Homeless

Chapter 1

Danielle's POV

Lizzy stumbles into the front door of the bakery, yanking her umbrella through the door and tracking a puddle in with her. She shakes off her umbrella inside and I cringe at the mess she's just made. It's only 6am.

"That homeless man is outside again," she says. "He's in the back, under our awnings that face the alley." Lizzy clamps her umbrella closed and drops it in the umbrella holder right next to the door. "I really think he's bad for business Dani."

I'm behind the counter, organizing cupcakes in the display case and already in my apron. "He's not bad for business Liz. Nobody can see him back there. He minds his own business and that's all that matters. I told him that he's welcome to stay there."

Lizzy shrugs then heads to the back. She walks out a moment later with a mop and bucket and begins cleaning up the mess she's just made.

I walk to our stockroom and right up to the window that has is covered by the awning Lizzy mentioned. I look down and she's right. The homeless man is sitting back there, crouched under a dark sleeping bag. I cringe as he shivers, no doubt freezing from the relentless New York winter. The awning is just barely covering him as the rain pours down all around him. I feel a sadness in my heart and sigh.

As I droop my head, it hits the glass and I jerk back. I didn't realize how close I was. I feel someone staring at me and look down to see electric blue eyes staring straight at me. I gasp then quickly take a step back, away from the window. I didn't mean for him to see me. Slowly, I turn away from the window to see Lizzy standing in the door of the stock room.

"I don't understand why you're okay with him being back there Dani. People can see him as they round the corner."

"And what's wrong with that Lizzy?" I ask, getting more frustrated than ever. "He obviously needs a place to stay. He minds his own business and doesn't bother anyone. I'm not going to chase him out. This is my business, remember?"

Lizzy sighs. "I know, I know. I'm just trying to be helpful. Anna just walked in actually. Do you want her on register for the morning?"

"That would be great," I say, sighing then beginning to load supplies into my baking basket. "I'm gonna get started on a wedding cake that's getting picked up tomorrow. You done with the accounting for this morning?"

"I sure am," Lizzy says, grabbing some glass markers from the room. "I'm just gonna decorate the front glass. I was thinking of advertising the red velvet cupcakes? They tend to be most popular this time of year."

"They're popular all times of year," I laugh. "Yeah, that's fine."

"I'll get right to it." She exits the stockroom.

After grabbing all the things I need, I glance at the window one last time before walking down the short hallway that leads to the adjoined kitchen.

The janitorial crew came in yesterday last night so everything is sparkling clean. I set my ingredient basket on the counter and pull everything out. I'm making a five tier, double layered, vanilla buttercream cake with a raspberry filling.

I get in my zone and begin baking up a storm. The easy part of making any cake is the inside of the cake. The right ratio of flour, butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla will make any customer happy. The hard part is the exterior decoration, especially when it's a wedding cake. Every bride wants her cake to be perfect.

After I load 10 round baking pans into my ovens, I get to work on the raspberry filling. It's quite simple. My recipe calls for fresh raspberries, water, sugar and cornstarch. I puree the ingredients together then pour the ingredients into a large pot to let it simmer on the stove.