59 Minutes Later
Ben had set a timer on his watch for sixty minutes immediately after he left Amy in the bedroom. While the timer counted down, following the memories about his paczki experiences, he did his best to slowly enjoy his espresso while looking at his laptop, jumping around from website to website, and at 59 minutes he made his way back to the bedroom.
“Honey, it’s been an hour. Time to get up!”
Amy groggily opened her eyes, thankful for the extra hour of sleep while also knowing she will never agree to a stay-cation on Fat Tuesday again.
“Did I ever tell you about how my mom’s paczki were smaller and didn’t have filling?”
Amy replied, “Yes, honey, every Fat Tuesday since we met.”
“Oh, yea,” Ben answered back, seeming surprised he had told her.
“Well, I still kind of miss those. Don’t get me wrong, the ones at The Garden Bakery are good and all, but there was just something about getting the powdered sugar all over the place. And that oily dough! So good!”
Amy resigned herself to the fact that for the next hour or so, and probably into the next day with the extras Ben would buy, she would be hearing about paczki, how they weren’t like the ones Ben’s mom would make, and how he should have bought another raspberry filled paczki instead of trying the rose flavor once again.
As they were getting ready to go to the bakery, Amy grinned at how happy Ben was. She did love how little things, like a donut, would bring a smile to Ben’s face. She could, however, do without the same story every year.
Ben finished getting ready like his life depended on it, and Amy could see how impatient he was to get to the bakery.
“I hope they don’t run out. I’m worried the line is going to be long,” Ben mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for Amy to hear.
“They will have plenty. Don’t worry. We missed the early rush, anyway,” Amy commented.
“You’re probably right,” Ben softly said, but Amy could still hear the impatience in his voice.
“Can you please get my coat?” Amy asked.
Ben took off, almost running to the closet, getting Amy’s coat and setting her shoes near the bench by the door.
Amy came around, saw the shoes, and just shook her head. They both started towards the garage once Amy had her shoes on, and Ben starting singing:
“It’s Paczki Day
“It’s Paczki Day
“Everybody say “Yay” for Paczki Day!
“No it’s not a jelly donut, at least not the real ones.
“Nope, it’s Paczki Day!
“It’s Paczki Day
“Everybody say “Yay” for Paczki Day!”
Amy started humming along as they got in the car.