The late May sun gave way to inky cerulean cool under the shade of the purple veranda outside of the bakery. The gold letter stickers on the glass door proudly proclaimed WREN AND RYE, and a square of white paper taped to the inside of the door confirmed the store hours. Yanlie closed their eyes to adjust to the relative darkness of the bakery as they entered, drawing in a deep breath of burbling yeast.

Yanlie knew Wren was photosensitive, and if he was going to be spending long hours working in the shop, the lights would have to be dim enough to not leave him with a migraine. Even so, Yanlie couldn’t shake the impression that the place was gloomy instead of the intended coziness. The deep red walls with their crisp white trim felt like a blanket, and the hot air wafting from the ovens made the effect stifling. The ancient checkered linoleum floors whispered of mesothelioma commercials in every dirt-filled crack. Yanlie’s glasses might be as thick as a soda bottle, but they preferred to blame it on the lighting when they couldn’t spot the source of the crying at first, thank you very much.

Wren was leaning both elbows on the polished walnut countertop, staring in wide-eyed, defeated distress at the sobbing form of one Ruby Dignaeris. He met Yanlie’s similarly confused gaze, and raised his long fingertips toward the ceiling in supplication. Yanlie sucked down a breath and sat down at the vinyl bar stool beside Ruby. They were almost indistinguishable from the background in their cloud of dark brown curls, but their heaving sobs at least gave them some definition. Yanlie reached out a hesitant hand, resting it on their shoulder.

“Ruby..?” they coaxed gently.

In lieu of a response, Ruby pushed their phone at Yanlie, and they leaned forward to read. It seemed to be a message from a blonde woman younger than Ruby, explaining that she had found a pair of Ruby’s earrings at their boyfriend’s apartment, and realized that their mutual boyfriend had been cheating on both of them. She had reached out to tell Ruby the truth so that Ruby could confront him. Unfortunately, it seemed the best Ruby could do at the moment was sit in Wren’s bakery and cry. Oh boy.

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry…” Yanlie murmured, rubbing Ruby’s back. They simply shook their head, sitting up straight to wipe the tears from their face.

“This isn’t the first time,” they explained weakly.

Yanlie raised an eyebrow. “Why’d you give him a second chance to do you wrong?”

Ruby’s lip quivered and they set their head down once more. Yanlie sucked a breath through their teeth and sat back a little, trying to reassess their plan of action. Ruby had a long history of boyfriends that treated them wrong, and cheating was hardly a new story. Why someone as gorgeous and kind as Ruby kept ending up with the worst trash Massachusetts had to offer, Yanlie couldn’t say. It was a consistent enough pattern that Yanlie had an idea, though.

They sighed and took out their phone, calling their work with a few quick clicks. The secretary picked up soon enough. “Hi, Lindsay. Let Dr. Bhattacharya know that I won’t be able to make it in today, there’s been a family emergency.” Ruby lifted their head slowly as Lindsay made a few sympathetic noises in acknowledgment. “Thanks, Lindsay. Tell your sister I said congratulations on the new baby, Josh looks like quite the cute one. Have a good day, see you tomorrow.” They hung up the phone, ignoring the flummoxed looks from both Wren and Ruby. Yanlie turned to Ruby, holding a hand out to them. “Come on. We’re going to the park.”

Ruby laid slender brown digits in Yanlie’s warm palm, though their hazel eyes were filled with confusion. Eventually they found their voice. “Why are we going to the park?”

“Me and you need to have a talk, that’s all.” Yanlie quirked a small smile at Ruby’s fearful expression. “Don’t worry, you aren’t in trouble. I figure… You just need a little love today.”

Ruby’s frown broke into a watery, grateful smile.