Pastry Chef Sheya - Volume 1 Chapter 7 Berry Berry Happy Birthday.

SheyButter Cafe opens at exactly 10:00 in the morning. Sheya has always been the first person to arrive because she needed to prepare the kitchen, check the equipments, do the inventories of stocks and of course, bake bake bake.

On that day, she arrived in her usual early time. She went straight to the kitchen to store some fresh fruits she bought in the wet market across the street. She looked at her notebook and checked her time plan when she heard something strange.

She ignored it. She thought it was just the wind since she opened the windows to welcome some needed fresh air. She heard another sound, this time a footstep. She felt a little bit scared especially the moment she realised she did not lock the door in front when she got in.

She grabbed a knife and a pot with hot water then without warning..

” Surprise! Happy Birthday Sheya!” It was Mark and Karen holding a bouquet of flowers and a pretty cake.

” You two are going to give me a heart- attack! Oh my God, I thought it was a robbery” Sheya said while putting the knife and pot on the sink.

Sheya: Thankyou for remembering my birthday. Actually, I have completely forgotten about it until last night. Where did you get this cake?

Karen: I made it. I know it is not as good as yours this is my daughter’s favorite. Every year on her birthday, I bake one just for her.

The 3 of them sliced the cake and ate till the last crumb.

Sheya: That is so good. I can taste everything you put in there. I tasted graham, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries. I remembered having something called triple berry cake when I was Europe. But yours is different. It is homey, comforting and it melts in the mouth.

Mark: These flowers are for you. Are you going to celebrate tonight with your family and friends?

Sheya: Actually, I will. You are my friends and family now. You made my day special with these lovely surprises so let us have a fancy dinner after work. It is my treat and you can’t say no.

Hours later, the cafeteria was full of people. Young, old, men, women, family, couples, singles.. They couldn’t get enough of these fresh, rich, aromatic explosion of flavours courtesy of the birthday girl. One could even smell the magic from miles away.

Later that night, Sheya took them to a very nice Japanese restaurant and said,

” Tonight, it’s our turn to be served, enjoy good food, drink and we will enjoy every moment of it”.