The cool air conditioned shop air was saturated with the aroma of freshly baked pastries; a little too more  Cassie and Wendy’s would have liked. It made the bakery feel overly stuffy and poor ventilated. Despite being inundated by the smell of freshly baked goods, both were in good spirits for the day.

 Wendy sat perched on Cassie’s shoulder blade while the Titan addressed the Titan woman at the counter. Alvin had excused himself, claiming he needed to be somewhere. Neither of the girls had followed up his question , it negated having to come up with a cover story for their clandestine cake shop visit.

 “ So, how can I help you miss?” The Titan at the counter asked.

 She was a petite brunette with a young man in his twenties sitting on her shoulder, closer to the woman’s neck than Wendy did. Both wore maroon aprons on top of a pair of blue jeans and non-matching tops, giving the impression of wearing some sort of work uniform.

 “ I’m looking for a cake,” Cassie glanced down at the cakes on display. Most of them were very colorful, plenty of cream on the the top and some even had little pieces of colourful fruit on top. Not the mascherino types, these were the real deal.

“A cake for a friend,” Cassie added, Wendy smirking.

“More than a friend, you gotta understand that. She wants to go from friend to girlfriend, with this cake. It's a birthday cake and it’ll seal the deal.”

 “I assume it's for a boy then. We do make cakes for the non-Titan customers, so it's not too much  for us smaller ones.” The young man smiled at Wendy , seemingly directing the words more to her than Cassie. He had a slim but toned physique as Wendy noted, likely from all that baking.

 “Oh this is exciting!” the Titan spoke up, gleefully clapping her hands together. She did love a little romantic subplot to any customer who came to the shop.

 “We have a wide range of cakes, our angel cake sells like hot cakes!” The woman took out a large tablet and flipped to the appropriate page on the menu, this one displaying the white as snow angel cake she had been promoting.

“I don’t see it,” Cassie glanced sideways and she was right, there wasn’t a single one available. Nothing resembling the spongy cake, layered with white frosting.  

  “It sells like hotcakes, if you’ll forgive the pun,”she chuckled at her own joke.Cassie gave a polite smile in return.

 “ We have it on our menu,” she continued as she picked up a tablet on the counter and flipped to the relevant page, the billboard sized screen displaying a variety of cakes, Cassie zooming in on the angel cake, decadently white and full of frosting. A strange image came to mind, that of Alvin standing on the cake while Cassie lowered her lips on to him, pressing him into the cake where the snow white frosting proceeded to engulf him.

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, Wendy’s brow creased as she wondered what was running through Cassie’s thoughts.

 “ I like it but it's not his favourite,” she replied as she deftly flipped through the pages with a flick of her fingers but also trying to push that ridiculous image of Alvin out of her mind.

  “Ah you know his favourite?” the man asked further.

 Cassie nodded, “ We do. It's black forest cake; do you have it?”

The Titan nodded, “ We do, we certainly do!”

She eased the tablet away from Cassie and navigated to the right page, it was just a couple of scrolls away from where Cassie had stopped. Cassie instantly recognised for what it was, the maraschino cherries on top, surrounded by pale cream and curls of chocolates decorating the surface.

“This one,” she tapped the screen of the tablet, the woman nodding and taking the tablet from her.

“You made a good choice, it's a popular item. One of our best in fact,” she added with a healthy dollop of conviction.

“Both the Titan and man sized ones,” the man added.

“Fortunately both of us are equally good at making cakes, not something most of the mixed size bakeries get right,” he laughed.

“You came to the right place. Would like you it to be customised?” the woman asked, a little too late as what came next would interrupt the whole process.

 At that moment, Wendy’s phone began to ring.

“Oh, it's Alvin. Odd…” She smiled at the group, a little embarrassed to have interrupted the conversation.

 “Hello bro, what’s up?” Wendy asked gleefully.

Her gleeful disposition sank like a stone when she heard what was coming through. It may have sounded like something out a very cliched teen movie but it was real and she was unlucky  enough to have it happen to her.

 “I’ll be there, just give me a couple of minutes to find the place,” she laughed harder than she ought to, piling on the awkward feeling all around.

When she finally hung up, Cassie gave her a very puzzled look.

“What’s wrong?”

Wendy sighed, this would not be believable at all.

“Alvin’s little thing? The one he had to go to? Remember that?”

Cassie nodded, of course she remembered.She remembered not thinking too much about it at the time but now that Wendy brought it up, was there more to it?

“Alvin’s here at the mall, seems he wants to consult me over fashion. I’m not sure why me but I got to make a slight detour,” she said as she broke the news.

“Oh he’s clever!” Cassie guffawed, clearly not sharing Wendy’s sentiments about the whole thing.

“Go on then!” She set Wendy on the ground but kept herself crouched down. It was considered rude for a Titan to address someone of a smaller size standing up although the younger generation tended not to follow it. Even so, it  was taught to every Titan during their T.E.T. years.

“ You go to Alvin and help him with whatever he needs your help in and I’ll stay here. Lets hope he doesn’t figure this out or there goes our surprise.”

 “Okie,” Wendy answered, not thrilled about the sudden appearance of Alvin again. He was sneakier than she gave him credit for, giving his dear sister and future girlfriend such a hard time.

Wendy burst out of the shop, walking quickly with long and quick strides as she traversed through the Brobdingnagian walkways of the Titan section of the mall. As always, she kept to the paths designated for the smaller folk. Easy to tell because they were demarcated by parallel thick red lines painted onto the floor.

Wendy jostled past waves of nameless women, men and Amazons as she looked for the store going by the name of Ted’s Tuxes. She figured a store with such a striking name ought to have stood out but she was completely wrong, the store was as hard to find as the proverbial needle in a haystack.

 She wondered about the normal sections as lost as a penguin in the Amazon, odd considering this was the same mall that she spent a good portion of her teenage years at. She comforted herself with the thought that at no point until now was there ever a need to go into a shop selling only men’s wear and for prom. She wasn’t playing wing woman until now, why would she ever need to help Alvin with picking clothes?

After what seemed to be one too many turns around the savannah of a shopping centre, she finally found it, the signage having blown enough of the LEDs to render at least half of it out of order.

  “ Ugh, it's going to be a squeeze,” Wendy groaned, rather disappointed in Alvin’s choice. In addition to out of order signs, it looked cluttered with various clothes strewn about to suggest whoever was in charge was not doing a good job when it came to organisation. Given that it was already half the size of the other units, she was not expecting anything fantastic.

Still, to turn around would arouse Alvin’s suspicions so she had to bear with Alvin and whoever else was inside.

 “ Ah, nice to see you here young lady!” A raspy elderly sounding voice greeted her as she entered the store.  Wendy spotted the source of it, an elderly man. From his leathery wrinkled face and raspy voice, she guessed him to be at least

 “ Oh um...hello there,” Wendy answered apprehensively to the old man who returned with an assuring smile.

 “You must be his sister.”

“I am,” Wendy said with some distance, she wasn’t used to such small talk when shopping.

 “Where is he?”

 “Changing,” the shopkeeper answered and pointed at the changing room at the back of the cluttered shop. It wasn’t much, a small semi-circular area surrounded by what looked like an opaque cyan shower curtain.

Right on cue, the screen was pulled back as Alvin stepped out , in his latest suit.

“ That was fast,” Alvin said as he adjusted the suit.

 “ I happened to be in the mall, was about to go into Starbucks when you rang.” Wendy eyed his outfit choice, her gag reflex triggering. She lurched forward slightly , turning her eyes away.

“What, you don’t like it?’ Alvin asked.

“ No offense sir,” Wendy addressed the shopkeeper who smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s fine, fashion is a subjective subject after all,” he assured her no offence was taken by him.

“Al, baby blue is not your colour. Neither are frills suited for you, you’re going to a dance with the most popular girl in school. So you got to match her and trust me, you’ll love Cassie’s dress.”

 Alvin turned and looked in the mirror, wondering why he didn’t see it. An all baby blue suit, white frilly undershirt that protruded beneath the vest over, he could picture Cassie sticking her tongue out in disgust if he wore this.

“Okay let's change it. I have a back up choice,” Alvin suggested as he went back inside the changing room.

 “ Its nice to see siblings getting along,” the elderly gentleman commented, gently smiling at Wendy.

 Wendy nodded, it was indeed nice not to fight everyday.

 “ We didn’t always see eye to eye but thankfully we both outgrew it,” Wendy answered as the curtain rustled slowly, pulled back again as Alvin stepped out in an equally garish purple outfit.

“How is it?” Alvin asked but with Wendy obviously suppressing a laugh, the answer was clear.

“Trying to kill Batman with that costume?”

“Okay I get it!” He threw his arms up in a huff, this solo fashion venture was clearly backfiring.

“ Oh don’t be so worried, you’re a guy. Leave the dressing up to us girls. Try a simple black and white,” Wendy suggested.

“That’s...boring though isn’t it? Every guy does that and it's kind of blending in. Why blend in now? I think I could handle the attention.”

Wendy shook her head at the typical guy answer.

“You’ll get plenty of attention when you’re seen in Cassie’s company, you don’t need to even try for that one. Now…” Wendy turned to the shopkeeper.

“ Do you have anything more conventional? The traditional black and white tux?”

He nodded, “ I got just the thing.”

He hobbled ever, his age showing in his slowed gait but he managed it well enough, reaching the wall of suits. Flipping through each article like it were a book page, he quickly found what he was looking for.

Alvin’s brows leapt up as he saw it and he quickly moved to get the suit from him.

“Thank you, it’ll just take a minute,” Alvin smiled at the two of them, quietly pleased he had the common sense to consult a female for fashion advice.

Just as he drew the curtain shut, Wendy’s phone rang. Good timing too, as Wendy soon discovered why it was best for her to take this call surreptitiously. The screen identified Cassie as the caller.

“Hello Cass,” Wendy cupped her hand over her mouth, lest she risk Alvin overhearing this.

“ Hey Wendy,” Cassie answered, as chipper as ever.

“I have some ideas for the cake but I’ll need a second opinion before we can settle it.”

“Oh that’s fast, you already picked it out?”

She glanced at the dressing room, phrasing her sentences as vaguely as possible. She would not be the one to leak it to Alvin. Let the shopkeeper do it, she thought, anyone but her.

“Yes, so if it's not too much of a hassle, could you come over and take a quick look,” Cassie asked. For some reason Wendy imagined Cassie twirling a lock of hair around her finger as she said. That would probably get most boys to carry out her orders, Wendy thought.

“ Oh it's an emergency you say?” Wendy listened, Cassie was a tad too specific over what she needed her for. She couldn’t afford to talk in here anymore.

“You really need me there?” Good, she thought, set the plan in motion.

“Okay, I’ll see you there,” Wendy hung up. She was almost done with Alvin, a quick run over to the bakery and then this would be done too. Alvin would be none the wiser about this little ruse either.

“ Sorry Alvin, I need to go to the ladies real quick. I’ll be back asap,” she called out. Would Alvin buy it?

 “ Okay!” Alvin replied instantly, Wendy quickly exiting the shop upon hearing that. She had very little time.

When Alvin finally came out, Wendy was gone as she had told him. It was just him and the shopkeeper to get his opinion.

“How do I look?” Alvin asked, spreading his arms just a little bit while in the black and white tuxedo suit. He hoped this would be the one, the suit that would fit them. He liked it, having looked at himself in the full length body mirror for a longer period of time than he had ever looked into the mirror before this. The question is whether Wendy or right now, the shopkeeper would like it.

“ You look fantastic, your prom date will be swooning at the sight of you,” he replied, giving a wizened smile.

 “Thank you, I guess my sister was right,” he replied as walked around the shop, testing the suit. It would have been awful to be stuck in a rigid, tight outfit for hours, not even being with Cassie could alleviate that.

“ I was telling her earlier it's wonderful to see the two of you get along so well.I had a brother and we...fought a lot,” the old man reminisced about his younger days. He didn’t seem upset about it, Alvin noticed.  

“Same thing here,it was only after a while that we grew up and made peace. Its so much better now,” Alvin tugged at the sleeve, straightening out the suit as he further scrutinised it for any flaws in the structure.

“After we patched things up in the last few weeks.”

“What?” The old man’s face fell in surprise, he had expected a happier and longer lasting relationship based on the pleasantries exchanged by the pair.

“I know,” Alvin chuckled. Of course he would be surprised, it was rare to see people make up so fast. He told himself it was a good thing, it just meant that Wendy and him had moved on for the better.

*********

“Well I’m back,” Wendy huffed as she slowed to a stop after a full speed dash to the bakery.

“Great, does Alvin suspect anything?” Cassie asked as she gently scooped up her co-conspirator, placing her on the counter where among other things was the tablet with the two bakery staff present on the other side.

“ Nope, not a clue but I may have just saved your date from a fashion faux pas,” Wendy announced proudly. Wendy looked over the tablet where a crude sketch of what she assumed to be Alvin’s birthday cake was displayed.

 “ So what is it you wanted to ask?” Wendy looked towards Cassie who glanced back at her before gripping the stylus and tapping a few icons on the screen.

 “I think it's not an issue if we just put a simple happy birthday in red frosting on top of it right?”

Wendy nodded, that was hopefully not the only reason why she called her all the way here.

“ I just am not too sure over what to put. Should it be ‘Happy 18th Birthday Alvin’ or something else? Something we haven’t thought about?” Cassie nibbled on her thumbnail as she thought about something to put on the cake, a phrase or anything that would inspire him.

“Keep it simple,we don’t have to go for something profound.”

“No, it has to stand out. It must resonate,” Cassie clacked her fingers against the counter trying to think of a word.

“ It will,” Wendy reasoned, “ Need I remind you that this is the first birthday party he is having in years and it is coming from the girl he is crushing on right now? Just put what you suggested on the cake. It’ll mean the world to him.”

 “She has a point,” the man spoke up as Cassie pondered Wendy’s words.

 “I’ll second that,” the Titan woman added.

 “ I see your point Wendy, okay. We’ll put that in. Red should be the colour, it only seems right on a cake where the colours are mainly white, red and brown,” Cassie confirmed the decision as she added the final inputs to the cake design.

“Thank you,” the Titan woman replied as she took the tablet back.

“Just leave your contact details with us, we’ll give you a call when the cake is ready to be collected.”

“Will do,” Cassie said as she passed her phone number to her.

“I’ll be heading back, Alvin must be wondering what’s taking so long,”

“Just tell him it's lady business and he’ll accept it,” Cassie advised her as she placed Wendy on the ground.  

“ Already planning on that,” Wendy laughed as she ran back to the shop.

Cassie watched her dash out of the shop before turning towards the man and Titan at the counter, all smiles as she thought about what they had done. So clandestine, yet to her it would be worth the trouble to see Alvin smile.

*******

“What took you so long?” Alvin quizzed Wendy as she ran back, looking quite out of breath from wherever she had been.

“Lady business,” she answered.

“So why are you panting? It’s that tiring-”

He was stopped by the shopkeeper tapping him on the shoulder, “ Son, I learnt it's best not to question a woman about such intimate things.”

Alvin’s brow creased as he wondered what meant but he got the message and abandoned that line of questioning.

“Sorry about,” he apologised to Wendy who accepted it with a gentle nod.

“Apology accepted big brother and boy do you look fantastic. I’m sure any girl with a brain cell would be hard pressed to think otherwise!” She grinned.

“ Great,” Alvin turned to the elderly gentleman, glad he had found the suit.

“ We’ll take this one,” he said proudly.