, who in turn put it over her head and tied the strings around her waist. 

"My dear, would you like to do the honours here, since this is your domain?" Mr Angelo beamed at his wife. 

"Well, it's pretty self explanatory. And Eddie has been coming here so long, she's probably already familiar with the layout," Mrs Angelo answered. 

They all took a moment to look around the room. There was an L-shaped glass case that went in front of two of the four walls. Cookies were closest to the till, then pastries, followed by pies and cakes were near the front window. On the back wall were baskets of bread and bagels. Near the front door there was also a display of mugs, t-shirts, hoodies and pencils with Angelo's Bakery on them. 

"On to the heart of the bakery then!" boomed Mr Angelo guiding her behind the till and through a door. 

Walking through, Eddie found herself in a large room. There were three massive mixers up against the wall to her right and a door to a walk in fridge. There were stainless steel tables gathered in groups to form large work spaces, some for assembling and others for decorating. Lucy, the decorator, gave Eddie a nod and a smile to say hello and welcome from where she was sitting finishing up a face that she was working on. 

"Through the back door you'll find the ovens, more tables for making bread, and off of it a pantry," Mr Angelo said proudly. It was clear that this was his kingdom and it had been built with love. Photos of his grandfather, father and himself -- all who had owned the bakery at one point or another -- hung on the walls, along with framed articles praising the local establishment and silly pictures of workers at their tasks. Mr Angelo noticed Eddie looking at that wall. "We're a family here," he said gently. 

And truthfully, Mr and Mrs Angelo had been part of Eddie's family since she was young. They were a fixture in the community and in her life. 

Eddie smiled. 

"You'll be working over here," Mr Angelo walked over an island of stainless steel tables. On it was a binder. 

"Recipes?" Eddie guessed, picking it up and opening it. 

"But of course! You'll start with the cannoli," Mr Angelo said. 

Eddie rolled up her sleeves, eyeing the recipe. And everyone else walked back to their own jobs. The radio was turned up. Someone started humming along. Another person groaned at the humming. 

Eddie smiled. She was home.