Swell (Complete)

Chapter Four (Part Two)

The Taylors' had kept the Jones' name to the bakery, with permission from the family, and had even kept most of the recipes, they had repainted the windows though and were adding in a few more modern adjustments to appeal to the locals as much as the tourists, it was working.
The locals of course had been floating in and out of the bakery for the week it had been open, Adora's mum had spoken to the Taylors', namely Mr Taylor about catering for Edgar's Escape and had come home happy and talking about how handsome and friendly he was.
"So, I've got to tell you, Tom's a bit excited for tomorrow." Marti's voice broke through Adora's gaze down the street and she looked towards the taller girl almost horrified.
"Oh gosh, really? No pressure then?" She managed a nervous laugh and Marti joined her wholeheartedly.
"I just wanted to break you out of your daze, and I figured that'd work. Sorry." Marti confessed sheepishly and shrugged.
Adora let out a sigh of relief. "I don't know what he's expecting, and I mean, I'm not really like a lot of the locals, I love this town, half of them can't wait to graduate and leave." Adora chuckled.
"Yea, I guess that's like a lot of towns really, the locals who grew up get tired of the same old things, and they long for something more." Marti's tone seemed to drift off and Adora stopped wheeling her bike. They were outside the bakery now, but Marti hadn't stopped because of that.
"Are you alright?" Adora asked with a frown.
Marti blinked a few times and nodded. "Yep, just daydreaming a little." Marti looked to the window of the bakery as a man waved frantically from behind the counter. "That's Dad, in case you can't tell." She said.
Adora looked closer at the smiling man and her lips parted. "Oh my..."
"Yea, I know, it's freaky how much we look like our parents. Mum and I could be sisters. Come on, let's go in." Marti laughed a little and Adora undid her backpack and helmet. She put one strap over her shoulder, attached her helmet straps to the backpack and leaned her bike securely against a light post. She grabbed her exercise books and followed Marti into the bakery.
The warmth inside was a heavy contrast to the sea breeze outside and Adora took a deep breath of the delicious smells. "Hmmm." She groaned.
"Hey honey." The voice was as warm as the air in the bakery. "You must be Adora." Mr Taylor came out from behind the bakery counter and extended his hand for a shake.
"Yea, that's me." She shook his hand with a smile.
"Nice to put a face to your name." He took his hand back and gestured to the café area of the bakery. "Take a seat and let me know if you want anything, it's on the house for all your help with the kids. We all really appreciate everyone being so welcoming."
"Thanks, Mr Taylor." Adora said as Marti threw her a smirk and jerked her head towards a window table.

"So, you've got that part?" Adora pointed to the maths sum and glanced up to see Marti nodding.
"Yep, all good with maths, English is probably where I need the most catch up help. We had Romeo & Juliet instead of Macbeth at Richieville." Marti took a sip of her Coke through the straw and glance over to the counter as her Dad passed a paper bag over to a customer. "You sure you didn't want anything to eat?" She looked back to her tutor.
Adora smiled and nodded. "Yea, Mum's got the murder mystery thing and I have to be home for dinner tonight." She put her maths book into her backpack and pulled out an exercise book. "We did Romeo & Juliet last year." She chuckled a little and flipped the book open to a decorated page. "Macbeth... Is a bit more fun, our teacher makes us read the parts out loud in class, and well, when the drama students have their turns..." She laughed. "It can be really entertaining, though, half the time I'm just glad Iain isn't in the class. You saw the way Mel read aloud, and I'm sure you've seen Iain's overacting."
Marti smiled and nodded. "Yea, Iain's very... out there."
"You shouldn't have too much trouble catching up on Macbeth, do you have the texts?" Adora opened the next page.
"Yea, its just that... I'm not really into all this symbolism. I think sometimes authors just write because its fun. I mean, the blood on her hands is clearly her guilt, or maybe she was always insane? Who walks around naked in Scotland? It'd be freezing!" Marti held her arms out and shook her head.
Adora laughed at the indignant tone of Marti's voice. "Yea, you're right, I guess not all writers would be into symbolism. My mum's a writer, her poems can be symbolic, but sometimes even she says it was just fun. She writes the scenes for these murder mystery weekends. It's pretty fun to be a part of."
Marti nodded and grinned broadly. "Sometimes it just has to be fun to write murder and mayhem! I mean, not everyone has violence in them, but what better way to get anger out than to kill someone?" She picked up the peppershaker and made stabbing motions with it over Adora's scribbly page.
Adora covered her mouth with her hand and leaned back. "Exactly, maybe Shakespeare just got dumped and wanted to write his feelings out instead of act them out! Make somebody else play his part."
"Do I need to call the police? This looks like a pretty violent study group." The interrupting voice was friendly and teasing. Adora looked up and smiled politely.
"No Dad, we're just saying that Shakespeare was just a lonely, broken hearted man when he wrote Macbeth."
Mr Taylor frowned and looked out the bakery window onto the main street towards the horizon. "I don't know, from what I remember, Macbeth was more angry than broken hearted."
"We were saying that maybe he was angry at being dumped, so decided to write his betrayal out to feel better." Adora explained. Marti's father looked down and nodded.
"That makes sense. Did you ladies want some of the extras?" He gestured to the display behind him with his thumb. "I'm closing up now."
Adora looked from him to the counter and then cursed under her breath and moved to get her phone from her pocket. "I didn't realise how late it was getting." She checked the time on her phone and started to pack up her books. "I can't help anymore this weekend, but if you want to, we can meet in the library at lunch or after school on Monday?" She looked to Marti and smiled apologetically.
"That should be fine. I'll make sure to have read up on Macbeth and Shakespeare's tragic betrayal by then." Marti's smile was mischievous and as contagious as the rest of her family's.
"Thanks for the milkshake Mr Taylor, it was good to meet you." Adora shoved her books into her backpack and slid the seat out from the small, round table.
"Anytime, Adora, thanks for being so kind to us newcomers." Mr Taylor's face was the spitting image of his sons' and it as still hard for Adora to believe it.
Adora put her backpack over her shoulders and picked her helmet off the tiled floor. "You'll find most of the town to be that way. Kind, I mean. We all have to be, a lot of the businesses thrive on tourists, which, you'll find out." She clipped the straps under her chin and waved as she hurried outside and mounted her bike.
She pushed her pedals ferociously as she started along the pavement towards the end of The Esplanade, a week after meeting Marti, Tom and Will she felt she knew them enough to surmise they would fit into the small community. Marti was friendly and helpful, Tom was definitely friendly, to say the least, Will was quiet, but his skill on the guitar was rival enough to Brett's well known skills, she'd been glad they had become friends instead of competitive enemies.
The first week of the Taylors life in Wheeler Falls seemed to have become a great foundation for them to build on to belong in the beachside town.
The wind whipped Adora's face as she moved onto the asphalt shoulder of Ocean Highway at the end of the Esplanade. She was going to be later than her mum had wanted for the set up, but she would still beat the guests. That was what mattered.