Chapter 6: Pleasantry Bakery

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Genesis 1:29

Since Hayley was living in a dormitory, she needed to buy food from time to time so she could cook it herself instead of simply relying on takeout or even fast food. She personally didn't like the instant cooking food as she wanted to watch her diet and had trouble consuming some of them. Thankfully, there were plenty of decent grocery stores nearby along with some other food establishments that helped provide both the students and teachers with whatever supplies they needed. One particular establishment that she liked going to was Pleasantry Bakery as it, like the name implied, was a relaxing and pleasant place that offered high-quality bread, pastries and other products. It helped that the manager of the store was a nice woman named June who was always welcoming new or recurring customers and had a smile on her face that made people feel more comfortable inside the bakery. It also helped that June was gorgeous with her bright red hair, light freckles and cheery attitude that seemed to lure others into her store. Sadly, for the men who were interested in her, they would find out that she was already married though who she was married to was a bit of a mystery as she didn't want to publicize her life to everyone.

"Hi Hayley!" June called out as she saw the young woman walk in the store.

"Hey June!" she responded. "Got any of your freshly made bread as usual?"

"Indeed I do!" June replied with a giggle and a chirp. "It should be on the right shelf like always."

"Thanks," Hayley responded as she went to get the bread in question. "Say, do you still make those macarons that I really like?"

"Of course," June responded. "Though we're currently low on macarons at the moment but don't worry, we're planning on baking more in the near future and should be restocked by next week."

"Oh that's good," Hayley replied as she hoped to eat more of the macarons due to how delicious they were. The ones at Pleasantry Bakery were the best, at least in her opinion, so of course she was looking forward to eating them again. Hayley made it a special tradition to eat them at least once a month and share it with her friends if they wanted any.

The door rang again, prompting Hayley to turn around only to gasp at who just entered the bakery. It was none other than Zane himself, which shocked Hayley as she never saw him come to the bakery at all. Zane perked up when he saw Hayley and smiled at her before turning to June.

"Hey mom, got any more bread that me and the boys can use?" Zane asked, causing Hayley to freeze and widen her eyes in shock. Wait what did he just say?! Hayley thought to herself as she tried to process what Zane just said. MOM?!

"Hi sweetie," June responded in a chipper tone. "Yes, I should be able to bring it out to you right now. Be right back!" As she said this, she ended up going back into the kitchen to grab the bread that Zane needed. Hayley was still in shock until Zane spoke up.

"Hey, you alright there?" he asked, causing Hayley to immediately wake up from her frozen state.

"Uh YEAH! I AM!" Hayley responded with a forced grin, causing Zane to become skeptical.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Zane asked her, causing her to deflate in defeat and embarrassment.

"I don't know," Hayley admitted, causing Zane to become worried for a moment. "It's just that I never expected you to be related to June of all people."

"Why? Is that a bad thing?" Zane asked.

"What NO!" Hayley responded as she wave her hands in distress. "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL! REALLY! I just didn't expect you to be June's son nor did I expect you to come here of all places, considering that I never saw you here before."

"Oh that," Zane responded in a sheepish tone as he scratched the back of his neck. "I sometimes come here to say hi to mom or get some food in case me and the boys run out of bread and stuff. No biggie."

"Right, no biggie," Hayley responded with a blush. Why am I blushing so much? Hayley thought to herself in confusion as she felt strangely heated just by being near him. Eventually, the 2 were interrupted by June who brought the bread as Zane had asked and plopped them onto the counter.

"Alright, here's the bread that you wanted, son," June said to Zane who thanked her before taking it off the counter.

"Thanks mom," Zane said as he took the bread and gave his mother a thankful nod before leaving the bakery. "Take care Hayley!"

"Uh you too!" Hayley responded as she watched him leave the bakery, which left her with June.

"So, I see you've taken a liking to my son," June commented with a sly grin, causing Hayley's blush to deepen even further.

"Well, I mean, he is a very nice guy," Hayley responded as she could only twiddle her fingers in response.

"Yes he is," June responded with a giggle. "At least you didn't slap him this time."

"WHAT?!" Hayley shouted as she turned to June in horror. "YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!"

"Well of course," June said as she leaned over the counter. "My son told me about the party and how a certain girl had slapped him in the face. One that happened to share the same features and name as yours." The woman seemed to have a slightly sinister edge to her as she raised her eyebrow as she mentioned this. Hayley could only hang her head in shame as she was worried that June hated her after she attacker her son over a misunderstanding.

"I am so sorry," Hayley began as she tried to apologize. "I didn't know what kind of man he was back then and was afraid when the others forced me to play that truth or dare game at the party and Zane was dared to try and kiss me. I did apologize to him about it I swear!!

"Oh don't worry, I know you did," June said as she went back to being all chipper and happy. "Though I would advise that you not do that again."

"I won't I promise!" Hayley proclaimed as she quickly handed the bread that she was buying over to June to check out. Once June allowed Hayley to purchase the bread and gave it back to her along with the chain, Hayley just took the bread before exiting the bakery. "Thank you for the bread, keep the change, BYE!"

Hayley immediately ran out of the store with the bread in hand and didn't look back. She didn't know whether she could even GO back to that place after finding out that Zane was the son of the woman who owned it. I hope I don't get banned there for whatever reason, Hayley thought to herself in fear. June however was merely giggling to herself as she watched Hayley leave her line of sight through the window.

"Ah that poor girl," she said to herself with a cheeky smile. "Even I can tell that her feelings for my son are not just friendly. Then again, Zane speaks highly of her as well whenever we have the chance to talk."