by Max Hudson
Shaking his head, Henrik decided to change the subject.
“I’m sorry this is so sudden, but do you mind helping me with something? I actually own a bakery very close to here. I was just out getting supplies and ingredients from a shipment but, of course, it has started to rain. The boxes were a bit heavier than I expected, but I think an extra pair of hands would make it very much easier for me to get back to the bakery… I don’t trust my niece in the shop all by herself.” Henrik laughed at his own little inside joke. “If you’re in a rush, then don’t feel obligated to help. It would be very nice if you could, however.”
The rain outside had slowly begun to calm down. It seemed that the two men’s conversation had bought them enough time, their conversation distracting them from the incessant pour of rain. Charles looked out into the streets. People had already begun to gather back onto the road, continuing on their journey to their final destinations.
“It’s close by, you say? If so, then I do not see a problem with helping you out a bit. I’ll carry the heavier boxes, if you would like.”
“That would be fantastic, thank you!”
The two men walked side by side, Charles picking up the boxes that seemed slightly bigger than others, while Henrik grabbed the rest that did not require as much strength to carry. Letting Henrik lead the way, Charles did not seem to mind the sudden change of events that had transpired in the past few minutes. After all, it was not as if there was anything in particular he had set his mind to when he found out he was to be back in Switzerland. If anything, this had been the perfect scenario.
As they walked down the street, a few pedestrians nodded at Henrik. It seemed that he was a respected figure in town, if not a well-known one.
“You seem to be quite popular.” Charles commented after the fifth person had waved their hand directly in Henrik’s direction.
Henrik threw his head back to laugh, obviously amused by the sentiment. “I guess you could say that. However, I have always imagined it was because the better relationship they think they had with me, the more free food I would give them. Still, I think you may be right. I know quite a lot of people around town. I grew up here, after all.”
“Oh really? Well, I probably should have assumed that.” Charles mused to himself.
Nodding his head, Henrik continued. “Yes, born and raised here. I had a very good education, which is why I can speak English too. What about you? There must be a unique story, especially in a man who is dressed so nicely.” From underneath the boxes, Henrik gestured toward Charles’ business suit and tie. It was true; Charles still had not changed out of his professional attire.
“Oh, I had almost forgotten that I was wearing this.” Something peculiar about Charles’ interaction with Henrik was that usually, any other person who would have approached him with the same question would have only been answered with an annoyed glare. Yet, Henrik’s demeanor and energy had somehow changed Charles. Instead of rolling his eyes, Charles answered the question eagerly. “I’m here on a business trip. I work for a large business firm in New York. I just so happened to have an emergency meeting here.”
“How lovely! I am sure you do very important work then. If I knew you were that important when we first met, I’m not sure I would have had the guts to approach you.” Henrik chuckled to himself, the noise quite sweet to Charles’ ear. “That’s great though. I’m glad you had the chance to come back, although I’m sure it must not be too ideal.”
Charles shrugged.
“It’s better than nothing. I am not sure if I would even have the time to come if I were not forced to come back. Vacation days are a bit rare in my field.”
Before Henrik could respond, the sight of a small bakery shop appeared within eyesight. Picking up pace, Henrik walked faster toward the shop and bumped open the door with his hips, standing to the side to let Charles enter first. As soon as Charles entered, the smell of fresh baked bread and sweet, condensed milk wafted through the room. It was a unique smell for sure. He had smelled nothing of the sort while back in America, although there were a multitude of small bakeries scattered throughout the city.
“Do you like the place? I’ve been thinking about doing some remodeling here and there.” Henrik weaved through a few customers, showing Charles to the backroom and where he would be able to set down the boxes. “It still looks like we’re a bit busy, I’m sorry about that.” Henrik apologized when he realized that there were no spaces for the two to sit, instead glancing at Charles with a worried expression.
“You’re fine.” Charles dismissed the other man’s worries, looking with a fondness at the blond man. In better lighting, Charles could now see that Henrik had bright green eyes that shone with a particular twinkle to them. Henrik also seemed to have a snaggletooth on the left side of his mouth, only adding to the inherent charm that the man carried around with him.
“Well, I feel bad… I was planning on letting you stay here until the rain fully stopped or you dried off, but I guess that will not be an option. Hey, Maria!” Suddenly, Henrik twisted his head and called out to the girl that was working behind the case of displayed goods. Charles could only assume that the girl was Henrik’s niece, her visuals so strikingly similar to his.
The girl responded in German, too far away for Charles to clearly make out what she had said. By the looks of it, Henrik was directing her to complete a few orders for the bakery, in which Maria begrudgingly but dutifully accepted. With that out of the way, Henrik’s attention was once again directed toward Charles.
“I have a good idea. I’ll get you an umbrella and with that, you can walk back to where you are staying. I only have one umbrella here though… but that is all right. I’ll get a new one soon.” Henrik placed a finger on his lower lip, tapping it occasionally as if in deep thought. Looking to the backroom once more, Henrik quickly left and emerged with a plain, black umbrella. It seemed big enough for Charles, a person who always had trouble with smaller umbrellas.
Upon hearing the latter part of the statement, Charles shook his head and refused to take the item. “No, I don’t want to take something that you have limited supply of. Even if it’s just an umbrella, I could never.”
“Ah, it’s just an umbrella. It is all right! There is no reason to be arguing over this.”
The two men bickered back and forth until Charles had grown tired of the conversation that seemed to be going nowhere. A few of the customers had looked their way but had only directed their attention back to the bakery goods once they realized that the men were speaking in English. Finally, Charles gave in.
“Fine, I’ll take it.” Charles let the Swiss man place the umbrella into his hands, receiving a small pat on the shoulder in encouragement.
“See, you’re a good boy. No need to be so polite.” For some reason, the delivery of those two sentences flustered Charles even more. As his cheeks burned red, Charles made a beeline toward the door, looking back over his shoulder one more time before he left. There, he saw Henrik place an apron back over his head, ready to get back to work. Smiling to himself, Charles opened the doors, this time, with an umbrella on hand to protect from the continuous rain.
Although Charles’ stomach still growled with hunger, it seemed that the afternoon had not gone to waste after all.
Chapter Two
Charles yawned. Although he had long been used to the drone of his coworkers explaining various infographics and presentation panels, the day seemed to pass by slower than usual. Sinking back into his chair and propping his right foot onto his knee, Charles yawned once more. A few of his coworkers glanced at him but did not seem to comment on it either out of fear or out of apathy.
“So that’s it?” Charles picked up the stacks of paper that sat in front of him, nonchalantly glancing at the words printed on them. Nothing stood out at him, meaning that the presentation most likely was not worth any more of his time. Charles knew that his way of thinking was a bit snappish, if not rude, but that was merely the way of someone in
his position. There was no time to waste. Since Charles had heard as much as he could withstand, the man stood up from his chair.
“I’ll be taking my leave then. I sincerely apologize, but I do have other places to be.” Nodding his head at the rest of his coworkers in the room, Charles exited through the door in one swift motion. As soon as he stepped into the hallway, the cool scent of hotel air freshener hit Charles in the face. Oddly enough, the scent was more welcoming than the stuffy atmosphere of the rented meeting room. Charles was thankful to be outside finally.
Still, the last part of his request had been a lie, and now Charles was stuck with a problem. He had expected the meeting to run overtime, cutting into his allotted lunchtime. Now, Charles was practically free to do whatever he pleased. The problem, however, was what did Charles even want to do?
Trudging back to his hotel room, Charles unlocked the door and fell face first onto his king-sized bed, letting the blankets engulf him as he did so. Moments of vulnerability like this would always give him a sense of comfort, though he feared what others around him might say if they ever saw him in such a position. Quickly taking in the scent of freshly washed sheets and strong laundry detergent, Charles got up and looked around the room.
Sitting at the foot of the room’s computer desk was the black umbrella that Charles had received the day before. The item’s existence had slipped Charles’ mind, even though he had made an effort to return it to its original owner sometime throughout the day. Traveling to the other side of the room where the table was, Charles bent down to pick up the umbrella. Well, why not return it now? It seemed like the perfect time to do so.
Charles picked up the umbrella. On the handle was an inscription of the two initials, “HW”. How had he not noticed it before? The umbrella had been personalized- it would have been terribly impolite for Charles to keep it.
After making sure he did not look like a total mess (unlike yesterday), Charles took the umbrella and made his way downstairs. The sun was out and shone onto the streets, yet the large downpour of rain seemed to deter even the bravest tourists from venturing out. This time, Charles made sure to ask for an extra umbrella, assuming he would be returning to the hotel soon anyways. This was a one-time thing, Charles told himself. All he would be doing was going to return the umbrella to Henrik and nothing more than that.
Surprisingly, Charles still knew the way back to the bakery. Although he had not been able to memorize the name of the store, he still remembered what the storefront had looked like. In the display windows of the shop, there were also a few cakes on display, the one in the middle being a sort of strawberry shortcake. Charles subconsciously licked his lips in anticipation. Charles had always had a sweet tooth. Maybe he would allow himself to get a pastry or two.
Braving the rain, Charles finally made it to the bakery. As he remembered correctly, the same strawberry cake sat as the centerpiece of the display window. Somehow, this sight seemed to brighten his mood. With a newfound kick in his step, Charles opened the bakery door.
“Wilkomme,” A voice called out from the back of the bakery, followed by a scurry of noises that could only be described as the sound of boxes and various other items falling. “Scheisse-” The voice muttered again when everything had calmed down. Unsure of what he should do, Charles carefully entered the store and looked over the counter. The bakery was empty today, but for good reason. The rain had deterred a large number of customers.
“Henrik?” The name felt odd on Charles’ tongue, having been the first time he said the other man’s name. As soon as the name was uttered, Henrik’s head seemed to pop out from under the counter, a surprised look on his face.
“Oh! Charlie, I am sorry, I did not realize that it was you that came in. I thought Maria had come back from her shopping and… Ah, but what are you doing here at this time? You said you were a busy man, did you not?”
Henrik dusted off his apron, a few spots of white powder covering areas near his pants and chest. From the looks of it, a few containers of flour or powdered sugar had accidentally been knocked over. This was only proven by the small cloud of the white powder that disappeared into the air behind Henrik.
“Well, I had to come back to give this back to you.” Charles suddenly remembered the object in his hands and quickly laid the umbrella onto the cashier counter. “This umbrella is engraved; I wouldn’t dare keep it for myself. Besides, I don’t even know a single other person who engraves their own umbrellas.”
Henrik scoffed at this detail, taking the umbrella in his hands only to discard it back under the counter.
“Well, it’s nothing special, still. My past lover gave it to me… Tell me, what sane man engraves an umbrella? I would not have minded if you kept it. Besides, you would have had no choice but to remember my name that way.” Looking straight into Charles’ eyes, Henrik winked. “Don’t worry either. I’m not with anyone at the moment.” With a little skip, Henrik exited the employee area and gestured toward one of the tables near the display windows. “Come on, while you’re here, let’s talk.”
Charles obediently followed the man’s orders, too dazed to even say anything. The American man had never been a romantic himself, often focusing more on his academics than anything as a younger man. Now, as he approached his 30s, Charles found himself oddly inexperienced for someone who just so happened to be rich and handsome. It was not as if his lifestyle bothered him, but it was an interesting examination.
“Would you like anything? It’s on the house.” Before Henrik sat down with Charles, he gestured to the plethora of bakery items that were scattered around displays in the shop. While Charles knew it would have been common courtesy to turn down the offer, he could not help himself.
“Some of the strawberry shortcake would be nice, actually. Thank you so much for being so kind.” Charles warmly smiled at Henrik, causing the other man to raise an eyebrow in shock. Henrik was not one easily shaken, but he had never expected a man like Charles to be able to express something so… adorably. Laughing to himself, Henrik nodded.
“Coming right up! I’ll get you a huge slice as you are my one and only guest today, it seems.”
Henrik dutifully plated a slice of the strawberry cake, making sure that there were equal portions of both cake and icing on his plate. Just for show, Henrik quickly headed toward the kitchen and sliced a fresh strawberry into pieces, laying it out in a decorative fashion for Charles to see. It was a bit over the top, but what else did Henrik have to do besides show off?
Setting it in front of Charles, Henrik placed both hands on his hips. “Dig in, as the Americans would say.”
Charles looked down at the plate before him. The cake looked sickly sweet, perhaps sweet enough to rot his teeth off. Although the man gave himself “cheat days” to eat sweets, the cake seemed as if it would give Charles a run for his money. Nonetheless, Charles picked up his fork and began to dig in. Hell, he was in a foreign country. Cheat days wouldn’t apply for now.
Henrik tapped his foot rhythmically on the floor as he watched Charles take large bites of the cake, his face brightening up with each and every bite. There was something quite endearing about such a large, cold-looking man enjoying a piece of pink-colored cake. Humming to himself, Henrik could not help but smile himself. He had always loved baking from a young age, especially the happiness that followed whenever he baked something extremely tasty for his friends and family to eat. It was in moments like this that Henrik reaffirmed his decision to open up a bakery.
“Is it good?” Henrik asked after Charles had finished his last bite. With the politeness of a true businessman, Charles waited until he had dabbed at his mouth with a napkin and finished chewing before answering.
“Very. Henrik, you’re definitely one of the best bakers I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. As a self-professed sweets connoisseur, you make a mean strawberry shortcake.”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment? Ah, I’m just joking. I’ve watched a few American dramas to understand w
hat that means. Thank you! It makes me extremely happy to have heard you say that.” Sitting back down in the chair directly across from Charles, Henrik leaned back and crossed his arms. “If you would like, I can send you back with an entire box full of cakes. Business is quite good here. Lots of tourists in the summer, as you know.”
As Henrik said this, Charles looked outside. The rain had yet to stop, but to be honest, Charles preferred it this way. At least he would have an excuse as to why he would be back late if his company superiors ever questioned where he had gone. He doubted that he would need to stoop as low as to use such a petty excuse, but Charles always had a backup option in mind.
“Oh, wait. Don’t move for a second.” Charles heard Henrik murmur, ignoring everything Henrik had just said as he turned his head to face the other man. Before Charles could react, Henrik leaned over the table and swiped his thumb finger at Charles’ cheek. Henrik sat back down in his chair, a small dollop of icing now smeared across his thumb. Before Charles had the opportunity to comment on this, Henrik licked his thumb clean. The icing was now gone.
If the first meeting Charles had with Henrik had been the most flustered he had been in years, then Charles had no idea how to explain how he felt in this moment. Not only was Henrik definitely his type (being a bit shorter than him, confident, and overall a kind person), but Henrik was actually the one making a move on him. To be overwhelmed was an understatement. Charles had no idea how to react.
“Charlie, you’re so cute.” Henrik chuckled, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “I apologize if I made you uncomfortable, but your red face is too cute that I can’t help but comment on it.”
