Deep, Deep Donuts by Megan Wade
Wes
“She in?” I ask the clerk sitting outside the City Manager’s office. The staff here know me on sight and politely nod and smile.
“She might be on a call, but she won’t be long.”
“Thanks,” I say, moving to the door and tapping gently before I step in, a crown of perfectly coiffed dark and silver hair all I can see as she leans close to her desk planner to read something.
Smiling to myself, I walk up to the desk and pluck a pair of reading glasses out of the pen cup, handing them to her. She looks up suddenly, then smirks as she takes the spectacles from me, mouthing thanks while she continues with her call. I take a seat across from her, crossing my legs, ankle to knee, as I quietly wait.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” she asks when the receiver is back in the cradle. “My son coming into City Hall on his day off? Why, I’d think it was my birthday if it wasn’t so sunny outside.”
“Nice to see you too, Mom.” I grin, meeting the mirthful eyes of my mother as she steeples her fingers from behind her large desk.
“Oh, you know I love any visits I can get. But we don’t have a lunch date, and last I heard, your sister was doing fine renovating that shack she spent her lifesavings on. Sounds like a horridly messy nightmare, but she sounds happy. Says her neighbor is helping her.”
“I’m glad. She needed help. I kept telling her she couldn’t do it all on her own.”
“Ah, she’s willful. Much like your father was.” Her eyes get a faraway quality, like they always do whenever Dad is mentioned. Millie and I have no memory of him, unfortunately. He was a cop who unfortunately pulled over the wrong car one night during a routine traffic stop and he didn’t make it home. By all accounts, he was a great guy. So, Millie and I have always felt kind of robbed. Mom says I look just like him, and Millie has his personality. I try to think that at least part of him lives on inside us, even if we never got to know him. On her own, Mom did an amazing job of raising two kids on her own while working her way up in City Hall, going to night school so she could qualify for her dream job as City Manager.
“Stubborn, more like. That girl would rebuild the world with sunflowers if had the power.”
Mom laughs. “I think you’re right. But enough about Millie. What about you? I’m sure you’re here for something important or I’d have known you were coming. What can I do for you?”
“A friend of mine needs a permit for her donut truck.” I briefly explain the situation as Tamara explained it to me. “I feel for her situation, so I chose to look the other way. And I’m asking you to do the same by granting her permit so she can continue to trade unencumbered. She was already approved to sell ice cream, so I can’t see how this is much more than a minor alteration.”
“This friend of yours is a girl?” Mom asks with a twitch at the side of her mouth.
“She is,” I say, unable to stop my mouth from curling into a smile. I swipe a hand across my face and adjust myself in my seat to try and cover it up. But this is my mother I’m dealing with. She doesn’t miss a thing.
“And you like her! Oh wow. She must be special. How long have you been dating?”
“We aren’t dating.” Yet.
Mom’s eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. “So this permit is an obstacle to your dating?”
“No. I don’t think so. To be honest, I only officially met her today. Before that, I only saw her from a distance. But, I don’t know…there’s something happening. Or at least I want something to happen.”
“And nothing speeds up that process like riding in like a white knight and solving all her problems.” She’s not even trying to hide her smile now.
I roll my eyes and sigh, still smiling though. Mom and I have a great relationship, so I knew coming in here that she was going to grill me a little over this. As she reminds me often, she’d like grandbabies at some stage. I like to remind her that I’m only twenty-six and Millie is only twenty-four, and she likes to remind me that she had us in her early twenties so as far as she’s concerned, both of her children are late bloomers. I’ve told her I just haven’t met the right girl yet. But now…
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt.”
With a massive grin, Mom grabs a pad of paper and a pen, handing it to me across the desk. “Write out all the details, and I’ll get it sorted for you within the week. For now, I’ll give you a temporary permit to give her so she can continue to operate while this processes.” I quickly jot down Tamara’s information and hand it to her, waiting while she taps a few details into the computer then prints off a piece of paper, grabbing it from the tray, then signing it with a flourish. “Make sure you invite this girl to dinner with your mother soon. I’d like to meet the person I’m sticking my neck out for—and the girl who’s caught my son’s heart so rapidly.” She glances up at me then and smirks.
“It’s not like that, Mom. I don’t even know how I feel right now. I just know I like her.”
She holds out the temporary permit and smiles. “I remember your father saying exactly the same thing when he and I first met. He said he didn’t know what it was, but he just knew he had to be near me. Love at first sight.” That faraway look takes over again before she takes a deep breath and sighs. “Go and get your girl, Wes. And whatever you do, don’t let go.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I say, standing from my seat as I take the paper and lean in to press a kiss to her cheek. “I won’t.”
