I opened up my eyes to see that it was a newspaper. I grabbed it instinctively, turning the pages, until I saw the date and the year in question. It was two years before my marriage exploded and I didn’t mean to go back that far, but this device was unpredictable at the best of times. I got up and dusted myself off, walking out of the alley to see a familiar sight. The doughnut shop that my husband and I went to almost every day was right across from me. I looked at my watch, but it was shattered. I’d forgotten that we were not supposed to bring anything with us besides our own body and clothes.
It was like time had stopped altogether, but it was just my perception of things, considering that my watch was no longer a viable source of information. I watched to make sure that the coast was clear, before crossing the street. I was almost hit by an overanxious older man in a silver lexis. He was busy on the phone, talking to who ever it was. It had distracted him from driving. It was the reason why driving and talking on the phone had become illegal. It’s wasn’t right now, but I could see the reason it would be.
I went into the doughnut shop, and was immediately accosted by the fragrance of fresh pastries being made in the morning. The owner one Gerald Reiner was busy behind the counter with a smattering of flour on his face. He looked like he was enjoying himself, immersing into his passion for pastries and making a real name of himself.
“Kayla, I’m a little surprised to see you here without…” I put up my finger and I pointed to the one pastry that had always made me aware of my waist size. “I know exactly what you’re looking for. Wait, weren’t you supposed to be in some kind of scientific conference for the next two weeks?” I really didn’t know for sure. I tried to prepare myself for any eventuality. “You said that you were going to be away for two weeks and that it involved a bunch of scientists that were getting together to talk about experiments and such.” It started to dawn on me that my appearance here was only going to confuse things. My husband didn’t even know that I was back. In reality, my other self was still enjoying the aftermath of skiing and then sitting by the fire with colleagues. We had some heated debates the lasted into the wee hours of the morning. I was never much for cold, but skiing had changed my mind in ways that I didn’t think was possible.
“I had to come back early and take care of a few things. I plan to go right back to it, but not, until I deal with a couple matters” I bit into the chocolate éclair and it was almost better than sex. If I were to be eating one of these and having sex with the man that I love, then that orgasmic high would have been something to feel for sure. I don’t know why I never tried it and every time that I bit into one of these things, it would always come to mind. I never did put it into action, which is one of my regrets that I was hoping that I could rectify.
“That is precisely the reason why I do what I do every morning. The look on your face makes it all worthwhile. I have to tell you that you really do help my business. I know that you’ve been talking me up and I don’t know how I can pay you back.” I had invested a bit of money into his success. I was happy to do it. Once I got a taste for his culinary favorites, I was hooked and ready to sign on the dotted line. I didn’t have much, but it did afford me the opportunity to eat here for free and to share in 5% of the profits.
“I take these home every day and I share them with my husband. I’ve even given them to neighbors and they rave about them like they can’t believe that your shop exists. I tell them where they can find you and I think that’s the reason why you find yourself with a lot of clients. I see the love that you put into your food and it translates into the taste that I didn’t think that was possible, but you make me a believer.” I was never