Carson cursed loudly as he pulled off the exit ramp to his work. It was his turn to bring breakfast for the office and he hadn’t remembered until waking up this morning. The dilemma Carson was facing was twofold: he was in direct competition for a promotion at work with Jenny and he feared she may be pulling ahead. Last week, she had brought in homemade quiche, though Carson raised an eyebrow as to the authenticity of the homemade portion of her claims. The quiche tasted suspiciously similar to the ones made at a downtown bistro their boss had previously deemed his favorite restaurant in town. Hack or not, Jenny had been praised throughout the week for her baking skills and now Carson found himself frantically wracking his brain for an immediate solution to office breakfast.
His car slowed as he passed the sign for “Devil’s Doughnuts” and after lingering long enough that a car behind him honked, Carson pulled into the parking lot. His boss had been on a health craze lately. Though probably laying the foundation for a Human Resources nightmare, Carson’s boss had been chiding employees who were seen eating unhealthier options for their lunch. Carson had the benefit of a fast metabolism and a general apathy towards food. Eating was something that merely fueled his body from Point A to Point B. His slim frame was testament to that. Once Carson took note of his boss’ behavior towards the chips and burger crowd, he made a show of producing salads and crudités for lunch. Earning a pat on the back and praising of his general trimness, Carson felt his chances of a promotion grow exponentially.
With a very conflicted mind, Carson exited his car and headed for the doughnut shop. He had reservations about showing up with doughnuts for his health obsessed office space but with the time left before he was expected to be at his desk, he had few options. It was either show up with nothing and be announced as unprepared by Jenny immediately, or show up with doughnuts and be chided by his boss for an unhealthy choice. As he pushed open the door to the shop, Carson decided that a smart compromise would be to publicly announce his not eating the doughnuts due to healthy mindfulness. It felt like the best escape from the situation his forgetful brain had put him in.
The man behind the counter looked up as the bell from the door opening chimed and Carson was immediately taken with his handsome face. Dark skinned with an easy smile, the man pushed a rack of glazed doughnuts into the display case and stood to greet Carson. A white apron was drawn tight across a substantially doughy midsection that Carson’s eyes were drawn to once the man was upright. At least the face is nice, Carson thought, as he approached the man. He’s probably fat from eating his own doughnuts all the time, Carson supposed.
“How can I help you?” the man asked with his hand resting on the rise of his belly. Carson scanned the display case quickly, glanced at his watch, then pointed hurriedly at two different types of doughnuts.
“Dozen of those, then another dozen of those,” Carson snapped, his agitation at himself carrying over in his tone, which he noted with a grimace. He didn’t mean to be curt; it was his own fault for being so woefully unprepared. He softened the brisk nature of his request with a smile.
“Everything here looks great,” he offered in a more congenial tone.
“Hey thanks,” the man behind the counter said as he leaned over to fill boxes with the doughnuts Carson had requested. Carson noted that the backside of the man was even fatter than the front, his enormous rear stretching the fabric of a valiantly straining pair of sweatpants.
“Is this your first time in here?” the man asked, closing the lid on the boxes he held and setting them on the counter.
“Yes,” Carson said, pulling out his wallet and handing the man two bills. He glanced again at his watch. “Doughnuts aren’t really my thing”.
“Ahh,” the man behind the counter said as he took Carson’s money and made change. “Well as that it’s your first time here and, possibly your last, let me give you one of our house specials. The Devil’s Doughnut. It’s free for new customers; maybe it’ll help you grow more of an affinity for doughnuts”.
