I loved knowing people trusted me with important celebrations.

The bakery wasn’t merely a hobby I could abandon.

It had become the center of my professional life.

Derek knew that.

He never complained about the flour I carried into the house or the early morning alarms.

He made coffee while I measured ingredients.

He helped load deliveries into the car.

He even learned how to level cake tiers, although he insisted he was only qualified to carry boxes.