Summary: The seeds of a memorable friendship are sown during a chance encounter at a Boston bakery.<\/p>\n
Rating: G\u00a0\u00a0 Word Count: 646<\/p>\n
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She hadn\u2019t imagined he would come, and yet there he was. Dressed in what must have been his finest suit, neatly pressed, the dark curls on the back of his neck just kissing the collar of his white shirt. It wasn\u2019t the first time she had wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through them. Foolish thought, <\/i>you silly girl.<\/i><\/p>\n
They met by chance a few months ago when he came into the bakery where she worked for her uncle. He bought a box of dainty lemon tarts for a gift. They were the prettiest ones she\u2019d ever made, and she had to admit her pride that they\u2019d caught the eye of such a handsome young man. No doubt they would make a favorable impression on a lovely lady. They would indeed, he assured her. His grandfather\u2019s housekeeper would surely be pleased with her birthday surprise, as long as he could resist the temptation to indulge himself before he got home. Not to worry, she replied, wrapping a pastry for him to enjoy on the way. Their eyes met across the counter, and she caught herself blushing as he expressed his gratitude for the unexpected favor. Something in the way he looked at her made her feel…different, though not uncomfortably so, and for once she was not inclined to look away. He visited the shop regularly after that \u2013 for scones, spice cookies, shortbread, currant buns, and lemon tarts, of course. Whatever the order, she always gave Adam Cartwright a little extra, and her reward was the dimpled smile that had melted her that very first day.<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t smiling now, though. He looked solemn and sad, shrouded in the drizzling gray afternoon. The old man next to him talking with her uncle must surely be his grandfather, Captain Abel Stoddard. Adam had spoken of him, and of his father and two younger brothers who lived out west near the Sierra Nevada Mountains. His stories of growing up on a cattle ranch amid towering trees, wild animals, and Indians were thrilling to someone whose life had mostly been confined to a few city blocks in Boston. But it wasn\u2019t just the stories, eloquently relayed in a voice akin to music. There were so many things she wished she could say. How just the sight of him made her heart beat faster, and how it would sing afterwards for the rest of the day, and the difference his kindness had made in the life of a shy, lonely girl. Dear, sweet Adam, if you<\/i> only knew.<\/i> But people don\u2019t know unless you tell them. She liked to think she would have found the courage one day, as if it still mattered. At the very least, she would have baked him a special cake today.<\/p>\n
Happy Birthday, Adam.<\/i><\/p>\n
He stopped in front of her, and that\u2019s when she noticed the flowers. Did he intend them for her?<\/p>\n
He cleared his throat.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don’t know how sorry I am that I never brought you flowers before now, Dorie. You should have had\u00a0 at least one for every time you put a smile on my face. After the first day, all those times I came to the bake shop were because of you, not because of a sweet tooth. I assumed you knew that, I hope you did, and if you didn\u2019t, it\u2019s my fault for not making it plainer. Honestly, I wish I had. Thank you for making me feel at home in this strange new place. I know I\u2019m going to miss you for a long time, and I\u2019ll never forget you, I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam felt the shift in the wind as he laid the bouquet on her grave through blurry eyes, pausing for a moment longer. Rising, he adjusted his collar against the cold and turned to join his grandfather waiting at the cemetery gate.<\/p>\n
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END<\/p>\n
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