Reflection – Bit Part 3 – Daniel 65

[For a quick guide go here: Quick guide.]

[Old back story is here: Story so far at 30 Nov 2020 and read more recent Daniel episodes especially this one.]

[Other back story through in-links.]

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Gordon was being indecisive. On the one hand granary buns were fabulous when toasted, smoothed with butter and dolloped with strawberry jam. There again, granary toast, a good doorstep slab, was also pretty excellent with the aforementioned butter and jam. But was he in the mood for either or was what he really wanted actually one of their amazingly large toasted crumpets, crisp on the edges, soft inside, where the smoothed on butter permeated the honeycomb-like holes and flooded his mouth with flavour when he bit into it? Yeah, he thought, but he’d run out of honey so it just wouldn’t be the same. Jam was good, but it didn’t hit the spot with crumpets like it did with buns and toast.

And then Alexis just went and spoilt it all by throwing a fit because he didn’t want to give her yet more of those damned waffles. Honestly, why did kids not appreciate good food? Why did they pay no attention to the years of tradition, trial and error, recipes passed down the generations, fiddled with, tailored, adapted and perfected and instead just going for the plastic wrapped mass produced cardboard-like pock-marked rectangles that claimed to be waffles? Why? Why?

“Want it with chocolate,” said Alexis, sharply.

Gordon gritted his teeth and did what he was told. His daughter would be out the house soon and he’d have more headspace, or he could even go down to the local branch and smell the loaves as they came out the in store oven. And he wouldn’t be able to do that when she was off school for the holidays. Just had to get through the next forty minutes. Yes, forty minutes and then the chance of some grown up conversation with his mate Linus.

He and Linus had graduated from the second rate business school they attended together. Gordon admitted it was second rate, Linus did not, but that didn’t matter. They’d both got what they needed from the place. A hell of a good time socially and a piece of paper which said they’d learned things about how companies worked. Yes, they’d learned things, thought Gordon, but could they still remember them and they actually use that knowledge?

Having gone into the course without much clue of what they wanted to do at the end of it, they’d left the course with even less of a clue of what they wanted to do next. For about a fortnight they were going to go into business together – probably drop-shipping they thought – probably building up a great brand image and name for a range of products and there the idea ended, because they couldn’t decide what they should try and sell nor who their market would be. 

They still had a good time together and stayed in touch as first Linus and then Gordon bit the bullet and got a ‘proper’ job in a ‘proper’ company. 

Alexis had finished the chocolate waffle and was now refusing to brush her teeth and get her shoes on. Gordon sighed. Sometimes he wished he’d been the one who stormed out rather than his other half, but his own obstinacy prevented him from giving up the keys, as much as his own laziness prevented him from packing a bag.

Still, he’d enjoyed looking after Lexy, even if it had its moments. Such as this one now when she was getting him to do the buckles on her shoes while she stood there with a toothbrush in her mouth. Like that would clean anything.

Having brought everything together in a rough approximation of being ready for school they headed out a little behind schedule but with a skipping and jumping sessions on the way they’d be fine.

Outside Lexy called and shouted at Daisy who called and shouted back. He and Daniel didn’t exchange words, although they did acknowledge each other’s existence with a couple of respectful nods. A smile may have been involved but Daniel was wearing his skeleton mask. A ridiculous choice, thought Gordon.

All dropped off, Gordon ran through the day’s tasks in his head. He liked his work and he particularly liked the food his company made. There was nothing like having pride in what you did, even if people weren’t that certain of what you really did, but they were always up for a few good stories about what had happened in the central bakery, or how the design on the wrapper dated back to a doodle by the founder made over a hundred years ago.

Which brought him back to calling his mate Linus. Linus was a bit up and down, Gordon thought, and probably needed a pick me up right now. So once home he took out his phone, hit a speed dial and promptly mis-dialled, calling up his uncle instead. A bloke who called himself Flint.