One evening, after the last customer had departed and the bakery was quiet, Alexander slumped onto a stool, his shoulders bowed. The exhaustion etched itself onto his face, a weariness that Iris recognized all too well. "It's harder than it looks, Iris," he confessed, his voice strained. "The orders, the bills, the constant pressure… I'm terrified of failing. Of letting everyone down."
Iris listened, her heart aching for him. She knew the weight he carried, the responsibility of the bakery, the legacy of his father. After a moment of silence, she brightened, "Maybe we can try something different? Something to bring in more customers?"
And so, they began brainstorming. Iris, with her artistic eye, suggested bright window displays, enticing signage, and seasonal specials. She proposed creating a website and using flyers to advertise. Liam, the perpetually hungry apprentice, chimed in with a suggestion of his own. "Iris, you could make some art for the bakery! Something to attract people's eye. We can even display it on the walls."
Alexander, initially skeptical, found himself warming to the ideas. He even agreed to Liam's proposal. Together, buoyed by newfound hope, they began to reshape the bakery's image, slowly but surely, attracting new customers and reinvigorating the old.