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Raspberry Macarons with Rose Buttercream 11

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O ne Year Ago – The Two Macarons was more successful than either Margot or Zenna

could have imagined thanks in part to their newest best friend, and the only other
employee at the bakery, Tali. Every day they opened their doors to an eager line
out front. Before closing the line would reappear with tired Parisians and camera loaded
tourists looking for a sweet ending to their day. The orders would clear their front cases
and even dip into the reserves in the back on occasion. The only sweets left in the store
by closing were the goodies Zenna reserved for her son who had become accustomed to
ludicrous amounts of sugar each day. As far as Zenna could tell, however, there were no
detrimental effects to the boy’s health so she carried on indulging his growing sweet tooth.
More serious than the other two girls and far more practical, Tali was often the one
responsible for staying late in order to fill the cases with delectable delights for the next
morning. While many people would grumble about being left in the bakery alone all night,
solely responsible for the business’s ability to open its doors the next day, Tali enjoyed the
solitude, finding it a very conducive environment for her imagination.
Margot was still in line, with so many other young women in Paris, for a proposal, but had
plenty of reasons for why Aubin was making her wait. Like a true friend, Zenna helped
fuel the excuses and agreed with the most outrageous, in order to keep her friend (who was
now also the one who signed her paychecks) sane and pleasant. Zenna had a bad feeling
about Aubin and the whole situation. She had gotten to know Aubin from different angle
than Margot. And from the perspective she had, he appeared to be a womanizing dick. But
Zenna kept her mouth shut. And when that wasn’t possible, she kept it full.