Adrian settled into Ashvale fast and soon became a town favorite. He helped kids with their math and language assignments and was an ever-present helping hand to anyone who needed it, no matter how mundane. Though he hardly spoke, his willingness to help and good-looking face made people warm up to him.
"Adrian, there's something wrong with my phone. Could you check it for me?"
"Come in and try my new tea, my granddaughter sent it from her travels. Let me tell you, this time she went to Japan."
"Is it me, or do you seem to have lost weight. Take these chickens. You and Felix should make soup."
Even the always straight-faced Mrs. Black would smile like a flower whenever she saw him pass by.
"Come, I just baked bread," she'd call from her porch. "Take some home for dinner."
It was just the two of them and the cats. Their schedule consisted of both of them waking up around the same time and meeting each other on the stairs after washing up. Felix would cook breakfast while Adrian fed the cats. They ate together and did light cleaning around the house before heading out to the cafe.
The early morning light would stream through the window as Felix moved between shelves. Adrian would pause for a while just to watch him. They ate together at the little round table in the kitchen.
Initially, it was Felix who picked up the pastries every morning, and Alex would conveniently find a reason to follow him back each time— either because there were too many boxes or one of them was too heavy. But one day, Adrian borrowed Grandpa Luke's bicycle and wooden cart, offering to pick them up while Felix prepped for the day.
He carefully placed all the boxes on the cart and said goodbye to Alex with a smirk and rode back to the cafe. From that they forward, he had effectively removed Alex's daily excuse to see Felix.
After a few days, Alex went to the cafe to ask why Felix stopped coming by, and Felix explained Adrian's cost-effective plan to him.
"Think about it. I spend a total of 30 minutes going to and from the cafe to your store. But I could use that time to blend the coffee beans I plan to use for the day. Isn't that very smart? I picked up a bargain with Adrian."
Alex could only grit his teeth and agree.
Adrian, cleaning up the counter, didn't say anything, but threw Alex a smirk from behind Felix's back. After Alex left, he put his arm over Felix's shoulder and asked, "Why don't you buy from another pastry shop?"
Felix turned to him, confused. "Why would I do that? Their stuff tastes good. Alex is an amazing baker."
Adrian defeated. "I was just wondering why you chose him, since he's not the only bakery in town."
"Oh," Felix said thoughtfully. "When I first moved into town, he was handing out free samples, and I tried one of his cakes. It was delicious— just perfect— so I asked him for a partnership."
"I see." Adrian shook his head. Felix was like that, simple and straightforward. If he liked it he went for it immediately.
They ate their lunch either at the cafe or at one of the nearby diners, deciding where they ate based on where their feet led them. On warmer days, they strolled around the town afterward, occasionally stopping at the library.
Theyéd check in the books they had previously borrowed and check out new ones. They usually spent an hour or two there, with Felix showing Adrian his favorite books and chatting with the librarian.
At night, after dinner, Felix either painted, read a book, with the cats curled up around him, or simply turned in early. He really enjoyed sleeping if he didn't have anything else to do.
Adrian kept in contact with his men before he went to bed, almost every night, giving orders on how to deal with his uncles and urging them to find Jack.
Each call ended in disappointment, no matter where they checked, Jack didn't turn up— dead or alive. He wondered if they would ever find him. He wanted to tell Jack that Felix was doing okay.
Adrian's uncles were still investigating. They didn't believe Adrian was dead, but still couldn't find any trace of him. In his absence, they ruled the family, trying to push forward more of their illegal activities, trying to destroy all the progress Adrian had made. But slowly, his covert efforts, along with his partnership with the police, were erasing his uncles' influence.
If it were a Wednesday night, they would watch a movie. The first person to get the remote decided what they watched, and it quickly became a fun game for them.
Felix was quick and was almost always the first to get to the remote. Adrian couldn't beat him. In fact the few times he won, he had had to resort to tricks.
Their weekends were slow. On Saturdays, Felix didn't open the cafe till 10, and on Sundays didn't open at all.
They spent their Sundays indoors, with Felix painting or catching up on more sleep. Adrian didn't usually have much to do, he read the books Felix recommended or managed the businesses the family had.
Sometimes they went to Grandma Betty's farm to help around, and they always brought back baskets of fruit. Granny Betty insisted they needed the fruits for their growth.
Felix used those fruits to create new coffee blends, experimenting with ratios and combinations. Adrian was the one who bore the burden of testing all. He sipped each cup seriously and gave useful feedback that Felix used to improve.
"I can't taste the coffee."
"I can't either," Felix would sigh.
"Too tart," he would murmur, scrunching his face.
"I only added one more drop of lemon this time." Felix would protest.
"Too much."
Eventually, Felix succeeded and created five new mixes, and they were a hit with everyone.
There was an apple and honey blend, sweet and mellow. A blueberry and caramel mix, smooth and rich. A peach and lemon, popular among the high school girls. Then blackberry and honey, Adrian's favorite. And finally, a blackberry and kiwi mix, since the blueberry had been such a hit, Felix decided to try another combo.
All of them, though delicious, suffered from Felix's excellent name choices. Until the high schoolers came up with their own names.