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Chocolate Lovers

By: Brittany J. Delk

By Brittany DelkPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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Chocolate Lovers
Photo by Kris Atomic on Unsplash

By: Brittany J. Delk

It’s 4pm and I finally wake up from my second nap of the day.

They don’t call it lazy Sundays for nothing.

I slowly creep out of bed, pull back the curtains and crack open the window.

The streets of Chicago were sunny and yet still brisk.

What more do you expect from a place that crowns itself the windy city.

Nevertheless, a sudden urge for a decadent dessert came over me.

I had to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I looked around my studio apartment to find any clean clothes to throw on.

Jeans, check.

Ah, a clean graphic tee of Prince, my luck continues.

I threw on my 90s inspired black leather jacket, grabbed a pair of vintage booties to match and walked out my apartment.

Loud horns going off from impatient drivers behind the wheel.

Street performers selling their best pitch for me to spend my hard earned money on their mixtape.

Welcome to city living.

After channelling my inner Simon Cowell and declining my third mixtape offer of the day, I popped in my headphones to bump some oldie but goodie music.

A little bit of Babyface mixed with Chaka Khan and sprinkle in rapper Lil Baby.

Why?

Because I’m a millennial with an old soul.

I hop off the red line train and can see my destination not far from my horizon.

I finally arrive at Ann’s Bakery.

A black owned shop sitting on the corner of 69th and Cottage Grove.

The sun was glistening off the bakery’s sign highlighting the much needed paint job.

No matter what time, no matter what day.

Ann’s bakery is always buzzing.

A crowd of young and old packed inside the shop looking to get a sweet fix at a good price.

If you’re a familiar face, the owner may even hook you up with a free slice of cake.

I open the door, and I am instantly greeted by the smell of baked goods just like the ones my grandmother Ella makes in her kitchen.

I smile and quickly step in line.

There’s about ten people in front of me.

Not bad for a Sunday afternoon.

“Rita, is that you?”

“Hey Mr. Tony. Long time no see.”

“So good to see you girl.”

Mr. Tony looks at me up and down.

“Are you on a diet? Why don’t I see you at my bakery anymore?”

I rub my stomach.

“Mr. Tony, the last thing I’m trying to do is go on a diet. I’ve just been busy with work. But I’m here now.”

“I was starting to get worried. Glad you are doing well, young lady. Well, whatever you select, it’s on the house. I’ll let them know at the front.”

“Aww Mr. Tony. What would I do without you?”

Mr. Tony is the sweetest man I know, and I’m not just saying that because he’s the owner of a bakery.

Mr. Tony has been like a father figure to me.

I can count on him for the best advice.

Plus, he helped me land my first job out of college and of course, supplies me with free desserts every now and again.

Don’t tell my real dad this, but I like Mr. Tony a bit more.

My excitement grows as the line gets shorter.

I have my heart set out on a slice of chocolate lover’s cake.

The right amount of chocolate frosting plus chocolate sprinkles equals heaven on earth.

I finally get to the front of the line.

“What can I get you?” the cashier asks.

“Yes, can I have a slice of chocolate lover’s cake?”

“Sure.”

The cashier tells my order to one of the workers.

“I don’t think we have any chocolate cake left. We sold the last slice a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, please don’t say that.” I said.

“Let me go check in the kitchen.”

Five minutes later, the worker comes back to the register.

“Sorry honey, we are out of chocolate cake for the day.”

Ladies and gentlemen, this is true heartbreak.

Not Johnny from second grade who asked me to be his girlfriend and then dumped me the next day for the new girl in class.

Not my senior prom date getting drunk and making out with one of the cheerleader’s cousins in the bathroom.

No, this travesty tops them all and I haven’t even begun to talk about my college heartbreak.

I’ll save that for another time.

“We have vanilla cake left. You want that?”asks the cashier.

No, I don’t want that. I rode the train here for chocolate cake ma’am. Not vanilla cake, I thought to myself.

“Do you have any homemade sugar cookies left?”

“That we do have. I’ll box up some extra cookies for you since we ran out of cake. How does that sound?”

“That’s fine. Thank you.”

“No problem. Mr. Tony says this is on the house, honey. Here you go.”

I added a few dollars to the bakery’s tip jar.

With disappointment still painted on my face, I look around and find an empty table by the window to sit down.

“Dang, they ran out of cake, huh?”

I turn around and see a man wearing a white polo shirt sitting alone at a table behind me.

He smiled at me, flashing his white pearly teeth.

A low hair cut and a moisturized beard.

Brown eyes and a complexion similar to hot chocolate.

“Yeah, they did.”

I turn back around and open my box of cookies.

“So what you end up getting?”

Why is this man bothering me, I thought to myself.

Do I find him attractive?

Yes.

Am I single?

Yes.

So what's the problem you ask?

Well, Bell Biv Devoe warned everyone to never trust a big butt and a smile.

And in this case, I never trust a full beard and a smile.

I turn around again.

“I got cookies. Why, you want some?”

He smiled.

“Maybe. But I have a feeling you may want what I have. If you’re nice, I’ll give it to you.”

“Oh really? What do you have mister nosy?”

He gets up from his table and walks over to me.

Wow, he’s tall, I thought to myself.

I’m guessing he is about 6’4.

I can smell his cologne as he steps closer to me.

Stay strong Rita.

Stay strong girl.

“May I join you?”

“You’re already over here now. You might as well.”

He sits down in the empty chair across from me at my table.

“You come here often?”

I laugh.

“Yes, I do. You?”

“Not too much. I like to stay in shape. But one of the guys at the gym always raves about the desserts he gets from here on his cheat day.”

“Yeah, its more than the desserts for me. Mr. Tony is awesome. It’s a good vibe here, you know.”

“Yeah, I can tell. Mr. Tony you say? Why did he name it Ann’s Bakery?”

“The bakery was started by his wife. Her name is Ann. Unfortunately, she got really sick and passed away a few years ago. So, Mr. Tony took over.”

“Dang, I hate to hear that.”

His cellphone rings but he ignores it.

His brown eyes stare at me as if he’s trying to look into my soul.

I interrupt his gaze.

“Are you going to get that?”

He checks his phone to see who is calling and then puts his phone back in his pocket.

“No, not right now. I’m talking to someone important.”

He smiles at me.

I raise my eyebrow at him.

He thinks he’s so cute.

I can tell he is a smooth talker.

He checks the time on his watch.

“I would love to continue this conversation one day.”

“You don’t even know my name, sir.”

“What’s your name pretty lady?”

“Rita.”

“Rita? I like it. Well, I got something for you Rita.”

“Gifts already? You know how to win me over.”

He laughs.

He puts a brown bag on the table and pushes it towards me.

“The guy at the gym told me this was one of the best desserts at this bakery. Maybe this will brighten your day. I hate to see a pretty woman looking sad.”

He gets up from the table, winks at me and then walks away.

I watch him walk out of the bakery and answer a phone call.

He chats for a brief moment.

Then, he gets inside a black car that is parked car across the street.

As he drives away, he and I make eye contact.

It felt like one of those slow motion scenes in a movie.

With him finally out of sight, I open the brown bag and pull out a container.

It was a slice of chocolate lover’s cake.

I smiled.

I got my cake but was left with an appetite for something else… the chocolate man who I let get away.

Humor
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About the Creator

Brittany Delk

A writer who recently reconnected with her childhood passion for writing.

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