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My jaw clenches as my gaze pivots between parents. “Is that cool?”
“I’ll chat to the parents to make sure we have all the details straight.” Mom gives Dad a look. “But, yes, Kikki. You can go camping.”
I clap. “Yay. Thank you.”
“Awesome,” Parker cheers. “Now, can we take Brandy out?”
“Yes, kids, you’re free to go,” Dad says with a chuckle.
I get her leash while Parker coaxes Brandy off her comfy bed in the back room. Her tail swooshes from side to side as she follows Parker.
I giggle. “I think she thinks she’s getting food.”
Parker clips the leash to her collar and I happily give him the reins. “Come on, girl. You can get food afterwards.”
I scratch behind Brandy’s ear. “Going for a walk won’t be so bad.”
“Is she like you?” Parker says with a teasing smile. “She’d prefer to just sit on the sidelines and watch the world go by?”
I open the front door. “Well, she does spend a lot of time watching me baking. She comes alive, waiting for me to drop some sugary goodness.”
“That can’t be good for dogs,” Parker says, following me out of the house.
“It isn’t. That’s why she’s always watching. I never drop anything on purpose.”
As we set off on the footpath, which winds through my neighborhood, Parker asks, “So, is baking what you want to do for the rest of your life?”
“Maybe. It was one of the first things I realized I was good at,” I reply. “So I kept practicing and trying more difficult recipes. I guess, maybe it’s similar to you and skateboard tricks.”
“Does that mean it’s just a hobby?”
“I do have a dream to move to France and attend a patisserie school.”
“Whoa. That’d be awesome.”
“Sometimes, I think of baking as art. I like that people can look at it, smell it, and appreciate it. Eating it is sometimes just a bonus.”
Parker mumbles a laugh. “I always just think about eating what you bake.”
“That’s perfectly fine. As long as you enjoy it.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a bad cake from Morton’s Café. I can’t believe I never knew you made them all.”
“I don’t make them all. And I don’t bake for the café every day. It’s just a little side gig for extra cash.”
“Well, they’re still amazing.”
“Thanks, Parker.”
Parker lifts the leash higher, grinning at Brandy. “She’s got such a good pace. I was worried she was going to dawdle the whole way.”
“She’s fine once she’s out of the house. It’s just prompting her that’s the issue.”
Parker sniggers. “Just like her owner.”
I nudge him. “Hey.”
Parker grins playfully, and I can’t help smiling back.
