"Violet?" His eyes widened. Ryan stood up abruptly and groaned in pain when his knee suddenly bumped against his bed frame. He sat down on the mattress and massaged his knee softly.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes," he paused and cleared his throat. "I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about."
"Were you sleeping?" Violet asked. "Your voice sounded... groggy."
"I'm awake now."
"Oh," Violet said. "I'm sorry..."
"What do you want?" He asked. He paused, silently regretting that his question sounded a bit rude. He ruffled his hair, cleared his throat again, and took a deep breath. "I mean, why did you call?"
"Your niece, Lily, is here with me," Violet said. "Your sister dropped her daughter in my bakery. She told me to call you and have you pick her up if she's not back after an hour," she explained. "She texted me just now and said that she'll be running late."
Ryan grimaced. He remembered how his sister frantically woke him up earlier. She wanted him to look after his niece. But then, she changed her mind when she saw how tired he was. "She asked you to look after Lily?"
"Yes,"
"Alright," Ryan nodded. "I'll be there. Just give me fifteen minutes," he said before he hung up. He took a quick glance at the clock and noticed that it was almost afternoon. Ryan ran across the room in a hurry and dashed towards the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later, he was fully dressed. He rechecked the time on the clock and cursed to himself. He slid into his car and sped to the bakery.
However, when Ryan arrived, he was surprised to see that the bakery was closed.
His brow furrowed. Ryan was sure that Violet had told him that she was in the bakery. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed her number. "Violet? Where are you?" he asked as soon as they were connected.
"I'm in the bakery."
Ryan glanced towards the bakery. A notice informing the customers that the bakery would be closed for two days was plastered on the glass. "Seriously, where are you? I was standing before your bakery and there's a notice saying that –"
"You're outside?" Violet cut him off. "Hold on a second."
A few seconds later, Ryan caught a clicking noise coming out from the bakery. The door swung open, and Violet was there, standing before him. She was in her worn-out jeans, a bubblegum pink t-shirt, and a plain white apron.
"Hi."
Ryan tried very hard not to smile. "Hi."
"Come on in," Violet said, stepping aside to let him enter. "You might have to stay for a while," she watched him step in before locking the door behind her. "Your niece is having her lunch in my office."
Ryan stepped inside and scanned the bakery. Two ladies in their mid-forty stood behind the counter, polishing the counter with a wiping cloth. The ladies looked up at Ryan and smiled.
"Who is this Violet?" One of the cleaning ladies asked. "Your boyfriend?"
Violet laughed. "Yes, Abby. This is my boyfriend, Ryan."
Ryan swallowed to get rid of his awkwardness when she introduced him as her boyfriend. He knew that he was acting as her boyfriend in front of others, but hearing Violet introduce him as her boyfriend made his heart beat faster.
"Well, the two of you look lovely together," Abby commented. Her smile remained. "I shouldn't interrupt you then."
"Alright," Violet replied. "Tell me when you're done, Abby. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything." Violet tugged Ryan on his sleeve and dragged him to her small office.
Lily was on a plastic chair with a small plate on her lap and a fork in her hand. The small girl looked up and smiled when Ryan showed up in the kitchen. "Uncle! You're here!"
Ryan strolled towards the little girl and bent down to kiss her on her forehead. He stood up straight and ruffled up his niece's hair. "What do you have there, little princess?"
"Violet made me some blueberry pancakes!" Lily said cheerily. "Would you like to have some?" She offered, shoving some pancakes toward him.
"That's very nice of you," Ryan said. His mouth opened and he chomped the pancake. "Thank you, Lily," he said between his munchs and smiled.
Violet leaned against the door and crossed against her chest as she watched Ryan and Lily. "Would you like some pancakes too? I could make you some if you want," Violet offered. "You haven't had anything for breakfast, right?"
Ryan stood up and nodded. "That would be great. I'm starving."
"Great!" Violet nodded. She grabbed a bowl and scooped in some flour.
"Can I?" Lily paused and slid off the chair carefully. "Can I have more pancakes too?" She asked as she passed her empty plate to Violet.
"Sure you can," Violet smiled and bent down to pinch Lily on her nose, softly. "Do you want to help me prepare the pancakes?"
"Yes!" The little girl replied excitedly.
"Alright," Violet giggled. She carried Lily into the kitchen and placed her on the stainless steel work table. She took all the ingredients needed and mixed them into the bowl. "Here you go," she said and handed a whisk to Lily.
"Careful," Ryan said to his niece. "You don't want to ruin your dress, Lily."
"Don't worry," Violet assured him and took out a box of fresh blueberries from the refrigerator. "Your sister left some spare clothes for Lily in her bag."
"Right." Ryan frowned. "My sister. Did she tell you where she might be going?"
"Hmm," Violet said, examining the pancake batter. "She said something about a date with her husband." Violet took a rubber spatula and let Lily fold some blueberries into the batter. "Thank you, Lily."
"I can't believe that she's still acting irresponsible," Ryan shook his head disapprovingly. "And she left her daughter with you for a date with her husband?"
"I don't mind," Violet said as she took the batter from Lily. "Your niece is such a good company." Violet heated a frying pan over medium heat and scooped some butter into it.
Ryan looked displeased. He could not understand what his sister was planning. Usually, she was never this reckless, especially when it came to her daughter, Lily.
"Oh. Right. So what are you doing here all alone?" Ryan asked. "Where's everyone else?"