The Singer’s Secret Recipe: A Tale of ion and Pastries—Cherik Au. III

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Unknown: "It's me, Erik. I've gotten your phone number from someone who works at Crystal Entertainment."

Charles ponders on what the stranger is talking about as he serves a box of shortbread cookies. His mind adrift further from his work as he thinks deeply about the message that he had gotten today.

“Who gave out my number? I don't know anyone who works there.”

Charles zones out. Only to be brought back to the reality surrounding him. Parents chatting with their children. Partners have small and cute dates. Groups of friends enjoying his pastries as they chat amongst themselves.

But one thing that every customer has in common, same as Charles himself, is the warm smile on their faces. The smiles that they all share are just as heartwarming to Charles as a lovely hug from his loved ones.

He made this atmosphere. He made this haven. He established such a place where satisfied smiles are the norm, not the exception. He appreciates the reality of him being the one who caused all of what's around him.

"Charles." A voice called for him, soft yet brash. One that Charles recognizes.

"Jubilee? How has it been managing Logan?" Charles asks as he leans on the counter, his hands balancing him as he looks at Jubilee and then at Logan. The latter has his hands in his pockets whilst looking at the young manager, a proud look in his eyes as if his daughter has won a gold medal, Which, to Logan, is something that she has always had with her, it being her heart.

"Dad and I have a gig to prepare for," Jubilee smirks, enjoying the feeling of not only making her mother and father proud by helping to keep food in their home but also telling Charles about it. Who is very happy, possibly intrigued.

"Where will it be? 'Gilbert's Gill's' again? 'Chantell's Carousel & Dining'? Where?" Charles leans further over the island, wanting to pretend to be overly excited to boost Jubilee's confidence but he knows that his excitement is as genuine as can be.

"It'll be at 'Stars and Spangles' this time, and the pay is forty dollars this time!" Jubilee jumps in excitement, with Charles doing the same.

"That's great! Logan. What's one of the songs you'll be singing?" Charles cheers, happy for the both of them, soon stopping to ask Logan about his setlist. Logan's attention turns from Jubilee to Charles, he takes his right hand from the pocket of his jeans.

"We're deciding on the last song now, but I'll be singing 'On My Way Home'. Will you be there bub?" Logan answers while scratching his hair, fixing it afterward.

Charles's smile falls slightly as he thinks of if he'll be available to go to the show, believing that he might still be busy with the bakery when it's time. Even though he believes this, he doesn't want to make Jubilee and Logan sad.

"I'll check my schedule now, hold on." Charles then walks through the door that leads to his office. Once he is inside, he looks at his schedule.

"Oh-" Charles's words trail off as he reads that his schedule for the day is full; he then starts to think of what he should do and how he should go about the news when telling Jubilee and Logan.

Soon he decides to go back to where Jubilee and Logan are and tell them that he'll be unavailable.

"I have free time, when is the show?" Charles spoke. A part of him feels that he's getting their hopes up, only for it to potentially crash and burn right in front of him. But he also has a solution to make sure that he makes it on time.

Jubilee's face lights up brighter with joy, happy that whom she would consider her uncle is going to go to her father's show. She then hugs her father tightly, and he hugs her back.

"It's at 9. I'm so happy that you'll be there. And dad is too," Jubilee lets go of Logan and grabs Charles's hands, holding them. "Please don't be late; if you do, then you'll miss his first song." Jubilee says with a pleading gaze.

Charles thinks about what Jubilee has just said, feeling how Jubilee's expression is tugging at his heartstrings as he stays quiet. Speechless.

"I-"

"C'mon, let's go, Jubilee," Logan says. Grabbing Jubilee by her arm and pulling her out of the bakery. Which allowed a customer to walk up to the counter.

“I didn't even realize that I have a line of customers..”

A customer orders multiple different things off of the menu, Snapping Charles out of his head as she asks for an item that isn't on the menu.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we don't have cheesecakes here. Maybe at a later date, we'll add it to the menu but as of now-" Charles is interrupted by the angry customer slamming their fists on the counter.

"You're a baker; I've gone to three different bakeries in Paris and two in Brazil; why isn't it on your menu!?" She hits the counter with the palm of her hand, yelling at Charles.

"Ma'am, can you please calm down?" One of the customers steps in, a regular of Charles's who had decided to come to his rescue. Charles notes to himself to show appreciation for their help later.

"Mind your business sir! This is between me and him." The lady says, looking back to face the man and pointing her finger at Charles.

Charles, taken aback by the uproar, tries to calm down the situation as customers argue with one another. Some threaten one another. The main person doing so is the lady herself.

"You'll sadly have to leave, ma'am; this bakery doesn't allow the kind of behavior you're doing," Charles speaks up, upset that he would even have to say such a thing but he knows how much his bakery means to his customers as well as himself. "I'll have your order delivered to you."

The woman chuckled, amused by how Charles was speaking to her. She then fixes her coat, holding onto it with a smug expression.

"And who are you to tell me what to do? You're just a young boy working for the generous owner of this bakery, who, of course, wanted to give a lowlife like you a stable income. So give me my order inside before I call someone in charge over."

It would be false to say that words like that hadn't hurt him before, shocked that someone could be at his bakery, talking to him like how the woman had just done. Charles sighs, tired.

"Ma'am, I'll kindly ask you to leave my bakery. Next time you're here and order, please be mindful of how you talk to others." Charles puts on a smile that can be seen by the trained eye as forced. Something he hoped no one would notice or call out.

The woman caught the words 'in my bakery', causing her expression to turn from smug to nervous, realizing that she had made a mistake.

"B-but sir, I'm so sorry-"

"Please don't apologize ma'am." Charles maintains his smile, trying not to react any other way.

Not long after, the woman, wanting to keep any dignity that she might have left, decides to leave. Causing Charles and his customers to be relieved.

"Next!" Charles says, putting on a genuinely jovial expression to brighten the moods of everyone inside.

*hours later*

Charles arrives home after taking Rogue and Kurt to a sleepover at one of Rogue's classmate's house. Feeling blissful and relaxed now that he is alone. He slumps onto the couch with a soft smile; closing his eyes, he takes a breath and then lets it go.

"Finally, I can relax," Charles says.

Charles rolls over from being on his back to on his side, now resting his hip on the couch. He decides to go on his phone and search for his favorite musician. Erik Lehnsherr.

Heart pumping in excitement mixed with the feeling of nervousness at the thought of making a dance video and posting it. He then decides to reply to the stranger before doing anything else, having planned to do so before he had gotten busy with getting ready for work.

Charles first reads what the stranger had said, trying to recall if he knows anyone working at Crystal Entertainment. His mind draws a blank.

Charles: "Well, it's nice to meet you, Erik. I'm Charles. :* "

He hit 'send' assuming that his number was a result of a random stream of searches through a phone book, shrugging his shoulders as he didn't mind meeting new people like that. Having met many people that same way.

Charles then gets up and plays Erik Lehnsherr's cover and starts a video after setting up his phone. Filming a dance to the song.

Once he finished, he flops back onto the floor, chuckling as he catches his breath. Each chuckle carries his joy just as his breathing. Charles is so caught up in what he's doing that he doesn't notice that the stranger has texted him back.

Unknown: "Nice to meet you, Charles. :)"

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~𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝐼𝐼𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒~

𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒔𝒚

#TheSingersSecretRecipe