Mood Piece February 7 2018

Having a bakery on the same block as her apartment was going to be the death of her. Or at least her willpower. Every day she passed a window full of exciting confections she'd never heard of before, laid out in careful array to catch her eye and drive her a little bit crazy. It didn’t help that it always smelled so good. That was probably what got to her the most honestly, that smell that rested casually on every good thing that had ever happened to you and promised it all again if you were to just take a bite. It ought to be against the law.

As it was she'd decided to try something new every time she went in. It wasn't a victory per se, but at least she wasn't getting an entire box of something. Plus she could mentally write it off as cultural exploration of a sort; bakeries in her home town had had cakes, pies and doughnuts so as far as she was concerned this was a much needed gastronomic expansion. Something like that at least.

This morning she was having a napoleon. She hadn't known that when she ordered, but the girl behind the counter seemed used to her just pointing excitedly at something in the display by now. It was delicious, if a bit messy. Maybe there was cleaner way to eat it but it really made no difference at this point. The name amused her too, on a sort of meta level. Why was it named a napoleon? She doubted he'd created it, or even that it was created in his honor. Was it just some baker's attempt to win the favor of their rising emperor? Did they regret that decision when it all came crashing down? Twice. Did this baker, the patient woman who never judged, did she know anything about Napoleon the man? Perhaps that was simply the way of historical greatness, a brief moment of unassailable fame and then an ignominious slide into obscurity until you were just a pastry and a question people got wrong on history test.

As she finished the last bit of cream from the plate she felt lighter. Perhaps Napoleon would have objected to such a fate. All in all though, she wasn't sure she could think of a better afterlife than to become a delicious morning sweet.