His tears—they said—were the warm water baths that steamed up his oven. His trembling hands whipped pastry cream as light as a shroud. When the guests at Tamar’s wedding ate the cream puffs, they could taste the truest thing in all the world at that moment—the baker’s pain. They didn’t understand this, of course. To them, they were simply the most delicious pastries they had ever eaten. They toasted the merry couple. When Tamar tasted one, it was a love letter. She ran to her room and sobbed into a pillow.
