The Crime of the Widow

31|. Mrs. Livingston and the Bakery

2019

THE SMELL OF freshly baked goodies filled the air. It drew anyone from a mile away to come to the store, even if the door was closed. She could deny that it was the smell that made her want to work here, that and finally learning how to cook for the first time in her life.

Marina Lebedeva ran away just like the woman she had met said. She ran as fast as she could. She was living at the familiar, childhood house in Ohio and was working at a little bakery who was owned by an old, kind woman named Mrs. Livingston. Marina would liked to think that she was one of the wisest women on earth. Every wrinkle on her face was every piece of wisdom she had, she had the grayest hair Marina had ever seen and the brownest eyes as well.

She remembered when Mrs. Livingston showed a picture to Marina when she was in her youth, and Marina couldn't have been more baffled. Not only was the old woman very gorgeous, but she was the kindest woman as well. Mrs. Livingston knew at first hand that the young girl was having so much trouble with the real world and took her in as if she was her own. The young girl learned how to do many things. Taxes, garden, how to do laundry, see, cook properly, general maintenance, and even went as far as to give her a job.

Marina didn't have the heart to tell Mrs. Livingston what actually happened. What was she suppose to say? Hey, I'm an assassin that has killed thousands of people and has been apart of multiple killer organizations! She would be absolutely terrified, so Marina moved away from the thought of spilling all of her secrets.

She was happy where she is, Mrs. Livingston teaching her how to make her famous, delicious blueberry muffins. Marina couldn't resist the smell, her childlike nature came in. She was sitting in the floor, cross cross apple sauce, watching the muffins slowly rise to get that golden brown color Mrs. Livingston said that they needed to be.

Sure, it was like watching paint dry. But there was absolutely nothing going on. No body was chasing her, no body was trying to kill her. Everything was peaceful. Except for the old lady calling her name. "Mary!"

Marina perked up at her name. Well, her code name. She had grown to love Mrs. Livingston a bit to much to the point where she could be used as leverage. Instead of giving her real name, she now goes by the name Mary Miller, and that's the name Mrs. Livingston knows her by.

When the old woman had called her name again, Marina knew she couldn't keep her waiting anymore.
"Yes ma'am?" She has asked in suspense as soon as she had gotten to the counter where Mrs. Livingston was. The other cashier had a warm smile on, almost welcoming, but Marina didn't believe it one bit.

"Think you got this?" She nodded over to the man who was growing rather impatient. The nervousness began to rise in the poor soul. The intimidating stare coming from the man was, well, intimidating. Mrs. Livingston must of seen the hesitation coming from Marina, because she quickly, softly nudged her towards the cash register.

"Hello, welcome to baked goods, my name is Mary. What can I help you with, kind sir?" Marina put on her best smile, even is it was an awkward one.

The man rolled his eyes, along with head in clear aggravation. Before he spoke, he deeply sighed. "Yeah okay Margret. Give me some of this cupcakes." He pointed to the pink frosted cupcakes in the glass container next to her, then the small cake balls next to them, pancakes with chocolate frosting. "And some of those. Can you do that?" He asked, but didn't leave enough time for her to answer. "Thanks." Then he went back to being on his phone.

Marina smiled again through gritted teeth. Her green eyes were popped as she was seething with aggravation and anger. She bent down and carefully took out the two treats from the glass container and placed them into the the boxes that Mrs. Livingston had made earlier this year. "Here we go, that will be $4.62." Marina kindly lended the box full of treats to the man and looked to the old woman for validation, to which she slightly nodded.

The man sighed again with wide eyes. "Here we go Megan." He took the treats, handed the money and walked out to the door, never to be seen again in the sip. Marina looked over to Mrs. Livingston again. Her eyes began to water at the sudden rudeness from the customer.

One thing she had learned from this 'being normal' life, was that it was okay to cry and be sensitive sometimes, or that's what Mrs. Livingston had said. The old woman patted the poor girl on the back before leading her to the back rooms, letting her other cashier do the work.

Right as they entered the room, the oven had made its loud ding sound. Marina jumped with joy and ran to the oven with glee, pulling the muffins out as soon as she could. With gently hands, she placed the gray on the counter and began to smell the yummy, muffin fragrance filling the room.

"Oh!" Mrs. Livingston yelped. Marina looked over to her with questioning eyebrows. For a moment, she was filled with worry of what had happened, but was immediately put at ease at the sight of the old woman strutting across the kitchen with desperate eyes. Mrs. Livingston whipped open a cabinet and pulled out a box filled to the brim with many items.

There was a large green plant sitting in the corner, many bags of vegetables seeds were beetle stacked up, and a book all about planting was faced up so Marina could see it. Right when Mrs. Livingston handed the box to her, Marina picked up the book and began to look through it with a giant smile on her face.

"Thank you ma'am." She politely spoke with a small duck of her head. All of her concentration was poured into the book instead of woman who was patiently watching. "I really appreciate it." Marina muttered. She held the box in her hand with a smile, rocking back and forth on her heels.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Livingston was at it again, running in the kitchen while trying to get all of her items. First it was a small brown package bag, then the muffins that was just pulled out of the oven. After putting the said treat into the bag, Mrs. Livingston put it into the box. "Save these for breakfast. Eat some greens tonight, understood?"

Marina nodded sheepishly. In the last year that the old woman and her had known each other, it had seemed that Mrs. Livingston knew the inside and out of her like it was no problem. "Yes ma'am. I'll see you after tomorrow, have good night sleep." Marina waved a last and final goodbye before exited the little cafe shop.

She jumped in her vehicles and strayed to drive home, where she was going to plant her new plant tomorrow morning. Marina was happy, she was doing what she wanted. She was finally getting the definition of normal, and she absolutely loved it. After all the chances she had, this is the one she had seized and big was she glad.

Everything was perfect. She had everything. A house, a mother like figure who is very protective, a car she had grown to love dearly, and all the plants she could ask for. She was finally living her life the way she wanted to.