This is Deals Deals’s bakery, I realize.

Some of the bakers go through the crowd passing out samples, which people gobble up happily.

“Will you stop running like this?” Pedro says behind me, sounding a little annoyed. “Just forget this place. Let’s go home.”

“Why are you still following me?” I snap at him.

“Because you—” He makes an impatient gesture. “It’s late, and your mother will worry.”

“Like you care.”

“She cares. Do you want to get grounded? How are you going to help Vozes if you can’t stay for the club?”

I let out a sigh. “You...got a point.”

After managing to make me stop, it’s like Pedro finally notices the supermarket. He looks up, a little startled, at the hundreds of breads and cakes all around him. Some are well-known at Salt and Sugar. Deals Deals is clearly trying to imitate the way we decorate the packages with straw ribbons and dried flowers.

“They’re trying to replace us,” I say, pointing at the bolo de bacia they’re selling in boxes.

Pedro picks up a box with his fingertips, like he doesn’t want to fully touch it. “No wonder no one was buying the ones Grandpa baked last week. Look at how cheap the price is.”

“Would you like to try our corn cake?” a baker offers us.

I stare at the round samples on her tray.

“No, thank you,” Pedro answers.

“I’ll have one,” I say.

“What are you doing?” he mouths to me.

“I’ll prove this can’t possibly match the corn cakes we sell at Salt.” I wink at Pedro, and he watches me take a bite like I’m holding a ticking bomb instead of cake.

I’m determined to hate this sample.

The cake doesn’t have the touch of magic that Grandma’s and Mom’s fairy hands give the dishes they prepare. It doesn’t have the savory tone of Parmesan cheese that they add to my family’s recipe. But, if I’m honest, the corn cake at Deals Deals is...good.

And I’m heartbroken.

I wanted their recipes to taste horrible and remind me that there’s no way they could compete with Salt. But for the price, the corn cake isn’t bad.

The customers purchasing them seem happy. Why wouldn’t they be? Many of these families don’t get paid enough. These are good deals. They’ll feed their families well this month.

The screen on the back wall starts cycling through announcements. Deals Deals’s bakery now offers catering services, it says.

My eyesight goes blurry with tears. “I never thought I’d say this... But... For the first time I don’t wish Grandma were here. Seeing that her worst nightmare has come true would break her heart.”