“Yeah, no kidding. I do not envy you.” He fills a glass with water and takes a sip.

“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just be blunt.” I take a deep breath, summoning courage. “Can we borrow Sugar’s mixer?”

He chokes.

“Please?” I add.

Pedro puts the glass down, wiping the water he spilled on his shirt with a dish rag. “I thought all I had to do was keep my mother from fighting yours. You never said anything about dealing with your broken equipment.”

“I know I’m asking too much, but if Mom can’t finish her work in time, we’re doomed.”

“Then there’s a chance the client will ask Sugar to take over the part Salt can’t finish,” he thinks out loud. “Thank you for letting me know.”

He stares at me with those eyes that resemble his grandfather’s. My enemy’s eyes. I feel the blood draining out of my body.

“I didn’t tell you so you could use it against my family! I thought we had a truce. If Mom loses the job, drowns in debt, and then is forced to sell Salt to Deals Deals, what do you think will happen to Sugar? Do you think you can compete against that supermarket? Is that what you want?!”

This is Pedro Molina. Of course that’s what he wants. I can’t believe I thought otherwise. Trust neither thin-bottomed frying pans nor Molinas. Everything about him, his very name, tells me he’ll betray me. But after these past few weeks at the club, cooking together, I thought he and I could—

I thought we—

He looks stunned.

“Larissa, I’m not this evil monster you apparently still think I am. I was just pushing your buttons. And I’m not ignorant. I’m not letting Deals Deals get to Salt just because of a broken mixer.” I stare at him and he waves his hands awkwardly, adding like an afterthought, “So they can’t get to Sugar.”

I could cry. “So you’ll help us?” I ask.

“I’ll text my mother and see what I can do.”

I feel awkward for having doubted his character. And he looks irritated that I did. “I’m sorry I yelled. I—”

He unfastens his apron on his way out of the kitchen, still looking a little miffed. “Get to work. We’ll need to prepare a lot of bread dough today.”

I head to the counter, where the ingredients for baking bread sit waiting for the rest of the club members to arrive. Wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast. Straightforward ingredients, but why does it feel so daunting?

Maybe because it’s not just bread. It’s my family’s livelihood.