Mary Isabelle threw down the dusty curtains, dousing the checkered tiles in fresh sunlight. She harnessed the new morning, whisking it into a new possibility along with the eggs she was scrambling for her fiance Colden. 

    “Today’s the day huh” he said after a sip of folgers

    “Today’s the day!” Her pearly white teeth glowed back to him.

Mary Isabelle had moved to Maine with Colden 6 months ago after they got engaged but that wasn’t going to stop her plan to open a little bakery on the corner that was bound to bring morning delight. Which so happened to be the name of her dream made reality little bakery on the corner of Heavens Street. It was seven blocks from their apartment and was decorated in rusted brick and yellow frilly curtains framing the windows. Colden arrived early bringing a fresh bag of coffee grounds along with Mary Isabelle’s favorite almond milk creamer. He entered the sunlit doorway, his hair wet with residue of forest pine conditioner. He kissed Mary Isabelle gently and she started brewing, the smell of roasting coffee beans infiltrating every corner of the room. 

    “It’s a nice warm welcome smell to the customers”. Colden gestured his cup in the air. 

    “Not for long, the snickerdoodle cupcakes are rising, and the blueberry muffins are next to be baked”.

Colden smiled at his fiance so proud of her in her tight yellow t-shirt and jeggings with a flour full apron ready to share her baking with the few blocks of Maine and soon-the rest of the world. 

    9:00 am was the grand opening time and a few customers had already congregated outside. But by the time the doors were open for business the smell practically carried every passerby. Even stoics like Johnson Corvez, the owner of the neighboring lumber store. After grunting his way through intricate mixes of maple cinnamon cookies and lemon cake he arrived at the smile Mary Isabelle granted him with.

    “Johnson, thanks so much for coming out”.

    “Mhm”.

    “Would you like a brownie sample, think of it as a neighborhood discount”.

Johnson grabbed a caramel drizzled brownie and took a bite. He was immediately swarmed, his mouth erupting in flavor. As he chewed, and spread the chocolatey coating on his tongue he felt compelled, like an invisible whisper, to make eye contact with the brownie. And when his eyes expected to see the insides of a delectably crafted treat, they were surprised to notice that the brownie’s fluffy chocolate had formed into a mouth. 

    “You were right,” the brownie said, “your daughter didn’t go over that boy's house just  to study, she slept with him too, she’s worried she’s pregnant”. 

    Johnson, dropped the brownie watching it’s crumbles shatter across the tiles. 

    “You didn’t like it”? Mary Isabelle asked with somber stitched into her eyes. 

    “Uh, no” Johnson stammered, “I just-I have to get back to work”.

He rushed out of the bakery in a flustered scurry. Mary Isabelle found a broom in the storage closet and sweeped up the brownies' remains. 

    Mrs. Goreski finished up her errands in her solemn early hours and clicked the keys to her red chevy when the smell of the bakery found its way to her nostrils and Mrs. Goreski thought a treat would perhaps bring some cheeriness into her day. 

    The little bell above the door rang and Mary Isabelle turned around to greet the old woman. 

    “Hello, welcome to morning delight” 

    “This is a pleasant little place you got here, you have any cherry pies?”

    “Oh absolutely i’ll go grab that for you”. 

After packing the pie slice in a little box Mary Isabelle rung up Mrs. Goreski’s pie and even offered her a first time customer discount. 

    “Have many people come in today dear”? Mrs. Goreski asked. 

    “Quite a few” Mary Isabelle shuffled her feet “People have had very kind things to say so far”.

    “Well I don’t want to get ahead of myself but this place smells like heaven, I’ll be sure to spread the word” she dropped a $5 bill into the tip jar and smiled at Mary isabelle.

    “Oh thank you ma'am I so appreciate it, I hope to see you again soon”! 

Mrs. Goreski couldn’t wait till she was home to eat the pie. She opened the cardboard lid and stuck the plastic fork into the gooey cherries. The sweetness rolled over every taste bud and the crust softened in her teeth. It was the best cherry pie she had eaten. She looked down where she took the first bite and saw a mouth where the piece of pie she just devoured used to be. 

    “That boy you gave up for adoption all those years ago thinks about you every day, he wants to meet you” the cherry pie said.

    The relieving flavoring left Mrs. Goreski’s mouth and a small tear formulated in her eye. She sat in her red chevy and cried for an hour. 

    Eric Launtman was riding his bike downtown past the floral shop where that cute girl from his english class worked. By the time he reached the lumber store the smell drew him to brake in front of the bakery. He knew he had to get to work in a half an hour but he wanted to see if they had red velvet cupcakes so he could surprise his mother. 

    He entered the bakery which smelled as if cake mix had replaced all the oxygen. Mary Isabelle was sweeping and was alerted at the sound of the bell. 

    “Hi there” she greeted him as she ushered herself behind the counter.

    “Hi, I’m sorry are you closing soon”?

    “Oh almost, we close at 1:00, try to stay true to our name” Mary Isabelle laughed sweetly. 

    “Oh, ok cool I was just wondering if you had red velvet cupcakes”. 

    “As a matter of fact we do” Mary Isabelle picked out the plumpest red velvet cupcakes from her case and boxed them up for Eric. 

    “Aw man they look delicious”.

    “Thank you I use my own special recipe”. 

    “Can’t be better than my moms though” Eric chuckled. 

    “Oh really?” Mary Isabelle lowered her head to her palms and balanced her elbows on the counter.

    “Yeah, hers are the best”.

    “Well why don’t you have a bite and see if you’ve found a new favorite”.

    “I doubt it,” Eric said jovially as he rose the cupcake to his lips. 

    Eric found himself blanketed in a creamy concoction of red velvet flavoring and buttercream frosting. His saliva danced with every particle of goodness floating away in his mouth. He hated to admit it but Mary Isabelle was right, her cupcakes were undeniably perfect. He was about to exclaim that her cupcakes ranked superior to his mother’s but something told him to look down at the bite mark of the cupcake and there he saw a mouth of buttercream and red velvet cake.

    “Jasper is beating your mother again right now, a little too hard this time, you need to go to her, stop hiding in your room crying every time it happens”

    Eric shook with fear. Tears started cultivating in the corners of his eyes but he quickly took back control of his body.

    “So what’s the verdict?” Mary Isabelle asked. 

    “They’re great, I’m sorry miss but I have to go, thank you”. Eric took the packaged cupcakes under his arm and threw open the door rushing home to do something he should’ve done a long time ago. 

    By 1:00 Mary Isabelle had made $320. Not too bad for the first day considering her rent for this place wasn’t due until the end of the month. Colden brushed her shoulders and kissed her cheek softly.

    “You did so great, everyone loved everything”. 

Mary Isabelle did nothing but smile as she planted a soft, returning kiss to her fiance’s cheek. 

    “You want me to go pick up some seafood from the grocery tonight”? 

    “Ugh yes I’ve been craving something savory all day, thank you”.

    “Of course, I’ll meet you back at home”. 

Mary Isabelle watched Colden exit her dream come true,off to get some celebratory crab legs that they would steam together in their kitchen that would fill up with smells of the ocean. 

He slipped his coat over his button up and walked to his Honda parked over the cobblestone street. She rubbed her shoulder with her hands and stared off into the empty space before her eyes landed on a cinnamon roll lying on the cupboard in front of her. She looked around as if someone was watching her and sighed deeply, and took a careful bite. She chewed slow, taking in every morsel she poured her heart into and then came the impact. The feeling of commandment to look down at her creation and the mouth it now possessed. 

    “Why did you say yes when he proposed? You don’t really love him Mary Isabelle”.