“I can’t believe you made it.”
“Are you impressed?”
Lars puffed himself up and grinned at his childhood friend. It wasn’t exactly a compliment, but it was close enough, and he intended to take it as such. Suri narrowed his eyes.
“It’s just a shop. You haven’t done anything with it yet. If you can keep it running for a month I’ll be more impressed.”
Typical Suri, being the skeptic and trying to bring him down. Too bad for him, Lars was already set on doing this. He’d made up his mind years ago, back when he was a little kid, and he wasn’t going to let go of that dream. Besides, he’d made it this far. There was no reason for him to suspect he’d drop the ball just because he’d reached part one of his childhood dreams. In fact, it seemed more and more likely that everything would work out great.
“I have to disagree, I’m pretty sure I’m going to stick with the thing I’ve wanted to do since I was six, since, huh, would you look at that! It’d be a huge waste of my time if I dropped it after all these years.”
He grinned and put his hands on his hips. Yeah, think that over, Suri.
“That’s not what I meant, you dumba-”
“There you are, Lars!”
Suri snapped his mouth shut and took a step back as the bespectacled man pushed his way through the crowd and over to Lars. He had a short, puffy woman by the hand and had a huge grin on his face. Lars straightened up as soon as he heard his uncle.
“Uncle Kay! You actually made it out!”
“I said I’d be here, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but you have a job and Trifold’s kind of out of your way, isn’t it?”
Kay laughed and shook his head.
“Doesn’t matter. I wasn’t about to miss my nephew’s big day.” He spread his arms wide at the assortment of people here to enjoy the snacks Lars prepared that morning. “Look at how many people are here, kid! You’ve got a great set-up!”
Lars laughed, glad his uncle had come down for this. It wouldn’t have been the same without him there.
“I know! It’s really takin’ off, isn’t it? I bet tomorrow will be a big hit, too! That’s when I’m openin’ things up for real!”
“I know that, you doof, it’s on your sign!”
“I just wanted to remind you, just in case!”
The woman Kay brought with him was trying hard not to laugh. Lars could tell by the way her face was scrunched up that it was a tough battle. He hadn’t seen her before, but he felt confident she wasn’t her uncle’s date or anything. He hadn’t seen his uncle with someone in years, but, her cute clothes told him everything he needed to know. Uncle Kay might be best friends with someone who wore dresses with storm clouds on them, but his uncle was way too into fashion to bring a significant other out and about while they were dressed in anything silly or adorable. Only fashionable and sleek clothes for his weird uncle!
“Who’d you bring with you, anyways?”
Kay looked back at his companion and tugged her forward so she was standing next to him. She waved at Lars, a huge smile on her face. The word ‘cute’ fit her like a glove, from her wide, round glasses to the soft cloud of light hair that haloed around her face. She looked sharp, too, which didn’t surprise Lars as much as he thought it might. His uncle did bring her along, it wasn’t like he’d bring someone he found boring with him on a long trip to visit his nephew’s bakery. She spoke up before Kay could get a word in.
“I’m Orbit, the weatherwoman at your uncle’s radio station. He mentioned he was heading in this direction and asked if I wanted a break from the tower for a bit.” She paused and tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. “There’s going to be a big storm making landfall in a few days, and, well, I just couldn’t resist an opportunity like that. Besides, I’ve heard a lot about Kay’s clever young nephew. I just had to meet you in person and taste some of your baking.”
Lars glowed from the praise. He was glad these two had showed up and interrupted Suri’s criticisms of him. He was pretty good at dealing with Suri’s negativity and insults, but sometimes it was important to hear some kind words. He glanced over in Suri’s direction to make sure he’d heard what Orbit said. The scrawny man was gone, the place he was standing a few minutes ago occupied by a man enjoying one of the sweet rolls. Lars frowned. He’d need to track him down later and make sure he was ok. Suri was a jerk, but he had his own weird reasons for talking down to him. He’d gotten to understand his terrible friend in the years they’d known each other. Still, there wasn’t much he could do with Suri physically being gone. He made a note to find him later and chat before turning back to his uncle and jumping back into the grand opening mood.