The man leaned forward again as Carson gathered up the two boxes in his arms. He reached low to a shelf Carson couldn’t see and came back up with a small white bag. He placed it atop the boxes in Carson’s arms and offered his easy smile.
“Nonetheless, thank you for your business and I hope we see you again soon”.
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Carson offered as he walked quickly out the door, balancing the boxes and bag in his arms. He was going to have to hurry to get to the office on time. As he pulled out of the parking lot, he thought that he might as well eat the free doughnut now. He might be hungry later when restraining from indulging in front of his boss.
Steering with his left hand and rustling in the white paper bag with his right, Carson pulled out a chocolate doughnut darker than any chocolate he had ever seen. It was nearing black in color with how saturated the surface appeared. Shrugging and taking a bite, an audible sound of pleasure escaped his mouth.
“Damn this is good”, Carson marveled out loud, taking another bite immediately after swallowing the first. Rich chocolate coated his tongue and though never really a fan of chocolate, Carson felt as if discovering a new world of possibility. Pulling into his office parking spot with a slight screech, gathering his laptop bag and the two boxes of doughnuts in one arm, he pushed the remaining Devil’s Doughnut into his mouth and happily chewed the remainder as he headed into work.
The following morning, as Carson stepped out of the shower into the steam of his bathroom, he found his mind drifting to how good that doughnut had been. He chuckled to himself at how opinions changed with age; he had never been a fan of chocolate and now he was almost salivating at the thought of one doughnut. Wiping the fog from his bathroom mirror and pulling out his shaving cream from the medicine cabinet, he stopped mid-movement and looked intently into the mirror.
Right above his hips where his white towel was wrapped, a small amount of pudge rested on the towel’s ledge. Looking down at his stomach, he prodded the discovery with a finger. There was a slight give and Carson looked back into the mirror at his reflection. Everything else appeared as it had the day before but Carson would have sworn he hadn’t had this little pooling of fat in his lower belly yesterday. He reconciled rather quickly that it wasn’t very noticeable, that he would start incorporating more jogging into his gym workouts, and continued about his morning routines. Yesterday his boss had told him privately that he was doing quite well in the race for the promotion and that by this weekend, he’d have made his decision. Carson’s brain quickly took up the task of considering how to further his chances of earning the job.
At the exit ramp to his office, Carson noticed his mind drifting back to the Devil’s Doughnut from yesterday. Without much thought and a little surprised at himself, he pulled his car off the road into the parking lot, exited his car, and walked back into the doughnut shop.
The man behind the counter was helping another customer but smiled in recognition at Carson. As the man in front of Carson paid and left, Carson marveled at the enormous girth of the departing customer. The guy was literally waddling out with several boxes of doughnuts piled in his elephantine arms. They’re probably all for him, Carson thought as he stepped forward to the doughnut counter. Fat ass, he thought uncharitably.
“Glad to see you back, what can I do for you?” the man behind the counter said, resting his hand on his belly again. Carson noticed that the man’s apron dipped in where the man’s belly sat, indenting his belly button in a wide crease.
“Ha, uh, well I guess you were right, that Devil’s Doughnut was great. Been thinking about it since yesterday morning. I’ll take one of those and a coffee,” Carson said, pulling out his wallet. Flashing through his brain was the small amount of fat he’d discovered this morning on his stomach but he dismissed it. He was having two doughnuts in two days, it was fine. His boss would have no idea, at any rate. The man behind the counter’s eyebrows rose slightly as his face took on an apologetic countenance.
The Devil's Doughnuts
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