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ZACH
My cell phone rings with my sister-in-law, Rose’s face flashing on the screen. I close the door to my office before flopping down on the leather chair.
“Hey, sis.”
“Hi, Zach. Where are you?”
“I’m just wrapping up a meeting.”
“Can I ask you for a favor?” Her voice is hesitant as always. She’s still shy when asking for favors.
“Anything, unless you’re asking me to stay hungry at your dinner party tonight.” My stomach twists in hunger just at the thought of food, and I grab a chocolate bar from my table. Rose giggles and my words work as intended.
“Don’t worry, we all love and are amazed by your eating habits.” She chuckles before adding, “There’s a bakery just as you take the highway for Cherrywood. It’s calledCakes for All.They sell these very cute cupcakes with cartoon and superhero faces on them. Can you get a few?”
“Of course. But why is your husband not making them? He’s the king of baking.”
“He is.” She snickers. “Um, but we kind of…had an accident.”
Sensing the shyness in her voice, I can already guess the reason for theiraccident. My brother can’t keep his hands off her.
“No worries. I’ll get them.”
“Thank you. We’ll be waiting.”
A few hours later,I’m standing in a queue—a fucking queue to buy cupcakes. There is a swarm of kids in all sizes. Some are enjoying their dessert as others wait in anticipation for the treat. I can’t fucking believe they’re really selling cupcakes with animal faces. There are cats, dogs, and even dolphins, but my eyes furiously search for some superhero ones.
When it’s my turn, I ask the young blonde at the counter, with a name tag saying Holly, “Can I get some superhero cupcakes, maybe with X-men faces?” Rose’s Wolverine fascination is no secret in our family.
“Umm…” Holly looks up as I grin wolfishly. I can’t wait to show these amazing creations to my family. My mouth salivates just looking at them.
“Sorry, sir, the action figure batch is usually sold out by noon. But we still have cute cat faces.”
What? No. No.
I look up at Holly and her eyes gleam as she points to the glass display case, unaware of my misery.
Fuck! I promised Rose.
I twist the knot of my tie before glancing back at Holly.Think, Zach.“Surely they aren’t all gone, you might have some extras. Maybe set aside in the back or something. Please.” I try to play my charm on her, hoping she can help me out.
But the smile on her face drops. “I’m really sorry, sir. We’re totally out of them.”
“Fuck!” This time I curse out loud, getting dirty stares from parents and hearty giggles from kids around me. “Do you know any other place where I can get them?”
“I’m afraid there is no other place selling them. It’s a secret recipe of one of our bakers.” Holly then looks around before whispering in a hushed tone, “There are also rumors that the bakery has a copyright on the design.”
“Copyright?” I scratch my forehead, thinking of all my possible options. “Okay, Holly. Do you have a picture of thislegendarycupcake?” Maybe William, my butler, can whip up something similar.
“Of course.” She bounces on her feet while flipping through various images on her phone.
Meanwhile, the line behind me is getting impatient and people are scowling at me. But I am a man on a mission, with a single aim of getting those superhero cupcakes for my sister-in-law and of course me too.
The rising loud whispers around us draw the attention of another bakery staff, who takes over manning the counter while Holly and I move to the side closer to the kitchen.
“This is a Batman cupcake.” She flips her phone toward me.
“Wow.” It’s an exact replica of the superhero. I take her phone in my hands. “This is really cool.” As I say the words, I know this isn’t something William can make, at least not in such a short time. My gaze flicks around, as my brain goes a thousand miles a minute trying to find a solution, but I can’t fucking think of anything.
