You Will Be Found

Chapter Eighteen

I was collecting my morning eats from the breakfast bakery this morning, when I learned that the young guy who nearly hit me with his bike on my first day in the neighbourhood, was fired from his job. He was supposed to be the early shift as a baker's assistant but kept sleeping in an missing his shift. When I heard this, I had an interesting idea.

I went straight home and searching online about what it took to become a bakery pastry chef. No wonder the young guy kept sleeping in and missing his shift. It would have begun each day at four AM. It nearly put me off my idea of applying for the open position, but I sucked in my gut and kept going. No pain, no gain.

I browsed through the huge number of breakfast pastry recipes and decided to mix and matching things up a bit. Finding pastries that weren't being sold at the coffee shop "Brewed Awakening", I found three recipes that I liked. Egg breakfast cups, white chocolate and plum butter loaf, neenish tarts with paw print icing (the half brown half white was a bit boring for my tastes).

Once I researched and learned the science behind the various flours used in pastry and other bakery doughs and other elements like yeast cultures, gluten proteins, oils and starches and how they all interacted with each other, I then taught myself how to make them and gave it a go.

After a few mistakes and mishaps, I finally created a dozen excellent samples for my project. I packed a couple of samples of each into a little blue portable box with a carry handle, dressed in my 'interview' outfit, kissed my kitties for luck then marched off to get myself a job.

The job was already taken. I was very embarrassed and totally upset when the manager told me this. I apologise for disturbing his work, left my box in his hands anyway and dejectedly left the shop.

When I came home there was a huge mess in my kitchen. Bura had somehow gotten up onto the kitchen bench and knocked over my bag of wheat flour and it went all over the floor. Now I have cute messy little white footprints all over the place.

I brushed him off, gave his sister a wipe down too, then brushed and mopped everything up. My foray into breakfast pastry baking wasn't a complete flop. I now knew how to make my own breakfast yummies and the science behind one pastry dough had implications on any number of bread doughs. I could now call myself an amateur home baker. Yay!

After lunch I composed a song and wrote lyrics for it that had many of my ideas of how baking and pastry sciences had a lot in common with finding friendship and love. It was different from what I'd normally create, a lot more upbeat without trying to be upbeat. I was happy and it reflected in my new song. Another song made itself known just before dinner and it was about the purity of life as found in the complete trust in a kitten and its person. This was light and airy, with high tinkles and notes of ethereal laughter.

Dinner for my kitties and I and I bundled up in my new quilted bed cover and went outside onto the balcony to watch the stars. There was a family BBQ up on the roof top communal shared garden. Laughter and sounds of family harmony accompanied me on my stargazing adventures.

The next day I received a call from the coffee shop manager. He was offering me a job.

I went in to fill out forms, sign contracts, give bank account details and copy my student ID card. I was to begin the next morning and was expected to be at work before four AM. The hours were only six hours a day during the morning shift, Monday to Friday. My weekly wages would enough to cover my cheap rent, my weekly food and savings. I was really happy with that.

I went back home, finally being able to cross two more things off my 'To Do' list. 'Find and job' and 'Learn Pastry Chef'.

By the time I arrived home, my boss had emailed me confirmation of everything we'd agreed on, the company handbook and a comment on how he liked my pastries I'd given him the day before. Yay, all my hard work paid off!

I put music on and danced around the apartment with a kitty in each arm. I was happy, I had a job. I text Grant saying that I now worked from Four AM to ten Am each day and wouldn't be available for puppy training during those hours. He replied with a congrats and said they would be getting the new puppies this coming weekend. I was invited to come and meet them at their place.

More writing songs tonight about starlight and fulfilled dreams. I also remembered that I still had another fifty chapters to write for Books Two and Three – titled "Token of Love" and "Take my Hand". Then it was on to their sequels and eventually their third sequels. That is a total of four hundred chapters... Good thing I have one heck of a memory. These are all books that I've already written before.

I received another commission for my art work shortly before bed. I emailed them back, asking for further clarification on request and found that they wanted me to paint from a photo of their beloved pet who had just passed away. I was sad for them and happy that their doggy lived a good life with people who loved him. I wasn't in the mood to get up and do the job tonight, so I let myself stay in bed and read. Your House Plants: The Complete Guide. I fell asleep with the book on my chest.

My alarm woke me up super early the next morning. I quickly got up and dressed, ready for my first day of work. I was nervous, jittery like I'd just had a coffee, excited. This was my first job, ever and I was ready for it. At three forty five AM, I ready to go. I filled up the cat bowls with fresh and dry food, changed their water, checked their litter box and was all ready to go. Phone – check. Shoes – check. Anything else? I looked at my jeans and tee, hair and face. All sorted. Time to go.

My first day of my new job, I was excited.