Chapter Twenty: Athens:

Now, we are going to Greece. Ellen’s out there for Christmas. However, she’s on a working vacation. How did this happen? Let’s go in and see.

Ellen pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She hadn’t expected to go back to work right away. Still, this was the Christmas season. That means people were going to be looking for baked goods for the holidays. Good thing Ellen didn’t mind it.

The family bakery opened at ten. Mom was already downstairs baking. She looked over her shoulder as Ellen came down the stairs.

“Oh so you finally decide to get up,” she said.

“Hey come on, mom,” Ellen said. “I’m on vacation. I should be allowed to sleep in a little bit.”

“Not when we have to work for the holidays,” her mother said. “Go wash your hands and help me get started!”

“Yes, mom,” her daughter said, rolling her eyes. Ellen joined her mom in the kitchen and got to work.

They got a good number of customers coming in today. The first was a mom with two children. Ellen’s father was the one to greet her.

“Good morning, miss,” he said. “How can I serve you today?”

“I’m here to pick up my cake,” she said. “The name should be Megalos.” The dad looked up the list. Ellen was surprised he was using a tablet now.

“So he’s using the tablet I gave him last year?” she asked her mother.

“Yeah,” the mom said. “He really likes it now.” The daughter whistled.

“Wow,” was all Ellen could say. Meanwhile, her father looked up at the customer with her children.

“Ah yes,” he said. “You ordered a Zoumero cake for Christmas. We’ve got it right here.” He pulled out a boxed-up cake from the fridge.

“Here you are,” the man said. Megalos paid for the cake.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile.

“Have a good day,” Ellen’s father said with a nod. The mom left with her children and cake. Ellen had to get back more baking. The rest of the day was going to be busy like that.