Becker's Bakery - A Collection of Short Stories

Whoever invented donuts must be a genius, thought the little girl. Lily had two problems, losing her dad to cancer and a craving for sugar. She was only aware of one of them because daddy was just gone, not gone forever. The concept of irreversible death was a little too complicated for the 7-year-old to understand just yet. So, she set out to solve the second problem. There was a quaint little bakery a block away from her house where they made the best donut Lily had ever tasted. It was the only donut she’d ever had. Her father would take her there every Tuesday because mommy had night shifts, or so her family thought. Between a struggling real estate agent and a supermarket cashier, there wasn’t a lot of money flowing into the Martin’s coffers and a simple donut a week was often all the father could afford when it came to eating out. Though lucky for him, Lily was too young to realise that just yet, or that the only reason that the cheap, dry confectionary bread was her comfort food was because of the afternoon she found out about her uncle. Mommy said that Uncle Bill and dad don’t get along and that’s why he comes when dad is at work. For some reason it struck Lily as odd and left a bad omen in her heart which took years to evolve into understanding. And that same evening 3 years ago, her father took Lily for the donut for the first time and it became a weekly tradition. Throughout the week, Lily would wait for Tuesday because Tuesday is donut day. Sometimes she’d see two middle aged men in the bakery as well. Lily thought they there’s no way that they enjoy donuts more than she did. And soon her attention would be pulled away by the donut in her hands. Eventually, Lily started to meet uncles that she’d never met before. They never got along with daddy and always hung out with mommy in the bedroom while Lily was given full access to the television. Whenever Lily looks back into it now, she is horrified with the fact that her father never did find out. She suspects there was no night shift either, rather another uncle that simply had a Tuesday off every week. Though, knowing her mother’s lack of discipline, it could be uncles.

 

 

She reached the bakery and walked inside with purpose, eyes set on the ring-shaped piece of heaven behind the glass, just outside her reach. When Lily would find her mother ushering out her uncles through the back door, she would sometimes give Lily a dollar, or sometimes a chocolate, but the one thing that her mother always did, was never to tell dad. The little girl wasn’t thrilled about the money or chocolates but she didn’t want to disobey her mother, so she kept quiet and went for a donut whenever she had enough saved up. The woman behind the counter knew Lily well. Jessica had been running a bakery for 10 years now and her favorite customer had just walked in. She smiled at Lily and reached for the glazed donut with just a dash of sprinkles on top. The sprinkles cost extra but one day Lily had asked for some sprinkles on her donut and Jessica didn’t feel like charging this little girl. And so, it became their theme. Lily would pay for a sprinkled glazed donut and Jessica would undercharge the oblivious girl. “One donut with sprinkles coming right up”, said Jessica and took out the donut. And every time, Jessica would feel warm inside seeing Lily’s face light up with every bite of the cheapest item on the menu. But as if the sun arose from west, that day was different. Just as Lily was about to take a bite, a hurried man walked up to the counter, barreling past her, and the donut hit the ground with a dull flop…

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Being a middle-aged gay man in a small town was tough, even in 2014. The lqbtq community was still shunned and disregarded as being an acceptable part of society. Though popular shows like Brooklyn 99 featured a strong and commanding gay, black man as a commanding officer of a police precinct, the small town of Bluffton Indiana was still harboring a more conservative and traditional mindset. And that is why Harry always carried around a Canik 9mm for personal safety. His husband, Colby always thought it was overkill because very few of their close friends knew that they were gay, much less married. The wedding was extravagant, held in a court with a rushed ceremony and a reception that could be mistaken for a wine mixer, as intended. But Harry feared for his and Colby’s safety. Bluffton wasn’t the most secure town and every few months some case against a ‘not-straight’ person would pop up on the local news. That was the term the town used for people like Harry. One evening, as he was walking to his home from the bus stop, he saw some teenagers bullying a kid, shouting things like “gay” and “cock-licker” at him while tearing his clothes. Harry intervened and scolded the kids but he wondered if they knew he was gay, would they have run away just the same? The boy thanked him and Harry walked him home, but that same night after Colby fell asleep, Harry went on the net and searched for handguns and how to use them. The next day he went on to the gun shop near the public library, and purchased the weaponry under the guise of self-defense. While the store clerk was reading him the weapon protocols, he felt like a con artist. Yes, the gun WAS for self defense but the reasons for being Harry in danger was probably a crime in the eyes of the clerk. And every day since then, Harry carried the gun with him at all times.

 

 

One afternoon, Harry heard that Colby was sent home from work because some accountant hassled him and called him gay. Ofcourse, no one in Colby’s office knew he’s gay and Harry understood why Colby fought. He thought that if he didn’t fight, the accountant would think he wasn’t offended by the comment and that, that would’ve definitely led to something much worse being hurled at him. So, Colby made a show of being offended and was sent back home to cool off. This painted Colby as a homophobic, hot-tempered man, or rather a homophobic, hot-tempered STRAIGHT man. And while Colby was inherently a people pleaser, he took the L and came home. He called harry to let him know what happened. Colby made it sound like he was feeling delectated. “I got to throw a punch at this asshole, finally. I know I lost a day’s pay but I don’t care. I am going to enjoy my day off with Netflix and pizza. See you in the evening”. Harry knew his husband and he feigned sickness and took half a day off himself. He didn’t have his gun on him but that seemed insignificant on that day. The manager at the car dealership wasn’t happy about it, but judging from Harry’s age, he thought better to let him leave.

 

 

Harry got off the bus 3 stops before his neighbourhood because a blueberry lattice pie was Colby’s comfort food and this adorable little bakery was the place to get it. It had become a ritual for the couple every time something like this happened. Though Harry was told by his doctor not to eat too much sugar, Colby knew that Harry often went to the bakery to have a blueberry muffin. But he never confronted his husband because whenever Harry had to deal with something like this, Colby would pick up a basket of blueberry muffins from the same bakery for him. He walked up to the counter and found out they were out. “I could make one for you but it’d take about 45 minutes”. With nothing better to do and his heart being set on surprising his husband with his favorite pie that he knew Colby is expecting anyway, Harry sat down to enjoy his muffin in peace. That is, until the peace turned into chaos. 

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Being a teenage boy is hard. 14 is much scarier than 13 because that is when you stop being the oldest in a middle school and go to being the youngest in a high school. It is no secret to adults that kids are mean. But the kids themselves aren’t always aware of it. High schoolers, however are aware that they are mean and lean into it. So, every day of school had become a nightmare for Carter Johnson. Between being bullied by jocks and a hectic school syllabus, he had very little time to feel sorry for himself. Carter was a pragmatic kid. His lifelong dream had been to become a policeman, seeing his father. But his father had different plans. For reasons unknown to Carter, his father waned him to be anything BUT a policeman. It didn’t sit well with Carter but he loved and respected his father enough to listen to him from time to time. His father understood the psyche of teenagers and let Carter get away with some mildly rebellious behaviour at times. This relationship between a father and a son was just the right amount of controlling, liberal, strict, lenient, friendly and paternal. A fact that didn’t quite sit well with Carter’s step-father. Thomas and Olivia Johnson had been divorced for 2 years since Tom found his wife in bed with the postman. In court, somehow Olivia got full custody and now gets a tidy sum from Tom as alimony. However, within six months, Olivia realised to her dismay that she can’t take care of Carter by herself AND juggle her career as a freelance business venture. All elaborate excuses that she had crafted and planned simply to live off the alimony for the rest of her life, until she caught a big fish and married him. So, Olivia was delighted when Carter asked if he could live with daddy instead and visit mommy only on weekends. But she made a performance of not letting the boy see it and once his dad picked him up, she sat back on the couch waiting for her new husband to come back from office.

 

 

His name was Jonah, a rich man that Olivia, for the life of her could not figure out how to annoy. With Tom it was easy, being a policeman, he was a man of routine. Mess with any small part of that and Tom would have a bad day. He never took it out on Olivia, though he wanted to. Jonah on the other hand, there was only one thing that annoyed him and that was Tom. He married Olivia despite knowing she’s a gold digger because of a vasectomy years ago. He jumped at the chance to be a father, even if it was step-father. Though he could never bond with Carter. He couldn’t replace Tom in his life and he tried everything he could. Carter simply found it odd that Jonah was so eager to have Carter call him dad. He knew Jonah wanted to replace his dad but unlike other teenagers, he wasn’t angry. He simply felt bad for Jonah. Failing to earn his love, his step-father often attempted to buy it with the form of many, many expensive gifts. Carter always had the latest smartphone, the latest playstation. His classmates were decidedly jealous and often bullied him, sometimes for his lunch money, other times simply out of spite. One of these times, a few of the juniors cornered him around evening near the bus stop. They were hassling him, calling him names and even attempted to search his pockets for money and other things. He never protested and never fought back. He felt bad for these kids. Carter had all he needed, he had a loving parent, he had a good house, he had a step-father who was rich. And these kids hated him for it. So, he’d often let himself be robbed because he felt bad accepting these gifted from Jonah anyway. But this evening, the kids were especially rough. One of them grabbed Carter by the collar, he was annoyed that Carter wasn’t scared or crying. He jostled him, causing his shirt to rip. The shirt that was a gift from Tom on Thanksgiving last year. This was a bit too much for Carter to handle and he tried fighting back and saw a fist coming right at him as if answering his call. Carter braced for impact but the pain never came. He opened his eyes to the sound of an old stern man yelling at the kids and sending them running back. Till this date, Carter does not remember what the man said but he remembers how grateful he was. The man walked Carter home and a lively stream of conversation flew between them. Carter was shocked when the man confessed to being gay. All his life, Carter was told that gay men are different than us, more disturbed, and almost not even human. But this man in front of him looked, and felt as human as anyone. Carter would always look back and relive that day, just like the day he walked into a bakery. 

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What makes a man go insane and do things he never thought he was capable of, Sam wondered as he found himself running from the cops at the age of 15. The charges against him were heavy, or atleast that’s that’s how he felt back then. Two counts of vandalism and a subsequent DUI as he fled from the scene. He never thought that the old lady would call the police. Every so often, Sam and his friends would hang out in the park and goof around, as 15year olds do but one evening an old lady yelled at the kids for smoking a cigarette in an open area. Sam offered to leave politely and dropped the cigarette in the ground, stomping it under his boot. This however, did not deter the lady as now she was yelling about littering and a fire hazard. Sam couldn’t recall exactly what she was saying because his mind was filling with an amalgam of fear, anger and a new emotion he didn’t think a mild natured boy like him was capable of, hate. The lady was a regular at the park, just like the kids and that night Sam TPed her house and threw eggs on her windows. He thought it was the best prank ever, until the sirens filled the air. Sam’s friends opted to run away at that moment, but Sam couldn’t join them. They did drive there in his father’s car, afterall. He couldn’t just leave it there. If there was one person Sam was more afraid of than police, it was his father. Growing up Sam had a difficult relationship with his father. The man was an upstanding member of the society, paid his taxes, did his part for the community, but at night, under the influence of his favourite whiskey, Teacher’s, he would take out his frustrations with his job and his boss onto his son. Sam didn’t like thinking back on this so he buried all these memories along with his father when he turned 12. He vowed to be a better man and a better father, but fate has a terrible way of going about irony. Now 45, Sam was a low-level salesman in a mediocre company and earned just enough to provide for his family of 4. A wife, and 2 children. The son was in high school, playing for the football team and the daughter starting middle-school next fall. Every few months, he’d get a complaint of some kind about his son’s behaviour towards other kids in high school, but as a loving father Sam couldn’t accept that his son could be a bully. “He’s all I’ve done with my life” he’d say to his wife every time she showed any concern for their son. All he wanted, was to treat his son better than his father treated him. And perhaps that is why he didn’t see it coming when his son ran off to Evansville with his girlfriend and dropped out of high school.

 

 

For reasons unknown, this was when it reached the boiling point for Sam. He found himself losing his temper often, his wife usually on the receiving end. He’d always apologise after but he could see his wife was not convinced. So, when she walked up to him one day with divorce papers, he didn’t have an answer. He just stood up and went out for a walk in the blazing sun. On the road, he saw different people, all kinds of people, going about their lives. Sam envied how they had their lives in order while his was falling apart. He’d come to admit that everyone is going through something but now was not the time. Because all he could think of in that moment, was the scene unfolding in front of him. On the steps to the only fancy restaurant in town, he saw a man on his knees asking a beautiful young lady to marry him. The restaurant staff had now gathered outside, witnessing the scene as the girl said yes. The maitre’d offered them a rooftop table and dinner on the house. In that moment, Sam felt that familiar feeling swell up as he sensed that he was about to do something he never would’ve done otherwise. He walked up to the couple and shoved the man right as he was about to put the ring on the girl’s out-stretched finger. The man fell to the ground, dropping the ring. Sam started to realise the gravity of what he was doing and would’ve apologised right there, but to his dismay, a cop car driving by saw the commotion and flared up the siren. Sam started to panic as an officer stepped out and walked towards the scene. All Sam could think of in that moment was being pulled over by the cops all those years ago. And perhaps that’s why he did what he did next. As the cop got closer to survey the scene and bent over to help the man up, Sam shoved the cop and grabbed his gun from the holster. He did it, there was no turning back now. The only way to go was forward. Sam pointed the gun at anything that moved as he fervently backed away and eventually took off at a run. The cop hopped back in his car and the sirens once again filled Sam’s ears. He knew that it was only a matter of time that the cop would catch up and he needed a plan. So, he stormed inside a bakery, barrelled past a small girl and pointed the gun at the lady behind the counter. He made the girl drop her donut but Sam couldn’t bring himself to care about that just yet. 

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Being a police officer, a firefighter, a business man, but Jessica knew ever since her father gave her her first baseball. She knew she wanted to open her own bakery. For years she couldn’t figure out how one look at a baseball could make her want to be a baker, until she remembered how she would’ve rather preferred a cupcake instead. Jessica was a smart kid, always first in class, proactive in her extra-curriculars and always helped out her friends when they needed her. Her father always wanted a son but eventually, he conceded and made his peace with a daughter. Once that happened, Jessica was the happiest daughter in all of Indiana. She put herself through culinary school, it wasn’t necessary for opening a bakery but Jessica wanted to learn all about cooking and baking that she could. She worked part-time during college to support her baking projects in her dorm. Some turned out okay, others would leave the room covered with flour and icing. One day, after an especially gruelling day at college, after learning the differences between the marinara and bolognese sauce, and how to craft a decadent entrée or an amuse-bouche with each, Jessica came back to her dorm with a purpose, something about today’s class had sparked her creativity and that day she created, what came to be known throughout Bluffton as, Jessica’s Special Baked Toffee Cheesecake. It was, as described by her roommates, heavenly and beautiful. A perfectly balanced cheesecake, with a smooth yet firm texture, light crust and just a hint of coffee. That day was a blissful moment in Jessica’s life, as if all of the past 19 years had come together in one beautiful symphony of purpose. She hastily wrote down the steps, ingredients and quantities, and made it again for her professor a few days later. She wanted to bake it a few times before having Mrs. Lopez taste it. As soon as the first bite disappeared behind Mrs. Lopez’ lips, her eyes noticeably rolled back as she let the cheesecake take over her senses. That day was when Jessica got her first customer. Mrs. Lopez’ although a very disciplined woman, didn’t let any of the kids taste the cheesecake and urged Jessica to name her price for the entire cheesecake.

 

 

Thus became the origin story of Bluffton’s famous bakery, Becker’s bakery. Owned and managed by Jessica Becker. Every week, Mrs. Lopez would order the same cheesecake from Jessica and she would barely manage to bake it in her dorm, though the money sure helped. Soon, her friends joined in too, as Jessica added other baked goods to her repertoire. She never used the original recipes, rather simply took inspiration from them and made it work in her own signature way. She always had a way with cooking. She was 26 when she finally had enough money to officially open her bakery. A quaint little shop, with forest green walls and Maplewood tables. Procuring the tables was difficult, but the moment the timber merchant tasted her cupcakes, he agreed to lower the price on the condition that there was always a place reserved for him at the bakery. She’d agreed and the man would be her first customer on opening day. Over the years, she had a smooth business and a lucrative one at that. She was able to afford hospice care for her mother and buy good the best glasses that Bluffton had to offer for her father. However, everything that she went through couldn’t have prepared her for when a man came charging in, waving a gun around. 

Jessica’s first thought was to panic, but she remembered watching a movie where a bank robber was a little trigger happy and shot the clerk because he was startled by the panicking staff. She couldn’t let that happen, also because she wasn’t alone. It was a slow afternoon, there were only two customers, but her regulars at that. A young girl named Lily who often came to have her favourite donuts, a middle-aged man Harry whose guilty pleasure was her blueberry muffin. She quickly put her hands up as a show of submission so that the man doesn’t hurt anybody. He looked relatively harmless, he’d even come to her bakery once or twice. Except for the gun in his right hand, and a deer in the headlights look in his eyes. “Just take whatever you want, but don’t hurt anyone. Please.” Her voice sounded a little more fearful than she intended but the man didn’t seem to want anything from her. Infact, he kept looking at the door when Jessica heard the siren. “I’m really sorry, I’m just having a very bad day. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” The man with the gun, Sam somehow didn’t look like a dangerous man anymore, but a troubled man going through hard times. “It’s okay, just put the gun down and it will all be okay. I’ll make you a cheesecake, on the house” offered Jessica. It seemed for a second that Sam was actually considering it but at that moment the door opened and a young kid walked inside. “Hey, what are you doing?” asked Carter as he tried charging at Sam. He panicked and drew his gun up, pointing it at Carter as he tackled him to the ground. The two grappled on the floor, wrestling for the gun. Sam eventually overpowered the teenager and had the gun pointed at his temple. “Get back there. Do not come near me or I will shoot.” Sam hated arguments and he despised conflicts but in that moment of desperation, he knew that he would shoot anyone. The boy sensed that and slowly backed towards the little girl who was shock-stricken. Lily had no idea what was happening but her instinct told her to be scared and tears starting filling her eyes. Harry slowly got up from his seat with his hands up and said “Relax there, it’s all okay. Nobody is going to hurt you. Just put the gun down and walk away.” Sam had the gun on Harry in an instant. “And walk away towards what? I have no money, my 16-year-old son ran off to marry some girl he met just a few weeks ago and my wife is divorcing me. Is that the life you want me to go back to?” Jessica couldn’t help but feel sorry for this guy. Her parents once got close to getting divorced until they saw Jessica hiding her the table during their fight and decided otherwise. Being single and without kids however, she couldn’t relate to the rest. She did however assume that must be difficult as well.

 

 

“My name is Detective Thomas Johnson; I’m unarmed and I’m coming in. I just want to talk, do not shoot.” The detective slowly opened the door, only to find out his nightmare had somehow come to life. A hostage situation, with an armed perpetrator cooped up inside an establishment, and one of the hostages was his own son. He swallowed the growing panic in his head and tried not to look at his son. “Dad!” exclaimed Carter that made Sam even more anxious. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I am unarmed. You took my gun and I don’t have anything on me. Let these hostages go, and I’ll make sure the judge shows leniency on your case.” Sam’s hand faltered for a second, but in the blink of an eye, the gun was pointed back at the detective’s chest. “Not a step closer detective, or I’ll shoot your son.” He lunged for Carter and the barrel flush against the boy’s cranium. “Okay, okay. I won’t move. Please let my son go. You don’t have to do this.” Sam’s eyes teared up and he cried, “You don’t understand. YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. I can not go back to my life. I don’t have a loving wife waiting at home for me. I don’t have a son to set a good example for. I have nothing, NOTHING YOU HEAR ME. I just want to be happy. All I ever wanted was to be a better father to my kids than my father was to me. You don’t understand what years and years of childhood trauma can do to you. And it hurts that much more when it’s someone you live with. I can’t go back to that house, I just can’t. I’m sorry detective, I just can’t.” Harry knew he had to help the detective; he couldn’t just let the man shoot his son. “Maybe your life isn’t that great, but what you are doing is wrong. Please, think about what you are doing. That son has a worried father in front of you and a mother waiting back at home, and so does this little girl” Harry kneeled down, hugging Lily as she’s shaking with fear and tear streaks down her cheek, “I too have a husband back at home who’s upset and worried where I am. Life is not about what we don’t have, it’s about what we do have. You said you had kids, which means that there is another child waiting for you at home too. If not for your own future or anyone else, do it for the child and don’t take away their father from them. It’s not too late, it’s never too late. Please, put down the gun and walk away.” Sam couldn’t think straight, his thoughts kept running back and forth between the gun in his hands and his daughter at home. His grip on the gun was slick with sweat as the image of his daughter filled his vision. And at that moment, he knew he couldn’t do this to her. He couldn’t bring himself to take away her father. He had worked all his life to be a good one and his life wasn’t over yet. He knew he needed to be there for her, watch her grow into a beautiful lady, walk her down the aisle one day, and see her happy. “I am so sorry; I am so sorry.” Sam fell to his knees and the gun clattered against the floor. The detective reached down and picked it up. “You did the right thing; your daughter would be proud.” And with that, Detective Johnson walked Samuel Waters was escorted to the police station under the charges of assault against a civilian and an officer of the law, along with attempted theft of government property.

 

 

 On his trial, Detective Johnson testified on the stand and pleaded the judge for a lighter sentence. So did Carter, Jessica and Harry. Sam found out that day, that everyone is going through something painful, but it is the good we put out into the world that mattered. That day a frightened young girl, a brave young boy, a middle-aged gay man, a kind bakery owner and a divorced Detective were all going through something, but it was the good that they brought about for a stranger flailing a gun at them that mattered the most. Samuel was sentenced to anger management classes, counselling sessions and 60 days of jury duty. He knew that he will forever be grateful to these folks and to his daughter who was overcame with relief at her father not going to jail. After the court was adjourned, and things had some time to settle down, Detective Johnson took his son out for a walk, to Becker’s Bakery. And an all too familiar scene unfolded in front of him. Jessica stood behind the counter, flour stains all over her apron, with a big smile on her face. He noticed Harry there too, with a man he assumed to be his husband, sharing a pie together. He walked up to the counter and ordered his usual, coffee with a croissant and a slice of Jessica’s signature cheesecake for Carter, and sat on a table with a little girl enjoying her glazed donut with sprinkles. She smiled at them with a mouth full and Carter waved back. Tom finally grabbed the coffee after a long day and took a bite of his favourite croissant dipped in coffee. Afterall, he comes here everyday…