It's a Monday morning. Early. I walk into the bakery through the back door, coffee in hand, and I'm greeted by Mikey, my gay bestie and right hand man. In place of "good morning" he offers "Ooohh you look good this morning."
"Thanks," I mumble, brushing a strand of hair over my ear. I look around and see the morning crew already started with the daily to-do list. I briefly think about when I started this 6 years ago, coming in myself at 4am and trying to do everything. The best part of successful small business is when it gets to the point that the owner (that's me) can hire people and rely on them to get things done.
I'm Callie, 26 years old, owner of Callie's Cakes. We specialize in custom made cakes for weddings, birthdays, or any other occasion. We also keep the storefront stocked with cupcakes and other goodies to keep up foot traffic. I handle most of the actual decorating and designing, and others do the more day-to-day baking and customer service. Mikey doesn't know a thing about baking or decorating, but handles the business and staff better than I ever could.
I went into the small office in the back of the kitchen and hung up my coat. I kept both the office and kitchen organized and clutter-free, emphasizing the importance of that to every new hire. Hanging on the wall was a calendar showing all the special orders for the week. (Yes, it was all in the computer too, but I liked to see a hard copy.) It was the last week of February, usually a slow time of year, but this was a leap year; the coming Thursday was February 29th, and there was a surprising number of people celebrating leap day. We had stopped taking special orders the week before, not sure we'd be able to finish any more than what was already on the schedule. I knew that the next few days would be very busy for me.
Adding to this was my newfound fame. I had been invited to compete on a Food Network show - "Valentine's Day Cake Massacre" - filmed the previous fall, but aired a few weeks earlier before Valentine's Day. I finished a respectable 2nd place. That national TV exposure, and the local news filming a follow-up story about me and my bakery had the orders coming in faster than we could handle them, and kept the cupcakes flying off the shelf. Business was going great.
The downside of being on TV was having to listen to my mom criticize my appearance. Truth be told, I was never one to put much work into how I looked. I was shorter, just 5'3", overweight, which is a hazard of working in a bakery. (Reubenesque, I guess, would be a better word.) I rarely wore makeup, and my hair usually started the day blonde but ended the day powdered white with flour and confectioners sugar. After seeing me on TV, my mom conspired with Mikey to clear my schedule yesterday (Sunday) and gifted me a full day spa experience. I decided to punish her credit card by making the most of it and packing in as many spa services as I could.
Hair trim, curl and highlights, facial, wax of pretty much everywhere, full body massage, and I brought some of their makeup home with me in anticipation of a future TV appearance. That's what had elicited Mikey's welcoming compliment this morning.
Looking at the wall calendar showing the special orders for the week, I noticed that a new cake had been added that day, in someone else's handwriting. A small 8" cake and a note "special delivery 7pm - M." Before I could ask, Mikey walked into the office and took a seat.
"Enjoy your spa day? I love the hair..."
"Actually, yeah, it was kind of amazing. And I really wish I could see my mom's face when she gets her credit card bill." I didn't tell him about how I was still tingling from the Brazilian wax, each movement sending a new sensation through my nether regions. "What's this new order here?" I asked, pointing to the calendar entry.
He typed some stuff into the computer and pulled up the order. "Last minute, first wedding anniversary. You made their wedding cake last year, and they walked in yesterday needing a replacement cake topper." I looked at the computer screen that showed the cake I made the year before. It was a basic four tier cake with an intricate piped lace design covering all of it. There were pictures showing the happy couple standing in front of the cake too. A lot of times couples would send us pictures or tag us on Instagram. Mikey saved all of that - he handled all of our social media and promotional stuff too. Like I said, he was my right hand and completely irreplaceable.
I remembered the couple too. The screen said their names were Beth and Ben, but I remembered them as Ken and Barbie. Beth was a tall skinny blonde, long flowing hair, perky tits and a tight little ass. Ben had a full head of thick blonde hair, a square jaw, broad shoulders and a slim waist. I was certain that he had rippling abs beneath that tux. I wouldn't say that they were both runway model material, but definitely catalog model material; maybe J. Crew or Banana Republic. They intimidated the hell out of me, but also provided me with masturbation material for week after their wedding. I made a mental note to copy the pic of them in the computer for my personal use.
I returned to reality and considered the order. "Tonight? They need it tonight? Delivered? I don't know if we can get that done."
Mikey stood and came toward me. He put his hands on my shoulders, his standard soothing gesture. "Shhh... it's all taken care of. That is your only to-do for today. You'll get it piped this afternoon, no problem. Then," he took a half step back, about to deliver news he knew I wouldn't like, "you'll be delivering it yourself to their house. Just a few miles from here. They were very insistent, and paid an extra $200 in cash for your personal delivery."
I started to object when he stepped in. "This is good. They saw you on TV and told me that they bragged to everyone they know that their wedding cake was made by a celebrity. So you get dressed up, deliver the cake, take some pictures posing with the happy couple. They get posted to Instagram, and next week we have all of Beth and Ben's beautiful friends ordering their cakes from us too. An hour of your time and business is booming. Do this. Ok?"
"Uggh... fine," I said, in my best pouty teenager voice. Mikey gave me a hug. "They really gave you $200 in cash?"
"No, they gave YOU $200." Mikey reached into his pocket and took out two hundred dollar bills. He tucked them into my back pocket and gave my ass a friendly pat. "Now get to work."
The rest of the day progressed as normal. Cakes and cupcakes flying in and out of the oven, vats of frosting and fondant getting mixed and colored. My special project was ready for decoration at noon, and I coated it with a white swiss meringue buttercream. I took my time piping the lace design around the sides and top. It was generally better to do it all in one sitting, keeping my hands moving and cake spinning. When the piping bag was empty I paused to let the cramp in my hand subside and to go out to the showroom, say hello to some customers, pose for a few pictures at Mikey's insistence. When the 8" cake was done I boxed it and moved it into a cooler. Their order included an extra pint of the same frosting. I filled a pint size plastic container and, before putting on the lid, dipped my finger in and had a taste - quality control. It was delicious, smooth and light and not too sweet. I could have dove in and licked the container clean.
Around 5pm I was overseeing a birthday cake scheduled to be picked up at 6 for a party that night. One of my new decorators took the lead and it looked good. It was nice to have employees you can trust. Mikey pulled me aside and tapped his wrist, where a watch would be if he ever wore one. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" he asked.
"Yeah, delivery was at 7, and it's just a few minutes away, I have time."
"But," he looked me up and down,"you can't go like that. Go home, clean up, put on a dress. Remember... pictures... smile big and look good. You can do it."
I sighed and searched my brain for an excuse. Wouldn't it make more sense to be wearing my bakers coat in the pictures? Showing off the Callie's Cakes logo stitched into it? No, he was right.
"Fine," I pouted. "I'll stop at home and clean up first."
I took the cake box and extra frosting out of the cooler and said goodbye to everyone working. I took one more glance at the wall calendar and considered how busy I'd be the next few days. A good night sleep tonight would be helpful.
I drove to my house nearby. I lived alone so didn't need much space. It was a small 2 bedroom 1 bathroom house, but it had a nice kitchen and a large bathtub, so I fell in love with it. I worked to keep it clean and well organized, like my bakery. The second bedroom was used mostly as a place to do yoga. I actually loved doing yoga and loved how flexible I was, in spite of my extra pounds. I could still get my feet behind my head when it became necessary. Unfortunately, it was rarely necessary. Dedicating my 20's to running my own business didn't leave much time for a personal life. I used to go to a nearby yoga studio, hoping that it would help me meet others. One day the instructor passed by while I was in child's pose and remarked "Fibonacci would be proud." After googling it, I realized that he was just telling me I had a big, round ass. I hadn't been back since.
I quickly rinsed off in the shower, then robed-up and spent some time working on my hair and makeup, trying to remember the makeup tutorial I got at the spa the day before. It already felt like a week ago. I did my best and, looking in the mirror, thought I looked pretty good. I gave my hair a quick curl, then made my way to my closet.