Page 37 of The Baby Dragon Bakery (The Baby Dragon #2)
B eing an adult was ridiculous because she had gotten broken up with and was having a severe spiral and yet she still had to go to class the next day. Lavinia was barely holding it together by a thread, and things only got worse.
She had told Beena and Garrett about the breakup that night after class, something she always hated to do because her parents were always so upset on her behalf, which only made it all feel worse.
Then came Saturday, when she had to go to work with her ex, a fact that she probably should have thought about before starting this whole thing with him. When she arrived at the Baby Dragon Cafe on Saturday morning, Calahan was already there, taking down the chairs from the tables.
Her heart hammered when she saw him, and she stopped in her tracks by the front door, skin prickling. He paused, looking over at her then away, body language tense. Awkward tension hung between them.
“Hey,” she said, and goodness, why was her voice so loud? She lowered it an octave. “Good morning.” And now her voice was too quiet. “Good morning,” she repeated, hoping her voice was normal.
“G’morning,” Calahan replied, giving her a small smile, and seeing that eased some of her nerves. She walked to the counter, setting down her purse and coat before going to take down chairs from the other tables.
She glanced over at Calahan, wondering if she should say something or not. She didn’t want things to be tense between them when they’d still be working together. As she continued preparing the cafe, she nibbled on her lower lip.
“All done with midterms?” Calahan asked, when they had both finished with the chairs. She nodded, and they both walked over to the counter.
“Yes, thankfully,” she replied, getting the lighter to light the candles on the tables. “Though you probably have loads of grading to do, now.”
“Yeah,” he said, turning in the direction of the kitchen, “but it shouldn’t be too terrible.”
“Well, good luck,” she said, turning toward the tables.
“Thanks.” With a small smile, he went into the kitchen, and she released a breath. That wasn’t too bad.
Calahan was being mature about the whole thing, and while things were a little awkward throughout the day, it wasn’t too horrible. He was such a great guy—a fact she kept returning to, even later that night when she was home.
She had taken Calahan for granted, and he deserved much better than what she had been giving him. And while she knew Calahan would be okay, she was even more devastated for herself.
On Sunday, she stayed in bed all day, reminiscing as she went through her phone and looked at all their old photos. She looked happy. Why couldn’t it have been enough?
After wallowing for a few hours, she deleted all the adorable pictures of her and Calahan, then their texts. Once that was done and she’d had a nice cry, she texted Genevieve and Saphira her puffy face with the caption “Me after getting broken up with” to tell them the news.
Their responses came immediately in the group chat, asking if she wanted to video-call or hang out.
Yes, please , she texted them, but don’t mention the breakup or I will start crying.
Of course. Should we come over? Genevieve asked.
Or do you want to come to mine? Saphira offered.
Let’s meet at Saph’s , Lavinia replied.
Okay! Come whenever!
Lavinia forced herself to get out of bed, washing her face and changing out of the sweats she had been in for more than twenty-four hours. She stopped by the living room to let her parents know she was going out.
Her parents were cuddling on the sofa, talking. Lavinia tried very hard not to give them a dirty look, biting back the words, Rub it in, why don’t you!
“Have a nice time, pumpkin,” Garrett said, though she didn’t miss the pity in his or Beena’s eyes.
“Mhm.” She headed out, driving over to Saphira’s. Lavinia stood in front of the cottage and knocked on the door. A moment later, Genevieve answered, clad in black leggings and an oversized black long-sleeved T-shirt.
“Come in,” Genevieve said, giving Lavinia a hug.
“Lav, you’re here!” Saphira called from the kitchen.
Her hands were covered in mittens as she pulled something from the oven, and the rest of her was in a cute loungewear set.
“Give me one second.” Saphira pulled out a tray of bubbling macaroni and cheese and set it on the counter beside a dish of mashed potatoes, buttery corn, and a roasted chicken.
“Ohmygod, what is all of this?” Lavinia asked, taking in the spread.
“I just threw it together!” Saphira said, waving a hand. “And the only really impressive part is the chicken, which Aiden made because we need, and I quote, ‘protein.’” She used air-quotes.
“I brought face masks and ice-cream,” Genevieve added.
“Let’s make plates and sit down on the couches,” Saphira said, handing out plates.
Lavinia already felt better just from the prospect of a hearty meal and the girls’ company. After plating the food, they sat down on the couches, sharing blankets. They chatted as they ate, Ginny telling them random anecdotes about her many cousins, while Saphira talked about wedding planning.
“We’re going to finalize a dress in the next month or so,” Saphira said. “Cecilia and I have narrowed down a final six.” Cecilia was Aiden’s mother, and it made Lavinia’s heart swell to see Saphira so embraced by her new family.
“Six?” Lavinia repeated, eyes wide.
“It was two dozen before that, so trust me, narrowing it down that much was a real effort,” Saphira said. “Though it’s been fun playing dress-up! And the gowns are gooorgeous.”
Genevieve snorted. “Mother is treating Saphira like her little doll.”
“I don’t mind it,” Saphira said, smiling. “It’s kind of nice. It reminds me of Nani-Ma.” Saphira’s grandmother had passed away a few years ago, and Lavinia was glad Saphira was receiving motherly affection.
“I can’t wait to see you in basalta purple,” Lavinia said, excited by the prospect.
They continued talking about Saphira’s wedding plans, putting on sheet masks which made them laugh from the sheer fact that they couldn’t laugh or the sheet mask would slip and slide off.
When the masks were off and their faces were all shiny, they watched some absurd reality TV show that had them cackling with laughter while eating tubs of ice-cream.
It was a good night and, at the end of it, Lavinia was feeling much better, much more like herself. As long as she wasn’t thinking about boys or her failings at love, she was completely fine.
The girls walked her to the door when it was time to leave, since she still had her internship and class tomorrow and needed to get some sleep.
She hugged Genevieve, then Saphira. “Thanks for tonight,” she said.
Saphira hugged her tight. “Of course. Love you.”
Just then, Aiden was passing by with a glass of water from the kitchen, and Lavinia waved at him. He had been hiding out all night to give them privacy, which he didn’t seem to have minded.
“Hey Aiden,” she said.
“Hey, Lavinia,” Aiden said, smiling. “Sorry about you and Cal.”
The girls froze.
And Lavinia burst into tears.
Saphira and Genevieve whirled on Aiden, Saphira with her hands up and Genevieve with daggers in her eyes.
“Aiden,” Saphira said. “I told you not to mention it!”
Genevieve was a little less delicate. “ARE YOU STUPID?” she cried.
Aiden’s eyes went wide, his face turning beet red. “I’m so sorry,” he said, hiding behind his glass of water while he made a run for it, disappearing back into their bedroom.
“I’m sorry, Lav,” Saphira said, frowning.
“Boys are stupid,” Genevieve added. They both gave her another hug, and Lavinia sniffled.
“It’s okay,” she said, hugging them back as she wiped her eyes.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Saphira asked, rubbing Lavinia’s back.
Lavinia pulled away, facing them. “It’s fine, I can’t get into it right now.”
What would she even say? I ruined a good thing by being in love with my best friend who doesn’t feel the same way? It was too embarrassing, and she didn’t want their pity.
“Okay.” Saphira gave Lavinia another hug. “Get home safe.”
“Text us when you get there,” Genevieve said, squeezing Lavinia’s arm.
“I will,” Lavinia said. She left, and as soon as Saphira shut the door behind her, Lavinia heard Saphira and Genevieve yelling at Aiden, which made her laugh a little bit, though she was still down about how things were.
Tears filled her eyes again, and she wiped them away, driving home.
The person she really wanted to talk to about all of this was Theo, but she hadn’t told him, and she didn’t plan to. He would want all the details, and she couldn’t hide the truth from him or he would worry.
So she said nothing.