AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re very bold.”
“Thank you?”
“I just mean, are you happy here? Because with the way you just treated your boss, it seems like you might be looking for a way out.”
I take a moment to process what he’s saying.Did he really just tell me how to act in front of my boss? Or was that some kind of veiled threat? Who is this guy?
“Respectfully, you have no idea what kind of day I’ve had.”
“Sorry, no,” he says. “That’s not what I meant at all.”
In the back, the pounding on dough begins to increase in speed, rollers pushing down harder and faster while more ovens turn on.
There’s a kind of veiled sincerity in his eyes that tells me he means well, in spite of his meddling.
“What did you mean then?”
“Just that it looks like your potential is utterly wasted here, and that you look like you’re trying to get out. Which would be a shame, because you seem like one of the good ones.”
“Okay?”
I’m trying to be friendly, and I hope it’s coming across in my voice. But I’m not sure where he’s leading with any of this, as kind as his voice is.
“There was a point where I was at my wit’s end. I didn’t think I could stand for the things my line of work was asking of me. It drove me mad.”
“And what did you do for a living?”
“Ehh… what I could to get by? A little of this and that?”
He’s being pretty cagey with me. But for some reason, I’m engrossed in his story. The story of a gorgon, living in the city where he was probably overlooked or stereotyped. Who came off of the street to relate to a simple baker.
“So what did you do?”
He nods. “Right,” he says. “Well, I realized that what I really needed was excitement.”
“Excitement?”
“Yeah. I was spinning my wheels, worrying about every battle. I had come from great things, only to be stuck with something sosimple. It felt like I was stuck in a dead-end job with people who preyed on and manipulated me. And as a result, I was on edge and desperate, both terrified of losing the one job keeping me afloat and of staying at my job, day-in and day-out, knowing what I knew.”
I can feel Tonnolun’s gaze on the back of my neck. It tells me tohurry up.
“So I cut back and I shifted my priorities a little bit, to manage my stress,” Vylco says. “I stopped picking every fight I could. Started listening to the people who wanted to be part of my life, letting them in so they could help me with the burdens I couldn’t bear alone. And in doing that, I got perspective.”
I stare at him, blank-faced. I appreciate his time, and his candor, but I still can’t help feeling like I’m missing something.
“And sometimes, I offer that advice to people who get that same look of quiet defiance in their eye.”
“It’s just a bakery job,” I reply, unable to contain my confusion.
“Maybe so. But it’s important to you.”
I nod. “It’s a lovely story, and I’m not trying to be dismissive, but where is all this going?”
He picks up his bags from the counter, putting his hand on them to confirm that they’re still hot. Satisfied, he smiles. “These are delicious, by the way.”
“I’m glad you like them?”
He’s a much more interesting character than I first gave him credit for.
