Saturday, November 24th. 2:00 PM.

Maria’s boots made clomping sounds as she made her way down Diagon Alley. She had just been released from the shift she’d been covering at WWW (one of the shopgirls who had been eyeing George recently had called in “sick”; Maria didn’t trust the little hussy), and she figured that she’d use the free time before George got off to check in on Gareth and ________ Me. When the shop had just been beginning, she had been there often. She had helped Gareth set up the space and decide on prices and different baked gods to feature. Now though, it was quickly on its way to becoming an institution, she hadn’t been there nearly as often. As Gareth’s financial backer, she felt as though she was letting her friend and business partner down.

Still, when she had found Gareth working in the Apothecary instead of baking, what else was she supposed to do? She was making a killing with her job as a Healer, and what better to spend it on than a friend? She and Gareth had been quite close during their years at ASU. They had both been in Lenis, and they had similar dispositions, though Gareth was a bit more soft-spoken. Perhaps being around Fred and George so much had rubbed off on her also. Both of them were ever the entrepreneur, so maybe she simply saw this as a way to keep up with them. She was also doing the world a favor by introducing them to Gareth’s baking. The man was a genius. Gareth was to baking as Chelsea was to clothes and fashion.

No matter the reason, she was still on her way to _______ Me, and she was quite excited to see how things were going. She arrived there shortly and slipped inside. She smiled briefly at the customers at their tables before spotting Gareth coming out of the back room. She strode up to the counter and propped her elbows on it. “’Eloo dere, stranger. ‘Oy’s ev’rythin’ ‘eadin’?” she asked, a broad smile on her face. She didn’t notice it, but being in her work accent (basically British with a touch of Irish) for so long that day had made her Irish lilt come out even stronger when it was finally set free.

She glanced around. “’Tis lukin’ gran’, lad. Ye’ve got customers an’ business, an’ who cud ask fer more? An’ ‘tis better than de Apothecary, aye?” she teased. “Nearly ev’rywan Oi ta’k ter raves aboyt dis place, Gareth, an’ George tells me ‘tis de best investment Ah’ve ever made, asoide frum marryin’ ‘im. Oi told yer yer were meant ter be a baker! Ah, an’ me brah’der Pat wants ter blather ter yer aboyt maybe goin’ inter business together? ‘E’s a cuk, yer nu; ‘e did all de grub at me weddin’. Anyway, ‘e’s so impressed witcha dat ‘e asked me ter see if ye’d be interested in maybe joinin’ up wi’ ‘is caterin’ business. Dey do really well, so it might be somethin’ yer cud tink aboyt,” she shrugged.

It was then that Maria remembered that Gareth was a man of few words, so she should probably take a breath so he could have a chance to respond to the onslaught of words she'd just unleashed.

Though Gareth was usually the only one running the shop, he was never lonely since there were plenty of customers coming and going; and most of the customers were quite ready to strike up a conversation with him while he was tallying up the items they bought.

Maria had been instrumental in the founding, setting up and eventual running of the bakery. Though she had given him free reign over what the bakery should look like and even allowed him to pick the name, Gareth felt that as major investor, she should always be kept in the loop about the bakery, especially the financial aspects. He had been thinking about saving up and officially buying over the bakery from Maria, but at the moment he was much to busy with inventing and experimenting to formally consider that. He did try his best to keep some semblance of ordered accounts so Maria could see how the bakery was doing.

Gareth had just brought out a tray of freshly baked croissants when he heard Maria at the counter,"Be with you in a minute!" As he set the tray down, he enthusiastically marched up to the register and produced his accounts book, proudly setting it in front of Maria.

“’Eloo dere, stranger. ‘Oy’s ev’rythin’ ‘eadin’?”

"Eh?" Though he had been friends with Maria for very very long, her Irish accent still made it hard for him to understand her at times.

“’Tis lukin’ gran’, lad. Ye’ve got customers an’ business, an’ who cud ask fer more? An’ ‘tis better than de Apothecary, aye?”

"Well, it's much better than working back there of course," he said, bashfully fiddling with his hair. And it was all thanks to Maria. He never knew people of this modern era still placed so much importance on friendship. That Maria forked out so much money to back a business venture she didn't know with certainty would succeed was always amazing to Gareth, and he never knew how he could thank her properly.

“Nearly ev’rywan Oi ta’k ter raves aboyt dis place, Gareth, an’ George tells me ‘tis de best investment Ah’ve ever made, asoide frum marryin’ ‘im. Oi told yer yer were meant ter be a baker! Ah, an’ me brah’der Pat wants ter blather ter yer aboyt maybe goin’ inter business together? ‘E’s a cuk, yer nu; ‘e did all de grub at me weddin’. Anyway, ‘e’s so impressed witcha dat ‘e asked me ter see if ye’d be interested in maybe joinin’ up wi’ ‘is caterin’ business. Dey do really well, so it might be somethin’ yer cud tink aboyt.”

Gareth was lost in the accent and words, but he did catch the part about Maria's brother wanting to talk to him about some catering thing. Or something. But Gareth loved the bakery and catering would mean only baking for a select group of clients, rather than anyone just passing by. Though he could help out and provide pastries and such if needed, so long as it didn't mean compromising the bakery's business.

"I would never dream of giving up this bakery and going into catering, but it's your business too and if you want to... Well, maybe I could help out now and then?"

OOC: Sorry it took me so long, love.

Maria had never thought of herself as much of an entrepreneur. George was the businessman. She just liked to help people, which was why being a Healer suited her just fine. But when she’d stumbled upon Gareth working in the Apothecary instead of being a baker like she’d always thought he’d be, it had seemed only natural to offer to financially back him with a bakery. She had the extra money, he had the talent and she had a sister and a husband who both ran their own businesses to help Gareth with the whole running-your-own-business part that she had no idea about.

And it was clear that it had been a brilliant idea on her part. _____ Me was doing wonderfully. She looked around at the shop, with the customers and the decorations (taken care of by Chelsea, naturally) and couldn’t keep a proud smile from her lips. She looked over the account book that Gareth set in front of her, her smile growing. They had done it! They were a success, and it was really all thanks to Gareth’s talent. They had advertised with posters and ads in the Daily Prophet and such when he first opened, but this kind of success could only come from word-of-mouth, which was the best kind of advertising and could not be bought. “Everythin' looks gran' ter me, lad. Oi'm so glad dat dis 'as worked oyt for yer!” she said, lifting her gaze from the account book. She flipped it close and handed it back to him.

"Well, it's much better than working back there of course,"

Maria grinned at him. She still remembered running into Gareth that rainy night. Chelsea had been incredibly ill, and instead of closing her shop like a normal person to rest and recover, she had simply asked Maria to get her more ingredients for Head-Clearing and Revitalizing potions so she could work until she was better. Maria had been running late, and had nearly bowled Gareth over as she burst inside the Apothecary that he had been in the process of closing. Gareth had always been quiet and reserved, but he’d also used to have a sense of contentment that seemed to have abandoned him. It was back now, she could see, and she couldn’t be happier about it. “Well, Oi shud ‘ope so, mucker. Bakin’ was alwus waaat yer loved ter do, aye?” she said, as though it was a no-brainer. She had noticed that Gareth was having trouble understanding her, so she was attempting to soften her accent.

"I would never dream of giving up this bakery and going into catering, but it's your business too and if you want to... Well, maybe I could help out now and then?"

Maria held up her hands as though to ward off the misunderstanding. “Aw naw, nathin' loike dat! T'be sure we wouldn't close de bakery. De bakery wud be yer first priority, o’carse! But Pat wants ter nu if maybe yer cud provide a list av desserts dat 'is clients cud choose from, an' yer man cud pass de orders along ter yer. ‘E makes deadly grub, but yer man doesn't 'av de patience or de brilliance dat yer 'av whaen it cums ter bakin'. ‘Twould jist be another source av incum fer yer, if ye’re interested,” she added hastily. “Oi mean, Pat’s services are in ‘igh demand, so yer cud charge more for yer bakin’ if ye wanted.”

She decided to let him think about it for a while and change the subject. “D’yer 'av any plans for Christmas? George an' Oi are 'avin' our families an' sum lads over ter our cottage, an' yer are t'be sure welcum ter cum as well,” she said with another smile. In truth, she was nervous about the holiday. It would be the first holiday she and George had hosted, and even with her magical improvements to the size of the cottage, neither of their families were small. Or reserved. Chelsea was bringing her boyfriend, Pat was bringing his fiancée, Kevin was bringing his girlfriend…it was going to be quite the adventure.