Valentine's Day Celebration

“Just a little more to the left, a tiny to the right… That’s too much! Just a little… Hold it! Okay, that’s perfect!”

Solstice giggled to herself as she walked out of the kitchen to see Brigitte making Vega and Elijah putting up the finishing touch of the Valentine's Day decorations. The cafe was fully decked out in red, pink and white for the day and she was so happy that Brigitte had shot down the idea Nicola had come up with for them to dress up. She would have called in a sick day if that idea had been accepted.

“Brigitte,” she called from by the door. “The third batch of the limited edition Valentine’s Day cookies and first batch of cupcakes are ready. I’ve placed the next two batches of cupcakes and fourth batch of cookies in. Do you want me to start decorating or do you want me to wait for you?”

“Thank you, Sol. You can go ahead and decorate if you wish. I’ll be right with you.”

“I think I’ll do the cookies first. The first two batches should have cooled down.”

Returning to the kitchen, both Brigitte and Solstice got to work. Brigitte had started on her work on decorating the cupcakes. She had decided to use buttercream icing for them. With a precision of a professional, she easily dragged the icing to the middle of the cake with no mistakes. She then placed a chocolate covered strawberry prepared the day before on top of the cupcake, finishing it with a small amount of white pearl sprinkles. Setting them down on a display tray, she continued on the next one.

Solstice, on the other hand, had used royal icing on the cookies. They had baked the cookies in various shapes but the one in the hearts was more plentiful and she had decided to decorate those first. She coated the top of them with red and white icing, adding some sprinkles at the top. After finishing ten, she would place two cookies in a small clear plastic bag and tie the top with a large big bow in either a red or pink ribbon. 

Since there were much less cupcakes compared to cookies, Brigitte was able to finish them quickly and help Solstice with the cookies. Working with occasion chatter, they were able to finish about ten minutes before the opening.

Since it was a special occasion, there was a limit on how many pastries they would sell. However, in exchange, those who would normally be in the kitchen on normal days would help serve the customers and exchange greetings with them. It was an occasion to interact with their regulars. Due to how many more people would visit, Brigittee had asked Nicola and Haru to come in as extra help.

“Oh before I forget!” Solstice pulled out a small packet of chocolate from her bag, presenting it to Brigitte. “Vulpes and I made some Valentine's Day chocolates. This is for you.”

“Oh Sol...” Brigitte accepted it with a smile. “Thank you dear.”

“You’re welcome!”

When the door opened for that day, a steady stream of customers entered for their daily fix. However, most of their attention would be drawn to the display and purchase either a bag of cookies or a cupcake in addition to their coffee or tea. Others would order and take a seat, waiting for one of them to deliver their order to their table.

The atmosphere was a cheerful one as everyone was affected. The joyous aura was so infectious that those who were having a bad day were all smiling and enjoying themselves just a few minutes of walking into the cafe. Solstice was also introduced as a new member of the staff and she was greeted warmly by the regulars.

During lunch break, Solstice was able to catch Nicola, Haru and Vega giving them their share of the Valentine's chocolates. She then passed a small stuffed capybara holding a dozen red roses into Vega’s arms.

“And that’s from Samsara.”

Vega went from confused to red in less than five seconds. His fluttered and embarrassed face was priceless.

Thanks to the clebreation, most of the pastries were sold out by early afternoon. That prompted Brigitte and Solstice to make a few emergency batches of cupcakes and cookies. They barely finished in time for the evening rush. At 6pm, the flow of customers to the cafe had slowed down. The pastries they had made were also sold out as well. With that, Brigitte decided to close up the cafe and let Nicola and Haru leave early for their own date. When Samsara showed up, Vega was also given permission to spend the rest of the day with him.

The remaining three of them chose to stay to help with cleaning up.

“Oh Elijah,” Solstice caught him after they were done and as they were waiting for Brigitte at the front of the cafe.

“What is Solstice?” He asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Here!” She gave him her last bag of Valentine's Day chocolate. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Thank you… I didn’t know you felt that way about me...”

“Huh?” Solstice blinked twice, her face crunching up in confusion. “What are you talking about? I gave them to everyone.”

There was a beat of silence as Brigitte walked towards them.

“Ready to leave?”

“Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow!” Solstice waved at them and started on her walk home.

As she disappeared into the distance, Brigitte couldn’t help but laugh at Elijah. “Sweetheart, why is your face so red?”

“No reason!” His voice was high and his face was flushed red.

“You thought Solstice liked you?”

“You saw that!?”

“I heard it too.”

Elijah buried his face into his hands as his mother continued to chuckle, finding it extremely funny at his expense. However, due to the misunderstanding and extreme embarrassment, Elijah couldn’t see Solstice in the eyes of a week after that.