Culinary Confessions [Sample]

Chapter 2: Home is Where the Heart Is

Picture of Charlotte up on top.

The flashback mentioned in this chapter occurred in summer 2011.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

The plane landed in Atlanta, just a few hours after taking off from Indianapolis where Justin and Charlotte had attended Silver Oaks Institute of Fine Arts. Charlotte was his and Maddie's friend from Lakeview High. She was considered the "mom" of their friend group, always looking out for them after she made sure to take care of herself first. He woke up a few hours later, awoken by someone nudging his shoulder.

"Come on," Charlotte whispered. "Time to get up, sleepy head."

He watched as Charlotte went ahead of him to the airport's entrance. It slowly dawned on him that he had slept throughout the whole trip. "Oh, crap!" He quickly weaved in and out of the line of people, rushing to meet her at the luggage carousel.

Still a bit sleep deprived, Justin smiled when he caught a young woman looking through the luggage carousel. Her black hair was layered in neat rows of braids, complimenting her round face.

The sun peeked through the airport's windows, showing the bronze glow of her skin. She wore a one-shoulder white top with the layout of a cat, the featured animal sequined with rhinestones, and wore a pair of navy blue jeans to complete the look. "Charlotte!" he yelled out, hoping to catch her attention. 

Charlotte adjusted her focus from the carousel to him as she waved back. He quickly ran towards her, encompassing her with a hug. "Woah!" she said, trying to regain her balance. "Thanks!"

"How did you sleep?" he asked.

She smiled. "Slept pretty well. I was trying to wake you up before the plane landed, but you were probably too tired to notice." She laughed until she noticed the dark circles under his eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Hey, you okay? You don't look so good."

Justin yawned in response, dragging his feet to where his luggage was. He looked through the carousel, his eyes landing on a dark green suitcase with a silver handle popping out from inside it. He lifted it with a grunt, ignoring the sound of Charlotte's laughter from behind him. He turned toward her, a pinched expression on his face. "You could have helped me, you know?"

His response caused Charlotte to laugh louder. "It's not my fault that the bag weighs more than you. Besides, if I helped you carry your bag, it wouldn't have been as funny."

He struggled to maintain eye contact with her as her laughter turned into quiet snickers. He lifted his eyes towards the sky, wondering why God decided to give him this kind of best friend.

"So how does it feel to be back in Atlanta?" Charlotte asked, looking at the time on her watch.

"It was a bit stressful, so it feels good to be home. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends again. "

"Speaking of culinary school, Maddie's aunt let her take over her bakery business you guys used to work at as kids. I bet you're looking forward to seeing her again, huh, huh?" Charlotte asked, giving him a playful nudge.

With that one word, Justin's mind drifted to one person that he would be happy to see again. He remembered the first time he met Maddie, at the start of high school seven years earlier.

*     *      *

It had been a hot day in Atlanta on August 23, 2011 as Justin wiped the sweat off his forehead, going into the air-conditioned coffee shop. His eyes had flitted around the room as he noticed people chatting with one another while others had been working on a paper that was probably due the following morning. Walking toward the couch, he had failed to see someone was walking in the same direction. As the two bumped into each other, the collision had caused her to spill the latte onto her navy-blue jacket.