She measured the flour and mixed it with rest of the ingredients. The batter was ready, she poured the batter into the container and placed it in the preheated oven. She moved her attention to the unfinished icing. She was busy perfecting her masterpiece when a pair of arms snaked her from behind. She let out a gasp, the touch was all too familiar, she settled into the embrace. She could smell his aftershave, she smiled realizing how they had an argument the other night about his prickly beard. "I see that you have shaved it off", she teased him. She could feel his frown against her neck, he bit her there instead. She hissed, he kissed her there, "I need my treat for this!" he frowned. "I'm making your favorite today" she replied adoring the cheeky smile that grew on his face. He was her's, all this was their's. "Are the customers here already?" she asked concerned. "Just the usual ones, I'll get their orders ready", and He disappeared into his counter.
It's been a year since they started the cheesecake house, they started small, with no previous experience or so. It was the biggest risk that they took in their life, quitting their jobs and spending their investments on this. No one was there to support them on this, but that didn't stop them from chasing their dream. It was their dream to start a pastry shop and settle in a place like this. They finally achieved it, after all the struggle. She smiled at their small kitchen, with just enough space for the two of them to work, everything is exactly the way she wanted it to be.
She recalled how they met each other, she was just out of a relationship, which gave her nothing but pain. She hated the concept of commitments and was not ready to try her luck again on something similar. But then he came along, with his big smile and frivolous acts. She tried to ward him off, but there was something different about him that made her want him to stay for longer. After months of persuasion she finally agreed to go out with him,and her life was never the same after that. He showed her places, showed her people and more importantly, he bought her food. She was ready to take risk again, to come out of the fortress which she made for herself, she opened herself to him. And it was the best decision she ever made. They loved each other like it was their last day on earth and before they knew it, they became inseparable. Circumstances laid distance between them, but for two hearts who were in love, it didn't matter and even distance failed infront of them. She got the fairytale that she always wanted. "What if you grew bored of me?" she voiced her concern one day. "we'll have to make everything interesting again" he said with his childlike smile. That was all the confirmation that she needed.
Years went by, they got married and it was yet another dream come true, they started a family together. Soon after, they had their first baby, then the second and third followed. Life became monotonous, work, kids, him, they became her universe. Her life revolved around her family and somewhere along the way they lost the spark. The spark which had brought them together in the first place. She was the first one to realize it, but it was too late. She knew he wasn't the kind to cheat on her, but without him, his warm smile her heart grew cold. The happy home that they made for themselves became a bitter place. The lack of communication was taking a toll on them, they grew silent and eventually started to ignore each other's presence in the house. Even though it came late, what she anticipated from the beginning was happening finally. She couldn't take the silence anymore and she lost control one day and shouted at the top of her voice. It was the first time he had seen her lose it like that. The severity of the situation was finally sinking in. He grabbed her and pulled her into a close embrace. "we lost it! It's all gone." She cried into his shoulder. "Shush! Nothing is lost, you have me, I have you and we have each other", they stayed in that warm embrace for a while. "What do we do now?" she asked raising her face to look at him face. "What we planned we will do!" he replied. There, she saw that again, the smile, that damned smile, which made her fall for him in the first place, and she knew it will all be alright again. And that's how the idea of the cheesecake house came into existence. It was their dream to build this for themselves, it didn't take long before they decided to quit their job. Their kids had grown enough to look after themselves, leaving their home and their busy city life they moved into the countryside. Someone once said, people are too cautious to take any risks that they eventually settle for the ordinary, but the ones who take calculated risks are the ones who get to live their dream.
She came out of her trance, and looked over to her husband, his brown eyes, his disheveled hair, and that gorgeous smile. Even at 65, he was all that she wanted and this was the dream that she had always had and now that she looks back at all the pain and suffering, it all made sense, it was worth it. He was worth it.