I was driving the Slingshot Saturday morning before the Skyline Drive meet, thinking about breakfast….. well, wait. Let me back up a bit. There’s some back-story that you need to know so that this will all make sense.
Near my apartment there’s a pet store that’s a bit unusual. The store owner has rented out a space inside the store to a nice, older Chinese woman who set up a small coffee bar. I don’t know what the woman’s Chinese name is, but for her American name she chose “Honey” (everyone just calls her “Hun”). This name is fitting, I think, because in addition to having great coffee, she sells the BEST freshly made honey buns I’ve ever eaten. I doubt she makes them herself, but she will never tell me where she gets them. This “coffee bar inside the pet store” idea seems to work very well. People are almost always sitting in there with their pets, drinking coffee and chatting. I usually stop in at least once or twice a week, even though I don’t have any pets.
(Stay with me here - I promise I'm going somewhere with all of this.)
This past Thursday, my co-worker Robert was going out of town for a meeting and asked me to take care of Draco, his four-foot-long pet snake, while he was gone. I agreed because I’ve never had any fear of snakes and I thought it would be cool to have one for a week. When I went over to Robert’s place Thursday evening to pick the snake up, he told me that Draco had just eaten a rabbit the previous night, so I wouldn’t have to worry about feeding him. However, Saturday morning I was out driving my Slingshot and passed by the pet store and I thought, “it would be cool to stop and get Draco a live feeder rat, so I can see how he eats live prey. And while I’m there, it’s an excuse to get a honey bun!”
Wooohooo! My plan was set and my stomach started to rumble in anticipation! I whipped the Slingshot into the parking lot and, after waiting a minute for a guy to leave, backed into one of the front parking spots in front of the pet store. As I entered the store I told Julie, the sales girl, that I needed a feeder rat for a pet snake, then I made a bee-line for the coffee bar.
“Ni hao Hun, can I get a regular coffee and one honey bun please”, I said as I approached the bar. “Ni hao Mr. Rick,” Honey said, “you too late today. All buns already sold. I no get more until tomorrow.” I was heartbroken. I had my mouth all ready for a delicious honey bun, and now I wouldn’t get one. My disappointment must have shown on my face because Honey said “I sorry Mr. Rick. Tomorrow I save one for you. You come back at any time tomorrow”.
I moped back towards the front doors thinking about how good that honey bun would have been. “I’ve got your feeder rat ready” Julie said to me as I approached the front counter. “Sorry Julie”, I told her, “change of plans. I’m sure that Draco wouldn’t want his feeder rat knowing that I couldn’t get my honey bun. I’ll try again tomorrow.” “No problem” Julie said. “We’ll see you tomorrow then.”
As I’m climbing back into the Slingshot to leave, it occurred to me what I should have said: "My anaconda don’t want none unless you got buns, Hun".
(I’ll let myself out….)
