I was just sittin there, drinkin my coffee an waitin for my special order at the bakery. It’s a good bakery, the kinda place that smells like warm sugar and cinnamon all the time. I like to come here cuz it’s quiet most mornins, an I can think. My brain is always kinda busy, like it’s tryin to put pieces together, ya know? I do competitive jigsaw puzzlin, an it’s funny how much that helps me see things clear in other parts of life. Like, how people fit together, or how they really don’t.
Then she walked in. I guess she was about nineteen or twenty, maybe twenty-one at the most. She had on a real tight skirt and a top that was kinda small for her, an her hair was like a mess of blonde curls that looked like she’d tried real hard to make it look messy. She was a bit bigger than she probably thought she was, a little round in the middle, but you could tell by the way she walked an held her head that she thought she was a supermodel. Her face wasn’t bad, but there was a kinda frown line permanently set there, like the world just wasn’t makin her happy enough. She was holdin a little kid by the hand, a boy, probably three or four years old, an he was already lookin restless.
She marched right up to the counter, not even lookin at the displays of pretty cakes or muffins. The kid was kinda draggin behind her, fiddlin with the bottom of her skirt. The lady behind the counter, she was named Brenda I think, had gray hair pulled back neat and a smile that looked like she’d used it a million times. Brenda asked if she could help her.
The young lady just kinda sighed, like Brenda was makin her do somethin really hard. She started talkin about a cake. She said she’d ordered a cake last week for her friend’s birthday, an that the name on it was spelled wrong. I was listenin close, tryin to piece together what she was sayin. She said the bakery owed her a free cake for her birthday next week because of this mistake. She kept callin it a “mix-up” but from her tone, it sounded like it was a real big deal. Brenda, she kept her smile on, real calm like. She said she was sorry about the name but that a free cake wasn’t somethin they could just give out. She offered a discount on the next cake, maybe twenty percent off, or a free box of cookies.
The young lady kinda scoffed. She said that was a insult. She kept sayin that she was a “loyal costumer” an that she spent a lot of money there. She said she told all her “followers” about this place, like that meant somethin special. Her voice started gettin a little louder, an her chin kinda pushed out. The kid, he was lookin at all the colorful cookies on display, his eyes wide. He tried to reach for one, an she just slapped his hand away without even lookin at him.
She said that she should get a free cake, an not just any cake, but the big fancy one in the window, the one with the flowers. That cake was like sixty dollars. Brenda tried to explain that the discount was their policy for a small error like a misspelled name, an that she couldn’t give away such an expensive cake without manager approval. The young lady just kept talkin over her, sayin that she didn’t need a manager, she knew what was right. She said Brenda was bein rude an that she was tryin to embarrass her.
Her face was gettin kinda red, an she kept flippin her hair. The kid, who’d been quiet for a minute, suddenly made a break for it. He bolted from her side, towards the back of the store where they had a shelf with fancy teas an some small, pretty ceramic mugs. He was runnin real fast, an I knew what was gonna happen. Sure enough, he slammed right into the shelf, an a whole stack of little tea boxes and a couple of those pretty mugs went crashin to the floor. It made a loud noise that kinda echoed in the bakery, an a couple of other people who were sippin their coffees looked up.
The young lady didn’t even turn around. She just kept yellin at Brenda, sayin that she was gonna tell everyone not to come here anymore. She said that she was a “influencer” an that her word mattered. Brenda, bless her heart, she just took a deep breath. She didn’t look mad, just tired. She looked past the young lady to the kid, who was now standin in the mess he made, lookin scared. A different employee from the back came out to quietly start sweepin up the broken pieces.
Brenda then said, in a real quiet voice, that she understood the frustration. She said that mistakes happen sometimes. She offered the young lady a different kind of deal. She said that she would give her a gift certificate for twenty-five dollars towards any cake, not just a discount, but a full twenty-five dollar credit. An she added a free cup of coffee and a pastry right now, if she wanted. She said it was for the trouble an the time wasted, not for the misspelled name itself. It was a good move, I saw that. It gave the young lady a way to feel like she won without Brenda givin away the whole farm.
The young lady kinda paused. Her eyes narrowed, like she was tryin to decide if this was good enough. She looked at the gift certificate, then at the free coffee Brenda was already pourin for her. She hesitated for a moment, then she said, “Fine. But I’m still gonna tell people that your service is bad.” She grabbed the gift certificate, an the coffee, an a big fancy danish that Brenda set out. She didn’t even glance at her kid, who was now bein quietly led away from the broken tea stuff by the other employee. She just turned an walked out, head held high, like she’d won a major battle. Her kid kinda scampered after her, still lookin a little shaken.
She got what she wanted, in a way, or at least enough to make her feel like she did. She didn’t have to pay for the broken items her kid caused, an she got free stuff. She left thinkin she was a big deal. Brenda, she just kinda stood there for a second, then went back to slicin bread, her smile not quite as bright as before. It just made me feel bad for Brenda, havin to deal with people like that all day long.
