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The soft sound of a tingling bell sounded as the glass door was pushed open. The smell of fresh baked goods filled the room, strong but not overpowering. Different cakes, cookies, and various other desserts were placed on large shelving units that lined each of the walls. Behind the glass display counter, there were larger, more extravagant desserts, ones that could not so easily be placed in individual bags and containers. On the countertop sat an old metal cash register, one that was bought when the bakery itself was, several years ago. However, by far the best thing in the bakery was the woman behind the counter.
Q-Taro lifted a hand in a half-wave to greet the owner of the bakery, a small smile playing on his lips. He hadn’t told her he was coming today, not that she ever refused a visit, but today was different. Today he was not visiting as a friend but instead as a customer. For all the time that they had been friends, he had never bought something from her bakery. Whenever they would share a snack that she had baked, she wouldn’t ever charge him, even if he had offered to pay, she wouldn’t take it.
Mai glanced up at the sound of the bell, smiling widely when she saw the person who had just entered her bakery. It may have been unexpected but she was always willing to spend time with Q-Taro.
“Hey, what’s going on?” She asked happily.
Q-Taro looked around the bakery, looking at all the different desserts before stepping toward the counter. He looked at the baked goods inside, especially the cakes, wondering which would be best.
“So, my friend’s birthday is today and I was thinking about getting them a cake,” he explained. He looked at Mai before asking, “What would you recommend?”
Mai’s smile brightened. While she was a little disappointed Q-Taro wasn’t here to see her, she was always willing to help out a customer when they weren’t sure what they wanted. Baking was her passion in life and she would take any opportunity to talk about it with others, whether it be discussing her work or helping someone choose something to buy, it did not matter. She was just glad to share one of her loves in life with people.
“Do you know what flavors they like? Even if it’s just something as simple as vanilla or chocolate.”
Q-Taro considered her question for a moment, thinking about the types of foods that he had seen his friend eat before.
“I don't think they like overly sweet things. They like different kinds of fruit though. That's what they usually eat whenever I'm over at least.”
“That's very helpful, thanks. I think I have just the cake for them,” Mai said before crouching behind the counter for a few moments. She removed one of the cakes from the display case before placing it on the counter. The cake was smaller than a lot of the other ones in her display case, with a very light layer of frosting coating it, allowing the vanilla cake to peek through. Mixed throughout the cake were different kinds of fruits, such as blueberries, strawberries, and bananas.
“How's this?” Mai asked, hopeful that she had hit the nail right on the head with this cake.
Q-Taro flashed her a grin. “That's perfect, thanks.”
“I'm glad,” Mai said and she truly meant it. “Do you want me to write anything on it before I pack it up?”
“Yeah, would you mind writing 'Happy Birthday, Hina.’”
“Oh, your friend’s… a girl?” Mai asked, her eyes darkening for a moment, something Q-Taro noticed but didn't think much of. For as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared just as fast. He almost thought that he had imagined it. Mai was kind and friendly but in that single second, he thought she looked almost… scary.
“Yeah, they're a girl. Why?” Q-Taro questioned, not wanting to take his eyes off hers in case it happened again.
“No reason. Just didn't know any other women put up with you besides me,” Mai responded, her tone of voice making it obvious that she was joking.
Q-Taro rolled his eyes playfully, a smirk on his face. “Rude.”
After writing Q-Taro’s message on the cake on blue frosting, which he had told her was Hina’s favorite color, she packed the cake into a small, pink box. She handed over the cake to Q-Taro.
“How much do I owe you?” Q-Taro asked.
Mai waved a hand dismissively and replied with, “Nothing, it's on the house.”
“I can't let you do that.”
“I'll never take your money for one of my desserts. If you really feel bad about it though, I wouldn't say no to you treating me to lunch sometime,” Mai said as a compromise, one that Q-Taro could agree to.
“Fine, it's a date,” he concurred.
Just as he was turning around to leave the bakery, Mai shouted out to him, stopping him in his tracks.
“Wait! There's something I want to give you. Just… give me a moment.”
Mai rushed into the back room and when she came back out, in her hand, she held a blueberry muffin with a fine, white powder sprinkled on top, secured in a small, plastic container. She handed it over to Q-Taro, who took it from her.
“As a gift… for your friend, from me. The cake’s from you, I just wanted to give her something from me,” Mai explained with a soft smile.
“Okay…” Q-Taro said, nodding his head. He looked back down at the muffin before asking “What’s the stuff on top?” He didn’t necessarily care. The question was more to sate his curiosity.
Mai’s eyes widened slightly at the query but she responded almost immediately. “It’s just sugar.”
There was a brief silence between the two before Mai spoke up once more.
“Seriously, if I learn you ate it instead, I'll be really mad.”
There it was again, the darkness. This time though, it lingered until Q-Taro responded.
“I won't, I promise.” He meant it. Whether that was because he didn’t want to be the recipient of the woman’s wrath or because she had told him this was a gift for his friend, he did not know. Perhaps it was a mix of both.
With those words, the light returned to her eyes. Q-Taro turned around and left and this time, he wasn't stopped.
It was a few weeks later when Q-Taro saw Mai again. Things had been too hectic lately to give them any chance to get together. Q-Taro entered Mai’s bakery, looking forward to seeing his friend again, despite everything that had happened in the time between last seeing her and now.
When the sound of the bell rang, signaling that someone was at the door of her bakery, Mai looked up and saw her friend, smiling joyfully at his presence. He slowly made his way inside and he knew she could tell there was something wrong. Her face took on a more serious expression, her eyes filled with worry.
“What’s wrong?” Are the first words she said, completely skipping over any formalities or greetings.
Q-Taro stood there for a few moments, not speaking and trying to collect his thoughts. When he does talk though, his voice is soft and sad. “She died.”
Mai gasped softly from where she stood behind the counter. “Who died?”
It took a couple of more seconds for Q-taro to respond. He still didn’t know entirely what had happened or how. She had been perfectly healthy when he visited her last and then, she was just dead. To say it had been a surprise would be a huge understatement.
“You remember the friend I got a cake for a few weeks ago? The one whose birthday it was.”
Mai pondered Q-Taro’s question for a few moments. “Hina? I think her name was.”
Q-Taro nodded slowly. “Yeah, she died.”
All was silent for what felt like an eternity, Q-Taro not knowing what to add and Mai not knowing how to comfort him. It was Mai that eventually spoke up once more.
“I’m so sorry. I can close up and we can talk about it if you want.”
“No, you don’t need to do that,” Q-Taro said but Mai was already walking over to the entrance to flip the sign on her door from open to closed.
Mai took Q-Taro’s large hand into her own much smaller and more delicate one. As she led him to her apartment, which was on the second floor of her bakery, the darkness, that he had only seen a few times before filled her eyes as a smile played on her lips. Q-Taro would remain completely oblivious to this. For, as soon as they reached their destination, she would reassume the facade of the perfect friend, just as she had always done before.