Today had been her first review and, much to her relief, the Director had told her that she would be hired on permanently. She had expected as much, but to hear it from the Director's mouth and have it confirmed was a huge load off her back. She was much more surprised when the Director had told her she would be getting a small raise starting the next week. It was enough that maybe she, Galiya, and Sednai would actually be able to buy fresh meat once a week.
But the real reason that she was over the moon was because the Director had both complimented her and given her the rest of the day off. Yes, the compliment was ended with "for a human", but it was the first compliment she had gotten from the man and she hadn't realized how much she had wanted to have her hard work recognized by the Director.
Galiya was at the babysitter's and, after a few moments' thought, Cecelia decided to leave her there and take a legitimate half-day off. She loved her daughter, but raising a baby was a full-time job on its own and, sometimes, she needed a break.
She had also gotten paid, so she stopped at her favorite baker and picked up 4 cherry vanilla cupcakes along with 4 adult-sized meat pies and one baby-sized one, grinning ear-to-ear as she left the store. It cost a bit more than she expected, but she knew that it wouldn't bite into her bills too much, especially with the raise she would be getting. And, really, it never hurt to treat yourself and your friends once in a while.
(If Cecelia was honest with herself, she couldn't remember the last time she had treated herself. All her extra money went towards paying ahead on the rent and making sure Galiya was well taken care of. )
It was a cold, rainy day, but Juniper had, of course, made sure that her clothing was warm enough that the weather barely touched her as she made her way to his store. She waved at the few people she saw, the work shoes that the Director had bought her handling the ice with ease.
When she finally turned into the alley that Jun's shop was in, she wasn't surprised when she saw the shop was closed. It was lunch time and Juniper always made sure he at least had a cup of coffee or tea for lunch. Usually, he was too absorbed in his work to eat, but Cecelia knew that the cupcake and still-warm hand pie would be enough to entice the man away from his pretty fabrics or sketches.
She made her way to the back of the store, knowing that Juniper never locked the back door during business hours. She knocked on the door as hard as she could and then entered the tailor's workroom. "It's your favorite secretary, Jun! I have good news!" she said, her voice bubbly with joy as she kissed the distracted tailor's cheek and handed him a cupcake and hand pie. "Not only is it your 2-month shop anniversary, but I got hired on permanently. And I got a raise!" she grinned at him as she sat at the edge of his work table. "Plus the gobshite that runs the paper actually complimented me on my work. I swear, I thought I was going to have a heart attack! How're you, darling? What are you working on?" she asked as she nibbled on her hand pie, looking at her friend's project.