After the horrible weekend which involved a dramatic family dinner Rachel found herself in Ethan's kitchen, getting in touch with her passion for baking. It kept her mind off things and helped her be creative. She started with simple sugar cookies and then found herself baking a red velvet cake with white chocolate toppings. She had been in the kitchen all morning which wasn't a bad way to start her week. The fact that Ethan wasn't around was even better. It gave her time to breathe since he had been hovering. It was his way of clinging to her, afraid of losing what they had. The fact that she was pulling away made him hold even tighter onto her. It was suffocating and didn't help with her getting her thoughts straight. Baking was a blessing. She hummed the tunes of one of her favorite classical songs, finishing off her red velvet cake with some shaved white chocolate curls on top. Admiring her creation she reached for her phone, ready to capture the cake she was so proud of. The sound of a door slamming shut and footsteps heading her way caused her to nearly drop her phone. Thankfully she caught it before her cake and her phone were ruined. She tightly held onto the device and watched as Ethan made his way into the kitchen, greeting her with a bright smile. He lowered his gaze to her cake which caused his smile to shine even brighter.
"That looks amazing!" He told her, his eyes taking in the creation in front of her.
"Thank you." She knew she sounded hesitant, leaning toward confusion, but then again she didn't expect her boyfriend to come home a little after twelve in the afternoon, "Calling it a day already?" She asked him, half-jokingly and half concerned.
He trailed his eyes up, meeting her gaze, "I need to pack a suitcase, something came up in Boston and I need to head there sooner rather than later. You think you can come with me?"
Her phone slipped through her fingers, falling right into her perfectly baked cake. Ethan reacted much faster than her, grabbing the device and cleaning it with a paper towel.
"I wanted to stay home and bake this week." She told him, "Besides if it's an emergency, won't it be better if you head to Boston alone and fix whatever came up."
He placed her phone upon the counter beside her hand and got rid of the dirty paper towel, "It would be better to head there alone, but I just thought a change of scenery would make you feel better."
It didn't sound too bad to explore the city while Ethan took care of business, but she knew it was better for her mental wellbeing if she stayed home and got in touch with herself again. She needed to focus on herself and figure out what she wanted. Ethan being away on a business trip was the perfect time to actually focus on herself.
"I rather bake." She admitted to him, "I'm sure you'll be back soon anyway."
"I don't plan to stay longer than a week." He agreed.
She walked around the counter and gently ran a hand over his arm, "Then you focus on you and I will focus on me and when we get back together we can you know, get in touch with each other again."
He chuckled, leaning in to press a kiss to her head, "Didn't we do that already this weekend?"
She leaned into him wrapping her arms around his waist. When he wrapped her up in his arms and showed her gentle and kind she forgot about everything else which was burdening their relationship. It was easy to forget but when those burdens hit her square in the face it was a lot tougher to deal with.
Ethan patted her gently on the back, just holding her while they let minutes pass them by. The scent of his cologne lingering around them, intoxicating her and causing her mind to fog up and come up with stupid ideas like keeping him around a bit longer and doing naughty things to him which involved licking hot white chocolate off his body. She couldn't give into those desires. She needed to see if she could fix her cake while Ethan needed to pack his suitcase. They couldn't hold each other like that forever.
"Anyway, when you get back I'm thinking a romantic dinner."
"Sounds good to me." Ethan kissed her head once more and then pulled away, "I should get my things and head to the airport. Last chance, you really don't want to tag along."
Smiling she shook her head at him, "I'm good here. Don't forget about dinner though."
He chuckled, "I give you my word." He told her and then walked out of the kitchen.
Rachel moved back to the counter and took in the damage her phone did. Almost half of the cake was unfortunately not looking that great anymore. She cut it off and served it on a plate, drizzling white chocolate all over it. It didn't look great anymore, but surely it would still taste great. She made herself some tea and ate almost half a cake for lunch and she didn't feel guilty at all doing that.
***
When Friday came along Rachel felt recharged, baking all week and focusing on herself instead of her relationship made her feel refreshed and a lot more gentle. She was looking forward to tonight. Ethan was going to take the plane back and meet her for dinner at some fancy restaurant he made reservations at. She was currently out, looking for a perfect dress. Doing some window shopping Rachel reached into her bag to grab her phone when it started ringing loudly. She answered it right away, a smile spread across her face.
"You ready for tonight?" She asked.
Ethan chuckled, "Yep, on my way to the airport right now."
Her eyes wandered every window she passed, she hoped to get inspired enough to head inside the shop and find her dress. So far none of the shops were calling to her to head inside.
"I'm looking forward to it." She admitted to Ethan, "I'm actually out now, looking for a dress."
"And?" He asked, actually sounding intrigued.
"So far it's a bust." She sighed, "I'm just not feeling it, but I'm sure I'll know what I'm looking for when I see it."
"You know sometimes you need to head in without thinking too hard about things. You never know, maybe you find what you're looking for by mere chance."
She could hear the amusement in his voice. Happy and kind Ethan also made her feel more alive. It was time to completely move on from that terrible weekend and focus on them again. She stopped walking when something caught her eye. A little shop serving sweets, coffee and tea were looking to hire someone. It felt like she stumbled onto something which she was looking for. An opportunity which she stumbled on by mere chance. Ethan couldn't be more right about this.
"Hey, Ethan, I have to call you back." She told him, ending the call and lowering her phone.
Entering the shop she made her way to the counter with confident strides. Her newfound confidence coming from excessive baking. She faced the startled looking blonde, flashing the woman her brightest smile ever.
"I'd like to apply for the job." She gestured behind her to the window.
The woman didn't expect that it was clear on her face. When Rachel glanced around the room she noticed the lack of people sitting there enjoying a cup of tea or coffee. Places like this were usually quite popular in the city, but somehow this woman's shop was missing the coffee addicts looking for a place to wind down at.
"Yeah, sure. I just opened up and as you can see I'm not doing so well right now. Might be because the shop before me had a bad rep and people like to steer away from it." The woman forced a smile on her face, "Anyway, do you have a resume with you?"
Rachel didn't think it through, but she wouldn't let this opportunity pass her by. It felt right so instead of showing the woman a resume which would be shorter than her list of romantic conquests which was saying something since she liked stable and comfortable.
Rachel grabbed her phone and showed the woman all her baking creations of the week. There were far too many to count. The woman who owned the place was called Emma, she was a few years older than Rachel and this shop was her baby. Her passion becoming reality, however, things weren't looking that great. Rachel could tell by the lack of people, but she didn't comment on that. Like Emma mentioned earlier, she was aware of it and knew the cause of it as well. Unlike people who steered away from this shop, Rachel would give it her all. This was an opportunity and she'd make the most out of it. Together with Emma, she'd make Emma's Haven into something special.
***
Rachel rushed to the restaurant, after her meeting with Emma she barely had the time to get dressed, do her make-up and hair. She succeeded though, which was another accomplishment this day that made her feel a lot better about herself. She tossed her slightly curled hair to the side and smiled at the host who patiently waited for her to speak up.
"Table for two." She told him, "Hunter." She added.
He smiled at her, "Right, this way Miss." He led her to the table which Ethan reserved for them and kindly helped her sit down, "The waiter will be right with you." He told her taking her coat from her to put it away.
She settled in her chair and poured herself some water. Classical music was playing softly in the background, the music barely audible over the hushed voices of people dining. Reaching for her phone she scrolled through her messages. She had let Valerie know about her new job and her sister was so excited for her. Valerie couldn't shut up about it Emma and her little shop. The fact that Valerie was that crazy happy for her made her grin like there was no tomorrow. She was typing a long message back to her sister when Ethan's picture popped up. He was calling her, probably letting her know traffic was horrendous and he'd be late.
"Hey, Ethan."
"Listen, Rachel."
She knew that tone, he didn't need to say more. Leaning back in her chair she forced a polite smile on her face, trying hard not to show the disappointment on her face.
"Something came up?" She asked him.
He sighed, "I was really looking forward to this, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, it must be important."
"I wouldn't do this to you, to us, if it wasn't. I swear I'll make it up to you."
She glanced around the restaurant, watching the other couples having a great time together which made her feel jealous and lonely. She couldn't feel this way because she knew Ethan wouldn't cancel on her unless his company was at stake.
"I know." She let out a sigh, "That being said, can't say I'm not disappointed. Let me know when you get back so we can reschedule?"
"Of course, I do owe you dinner Rachel. Now I owe you a lot more."
She let out a soft laugh, "Dinner and movie perhaps?"
His chuckle made her genuinely smile, "Yeah, something like that. I need to run."
"Okay, talk to you later."
She ended the call and read Valerie's insanely long text. Her sister was coming up with crazy ideas to save Emma's Haven. They were actually all simple yet good idea. It was easy to forget that Valerie was a professional. Her sister made it look like her job was without effort, that was an impressive skill. She wouldn't take it for granted anymore though. She texted Valerie back, letting her know Ethan canceled dinner because of work. She was about to collect her things and head out when Valerie called her.
"Stay where you are," Valerie ordered her.
"Huh?"
"Don't leave the restaurant, I'm meeting you there."
Rachel could hear a lot of background noises and Valerie yelling things at Gabriel who in return yelled things back at her.
"Excuse me? Valerie, just stay at home and spend the night with Gabriel. I don't mind it at all, I know Ethan wouldn't do this to me if it wasn't urgent. I'm sure Gabriel can confirm that. So I'm just going to go home and eat cake for dinner."
"God no, Rachel." Valerie was still on the move which made her stay rooted in her seat, "We're having dinner at that fancy place. Heard food is amazing there."
Rachel shook her head, "Fine, see you in a bit then."
Rachel waited for her sister to arrive when Valerie did arrive they had a lovely dinner together. It was nice to spend some time away from the guys without talking about their issues. Valerie kept promoting her ideas, making Rachel realize just how much her sister loved her job. There was a time Valerie looked timid whenever she did this, now, however, her sister looked confident. Valerie knew exactly what she was doing and it made her look radiant.
Rachel had an amazing time together with Valerie and the disappointed she had felt earlier was completely gone. After dinner Valerie offered to give her a ride home, it wasn't so much an offer as it was an order. She knew she couldn't refuse even if she wanted to. Sitting in the backseat of the car Valerie pulled the privacy screen up and faced her.
"How are things now?" She quietly asked.
Rachel leaned her head back against the seat and inhaled deeply, thinking her answer through before she told her sister how she was feeling.
"We're good now." She told Valerie, "It had been rough, I felt really upset with Ethan for a while. But after taking some time to myself I felt a lot better."
Valerie placed her hand upon hers, "We're here for you if you need some time away from him to get some alone time you're always welcome to stay with us. "
That offer wasn't something she could refuse either. Her relationship wasn't perfect unlike her sister's. She met Ethan because Valerie had planned it that way. Ethan was aware of it and played along simply because he felt like they were a great match. When they did get along they were inseparable, but when they didn't it could get ugly.
"Thank you." She told her sister.
"I'm here for you if you need to talk or just need someone to be there for you."
Rachel held onto Valerie's hand, letting her sister know without words how much she appreciated that. The ride home was quiet after that, but it wasn't unpleasant.