“Daddy, can we go to the park?”
“I have to go back to the bakery. But we can go for a little while after work.”
“Yay!” She jumped up and down and clapped. Several people stopped to stare at the pretty little brown skinned girl and the white man that was obviously her Daddy as they shared the same grey eyes. They talked as they walked down the street together hand in hand. When they got to his Jeep Cherokee he disengaged the locks and Jazzy mimicked the little chirping sound. He buckled her into her booster seat and handed her one of her books to read. Sometimes it kept her attention until he got them to their destination.
Troy got behind the wheel and started the car. He had been seizure free for almost three years. And before that he’d had only one in the entire year. Of course he had to take his medication regularly, and if he noted that he was having any of the signals, like repetitive tapping of his fingers or feet then he anticipated one and could put himself in a safe position. There had been no need for that for several years.
Jazzy had lost interest in her book in less than a minute and they were doing a sing-a-long. Soon Troy was singing by himself. He looked in the rear view mirror and his daughter was staring off into space. Her pretty rosebud mouth was slightly ajar and her body had gone slack. A few moments later her eyes blinked and she got quiet as she turned to the window to stare at the passing scenery. His lips were a grim line as he took all of it in.
Janet had said that it was normal for kids to have absence seizures and that she might grow out of hers without the need for medication. He was reluctant to start her on a course until he knew for sure whether or not she had inherited his condition. Regardless, he would teach her how to be safe in a seizure, and how not to feel like an outcast because she had them. Right now, he was thankful that she didn’t know that they marked her as different from other little girls. Hopefully it was something that she would never have to learn.
“Daddy, can I be your helper at the bakery?”
“Well, as long as OSHA isn’t around, I think it will be fine.”
“Who’s that?” He chuckled his response.
They pulled up into the crowded parking lot shared by a music store and a Greek restaurant. Most of the cars were there for his bakery. He knew this based on the animated sounds coming from the neat little shop.
Again, another building purchased for a dollar and partially financed with the proceeds from their first successful business venture. Then Bob had wanted to buy into it; though Troy suspected that Bob had been more interested in re-establishing their bond then in operating a bakery. Regardless of the reason, he loved working closely with his brother, as well as his brother’s wife, who dropped in whenever they needed the help. His wife had turned out to be easy going and she and Juicy had hit it off quickly.
The newest business venture had the nondescript name of Hyden’s Bakery and coffee shop. Their family wasn’t very creative when it came to naming businesses, but they had a knack for running successful ones. They had enough money in the bank to sit at home and to allow their businesses to work for them; however both he and Juicy enjoyed the work that they did. He suspected that Juicy’s early retirement would be short lived.
Jazzy ran ahead of him and into the bakery and Troy heard several people greet her. Her reputation preceded her. He smiled to himself. His life as a father and husband was more then he could have ever hoped for. He didn’t know if his was a ‘normal’ life, but he knew that he was where he had always wanted to be; in a real family.
“Hey Bossman.” Jace said.
“Hey, looks like we got a crowd. Go ahead and take a break. I’ll fill in behind the cash register.”
“Kewl.” She slipped off her apron and tossed it to him. Then she bounded from around the bar and joined her friends at a table. She had her long black and fuchsia hair tied back but her bangs were ever falling into her eyes. And because she didn’t like wearing hair nets, she was forced to work behind the register and waiting tables. She didn’t mind. She got good tips, especially when the word got out that she was a pre-operative transsexual. It seemed that everyone that hung out in the alternative establishment wanted to help foot her surgery bill. Troy had even set up a drop box that said plainly; ‘Jace Macadue’s sex change bucket.’
Jace hadn’t even corrected him that it was called sex reassignment surgery. Now that she was taking the hormones, her tall lanky body had the beginnings of a nice pair of breasts and she was soft and curvy in all of the right places. Straight, as well as bi guys sniffed around the pretty girl and she had no shortage of friends.
Jeff Buckley’s So Real was playing over the sound system and the crowd was lively and giving off a good vibe.
Bob came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel. “Okay, we’re done baking for the day. We’re going to have some learned scones, and oatmeal bread.” They gave away their leftovers at the end of the day because they didn’t use preservatives and Troy refused to sale subpar products. When there was a lot, then he sent them to his church, but if not they just gave them to the homeless at the end of the day.
“Uncle Bob, I’m going to be the helper.” She announced.
“Uh…” Bob looked at Troy. “We don’t have anything else to bake.”
“She can make chicken salad sandwiches with the leftover oatmeal bread. We can only have that tub of chicken salad another day anyways.”
“You’re going to get us closed down by OSHA, dude.”
“Uncle Bob, who is Osha?!” He picked up his little niece and carried her into the kitchen to wash her hands and put on an apron and hairnet. He was practical, so he intended to put a note with the sandwiches stating that they were the creation of 4 year old Jasmine Hyden and were FREE.
Troy poured himself a cup of coffee and then walked to the table with Jace and her friends. “I’ve been thinking about opening up an Internet café…”
THE END
Pepper Pace writes romance stories with steamy eroticism, humor and warmth. She enjoys writing, as well as reading about unlikely romances and interracial relationships. Her characters are painfully real and just like in reality, sometimes their stories make you cry, sometimes they make you laugh and when Pepper turns up the passion it becomes very steamy!
She has described her stories as ‘out of the box’ because she is intrigued by the unusual. Stories about perfect people offers very little excitement for Pepper, which is why she has woven a world rich with anti-heroes, the insecure, the angry but always with redemption.
Pepper lives in Cincinnati Ohio with her teenage son and daughter…as do most of her characters.
Visit Pepper’s blog at http://pepperpacefeedback.blogspot.com/
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Pepper Pace is a popular author on Literotica.com. She is the winner of the 11th Annual Literotica Awards for 2009 for Best Reluctance story, as well as best Novels/Novella. She is also recipient of Literotica’s August 2009 People's Choice Award, and was awarded second place in the January 2010 People’s Choice Award. In the 12
th
Annual Literotica Awards for 2010, Pepper Pace won number one writer in the category of Novels/Novella as well as best Interracial story.
Other books by Pepper Pace
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STRANDED!
Love Intertwined Vol. 1
Juicy
About the Author
Pepper Pace writes romance stories with steamy eroticism, humor and warmth. She enjoys writing, as well as reading about unlikely romances and interracial relationships. Her characters are painfully real and just like in reality, sometimes their stories make you cry, sometimes they make you laugh and when Pepper turns up the passion it becomes very steamy!
She has described her stories as ‘out of the box’ because she is intrigued by the unusual. Stories about perfect people offers very little excitement for Pepper, which is why she has woven a world rich with anti-heroes, the insecure, the angry and always redemption.
Pepper lives in Cincinnati Ohio with her teenage son and daughter…as do most of her characters.
Visit Pepper’s blog at http://pepperpacefeedback.blogspot.com/
Awards
~***~
Pepper Pace is a popular author on Literotica.com. She is the winner of the 11th Annual Literotica Awards in 2009 for Best Reluctance and best Novels/Novella, as well the August 2009 People's Choice Award. In the 12
th
Annual Literotica Awards, Pepper Pace won number one writer in the category of Novels/Novella as well as best Interracial story for 2010.