diskusbooks Episode Two Hundred and Twenty-Eight: Donuts
Episode Two Hundred and Twenty-Eight: Donuts
The macaroni and cheese sat like a lump in my stomach. A once warm and delicious lump, but still.The Cat wouldn’t make eye contact with either of us as he slowly ate his food. He didn’t join into the conversation as Indigo talked about painting with her tail.
“I’ll learn to not make a mess,” she said with a nod, right before she took another dainty bit of her lunch.
“Painting takes practice, much like any of the arts,” I said between bites. I wasn’t an artist, but cooking could be an art, and it required way too much practice. At least I could feed us all easier than when I’d started this job.
“Practice is required for anything you want to get good at,” the Cat added.
Inside, I cheered as he replied. Maybe we could get him out of this weird funk.
“Ugh, why can’t I be good at everything?” Indigo rolled her eyes.
“Everyone thinks that. You should have tried my first attempts at a coffee.” I shivered, thinking of the horrible beverage I’d called coffee back then. Water run through burnt charcoal, basically. It was utter garbage, and my friend Jessica had tasted it anyway.
Then rinsed her mouth out.
It took several tries to even get something decent, and to this day I was thankful for her friendship. My boss at the time had taught me what she could, but told me to keep practicing until I felt the right timing with the espresso.
The table rippled next to me as the tablet from the front register appeared.
The screen showed an order confirmation from the Cookie Master Sandra. The date on the invoice was for today.
“Well, I discovered our next customer is Sandra from the cook…” My voice trailed off as I read the rest of the invoice. “This is awesome! She’s dropping off donuts. They just started expanding into them as a new market…”
“Donuts?” asked Indigo.
“You will love them.” The flavors weren’t listed, but either way this was amazing. “Maybe that means that tomorrow we’ll have a coffee shop day. Those are simple days.”
The Cat’s whiskers drooped for a moment. “Delivery?”
“Yes, it looks like the drop off is today. Thankfully, Betty can keep anything fresh that we need,” I said as I scrolled through the rest of the invoices. Then I finished my bowl of food.
Indigo daintily ate her mac and cheese, one single noodle at a time.
The Cat glanced at me, then his empty bowl.
“There’s more in the kitchen if you want some,” I said, while keeping eye contact. Anything to keep him engaged and not off.
He shook his head. “We better get to work.”
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“It can wait if needed.” Yet, he’d already jumped off the coffee table and to the floor. I lost sight of him and he didn’t reappear.
Indigo chirped once.
“Yeah, I’m not sure what’s up with him,” I said, picking up his bowl.
Betty nudged my foot and I set it back down. Both of ours vanished into the table.
“Thanks, Betty. I know we’ll figure it out, but I hate seeing him like this.” I preferred the Cat aloof and all-knowing, verses depressed and unsure of himself.
No matter what, he was family, and sometimes he needed to be reminded of that.
“Well, I’m going to go after him and try to cheer him up,” I said with a smile. “Make sure you get the changes to your artwork you want and I’ll get it hung on the fridge.”
By the time I arrived back down by the counter he already sat next to the register. The shop had shifted as well. Now, it clearly resembled the bookshop layout, but with a small change. A table sat off to one side with a chair behind it.
Something itched at the back of my mind, but my focus went to the Cat.
“Have you ever had fresh donuts?” I asked, trying to find something to talk about.
“No.”
The door unlocked without either of us saying anything, and then Sandra walked in with massive containers stacked up. No one else.
“Let me help,” I said. I hurried around the counter and snagged the top two containers. “This is a pretty big order.”
“I can tell,” said Sandra, with a laugh. “I really hope ya’ll like the donuts. I tried to get them to match the descriptions you gave me. I’m not sure I managed it, but I did my best.”
We set all four containers on the counters. Two were a variety of already baked cookies, the others were the donuts.
“My social media is very excited about them, so they should move fast,” she added with a grin. “I already sold several other orders based on the pictures, so it will be a late but good night.”
“Oh, that’s awesome!” I said, but before I could open anything she waved and rushed to the door.
It snapped shut without a sound.
“Okay, that was weird…” I glanced at the Cat, who stared at the containers just like I did. I cracked open the top donut container and found them frosted in pink with white stars, hearts, and bright red chocolate lips.
These were themed. They were all a basic glazed donut underneath. The second box looked the same, except half were just a variety of various non-glazed options.
“I’m definitely missing something…” I muttered, as the cookie containers sunk into the counter, along with the donuts. “Betty, do you know what’s going on?”
The Cat glanced up at me, eyes wide.
Warmth pulsed under my feet, confirming my suspicions.
“Cool, so at least one of us knows what to do…” I sighed. Now, we needed to figure out what was needed. “How can we help?”
An arrow appeared on the floor, directing me back behind the counter.
I quickly hurried back to my normal spot.
All of the hair stood straight up on the Cat, making him look fuzzy. He was not good with uncertainty, and this had to be hard for him.
The donuts also vanished, but then the shop adjusted itself yet again. A platter of cookies, then a second with donuts, appeared near the cash register as the counter grew just a little longer.
The Cat stood up on all four like something was wrong.
Stands for signs popped up near the table, and a poster appeared in the window but facing outward.
“Cat, has this happened before?” I asked, not even hiding my unease.
“No!” Pure panic radiated from him.
I scooped him up in my arms and cuddled him close. “It will be alright, you have us. All of us.”
He said nothing, but slowly relaxed in my arms as other minor adjustments became apparent. The large table in the center was emptied of books. Then, everything settled.
A whoosh of air and chirping announced Indigo, as she dove from above and landed on the register.
“Donuts?” she asked, just as the door opened.