Chapter 5 - The Room Above the Bakery
Samuel led Noah upstairs.
Above the bakery was a small apartment that had been empty for years.
Dust covered the windowsills.
A narrow bed stood against one wall.
A faded couch faced an old television.
The kitchen was tiny, but it had running water.
Noah stared at the refrigerator.
Samuel opened it.
Nothing was inside.
“It needs cleaning.”
Noah turned.
“Why are you showing me this?”
“Because your family needs somewhere to stay.”
“We can’t pay rent.”
“Then don’t.”
Noah’s jaw tightened.
Samuel recognized the look.
“All right.”
He leaned against the counter.
“Your mother can help with bookkeeping until she gets back on her feet.”
“You don’t even know if she can do bookkeeping.”
Samuel smiled faintly.
“I know more about your mother than you think.”
Noah frowned.
That evening, Grace refused immediately.
“No.”
“Mom, there’s a bed.”
“Noah.”
“And a shower.”
“I said no.”
“Lily can’t keep sleeping there.”
Grace looked at her daughter.
That ended the argument.
They moved in after dark.
Grace barely spoke to Samuel.
He gave her the keys and explained the hot water heater.
Then he quietly left.
The next morning, Noah found him shaping dough before sunrise.
“You still owe me an answer.”
Samuel sighed.
“Your father came here hungry.”
Noah listened.
“He was angry at the world.”
Samuel pressed his hands into the dough.
“Margaret saw through it.”
“She gave him work.”
“Eventually, he became the best baker I had.”
Noah stared.
“My dad baked?”
“He could make sourdough better than I could.”
Samuel smiled at the memory.
“Then one night, this place almost burned down.”
Noah’s eyes widened.
“Your father ran inside when everyone else ran out.”
“Why?”
“Margaret was trapped in the office.”
Samuel stopped kneading.
“Daniel got her out.”
Noah waited.
“Afterward, the four of us made a promise.”
“Who was the fourth person?”
Samuel looked toward the hallway.
“Your mother.”
Noah’s breath caught.
Grace was standing there.
Her face was pale.
Samuel continued quietly.
“We promised that if any one of us ever fell, the others would help them stand again.”
Grace shook her head.
“That promise died a long time ago.”
Samuel faced her.
“No.”
“You and Daniel disappeared.”
“No.”
“You disappeared.”
Grace turned away.
Samuel’s voice followed her.
“Daniel left because he thought I betrayed him.”
Grace stopped.
Samuel reached into a drawer.
He removed a sealed envelope.
On the front, in faded handwriting, was Grace’s name.
“This arrived two weeks after Daniel vanished.”
Grace stared at it.
Samuel swallowed.
“I was too angry to deliver it.”
May you like
The envelope trembled in his hand.
“And I have regretted that decision every day since.”
