Page 47 of The Baby Dragon Bakery (The Baby Dragon #2)

L avinia carried on with work and school the next day, but she could hardly make it. It was early December and the days were short and cold.

In the living room that evening, she sat on the couch, hugging a pillow as she watched Biter sleep on a nest of pillows and blankets on the carpet. She tried to remind herself she had done the right thing, but it was hardly any consolation. She was so sad .

A few moments later, Beena entered, changed from her work clothes into a sweater and lounge pants. Lavinia was already in her pajamas for the night: fuzzy socks, sweatshorts, and an oversized sweatshirt.

“Hello, darling,” Beena said, standing by the entrance of the living room.

“Hi,” Lavinia replied, voice quiet. Beena came and sat down on the couch beside her, settling down against the pillows.

Lavinia released a long breath, turning to face her mother.

“I know, you’re going to say I told you so,” Lavinia said, laying the pillow flat on her lap.

Beena was confused, and Lavinia continued.

“You said not to let things get sour between us, and that’s what happened.

And everything is ruined.” Lavinia’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Oh, gudiya, nothing is ruined,” Beena said, pulling Lavinia toward her. Lavinia sniffled, leaning against her mother’s chest as Beena stroked her hair. “Your and Theo’s relationship is so much stronger and deeper than all this. You’ll get through this rough patch.”

“What if we don’t, Mama?” She was so scared.

“Sh, I know you will,” Beena said. “Have more faith in yourself.”

“How can I? When everyone leaves me in the end?” Theo hadn’t, but he had wanted to, and so she had taken the step she knew he would be too anxious to take on his own.

Beena pulled back, and Lavinia looked up at her mother’s furrowed brows. “That’s not true,” Beena said. “Where is that coming from?”

“It is,” Lavinia said. “All my boyfriends have dumped me because they got tired of me. I’m easy to like but difficult to commit to.”

Beena thought for a moment. “Think of all the people you love, the people in your life who have been there,” she said.

“They are committed to you. Saphira and Ginny and Theo—your oldest friend! He’s been here through all your phases.

We’re your family so we’re stuck with you, but Theo always chose to stay.

He actively chose to be there, by your side. ”

Lavinia hadn’t thought of it like that. Deep down, she knew that was true, but she had let her anxiety overwhelm her. What if she had latched onto this idea that she was easy to love but hard to commit to, when she could just choose to let that thought go and not let it affect her?

“It’s all such a mess,” Lavinia said, her head hurting. She didn’t know what to think anymore. “I thought I would have it all figured out by now, the way you did.”

Beena looked confused. “What do you mean ‘the way I did?’”

“You and Daddy met the winter you were twenty-four,” Lavinia said.

“Lavinia, you cannot put an arbitrary deadline on yourself!” Beena scolded.

“Things happen in their own time. Everyone is different! Just because I met my future husband at a certain age doesn’t mean that you must, too!

It’s much more important to be with the right person than to just be with anyone by a certain time.

And you cannot compare yourself to me and your father; you can’t compare yourself to anyone! ”

Everything Beena was saying made perfect sense, and deep down, Lavinia knew these things. They weren’t complete revelations. It was just a matter of choosing to believe in them rather than believe in all her anxiety-ridden ideals.

“Your love story is yours, it’s unique and wholly specific to you,” Beena continued, then paused. “And Theo. I only bring him up because I don’t think that your story is over. What matters is that you love him and he loves you.”

“Of course I love him,” Lavinia said, and a lump rose in her throat. “But Mama, Theo was unhappy. That’s why I broke up with him. I knew he would never do it himself, and I didn’t want him to feel like he was stuck with me.”

Beena was taken aback. “He told you he was unhappy?”

“Yes,” Lavinia replied.

“Unhappy with you ?” Beena clarified.

Lavinia paused. “Well . . .”

Her heartbeat quickened as she realized she had been so upset that day that she had perhaps jumped to a conclusion when she shouldn’t have.

“Um,” Lavinia said, sitting up. “I need to call Theo.”

Beena smiled, kissing Lavinia’s cheek. “Good idea.”

Lavinia got off the couch, running up to her room for her phone. It was in her tote bag, and she’d left it on silent for the last two days, ignoring Theo even as he called, which she realized now was cowardly.

Trembling, Lavinia called Theo’s number. Her hands shook as she held the phone up to her ear, listening as it rang. But he didn’t pick up.

Lavinia tried calling again ten minutes later, but again, there was no answer.

She was worried he was angry with her—as he should have been—for breaking up with him so callously even when he had asked her not to.

She had done so out of fear, but she didn’t want to be the type of person who let fear rule her.

She wanted to be brave.

Grabbing her purse, Lavinia ran down the stairs, throwing on her coat and shoes, calling, “I’m going out!” before leaving her house. The wind was frigid. She screeched against the cold on her bare legs, closing the front of her coat as she ran to her car, adrenaline pumping through her.

Getting in, she drove directly to Theo’s apartment, heading in and not waiting for the elevator. She ran up the stairs, going straight for his place.

She knocked on the door. “Theo!” she called. “I’m sorry! Theo!”

But there was no response. She put her ear to the door, listening. With a groan, she fished around her purse, searching for the spare key, then let herself in.

The apartment was empty.

She deflated.

She went to his bedroom. Her scrunchie was on top of his bedside table, and she touched a hand to it. She had noticed it the first day she’d been over, when he’d proudly showed her the drawer he’d emptied for her.

“I thought I’d lost this!” she had told him, and he had only smiled.

He had held onto it the entire time, this artifact from her.

She slipped it onto her wrist now, sitting on his bed, which was unmade.

Guilt pumped through her. She had doubted him and his feelings for her, when he had given her no cause to, and she had bolted at the first sign of trouble.

She hoped she could fix things—she knew she could. She would . She wouldn’t stop until she had.

Lavinia sat and waited for him to return.