As Mrs. Bento hurried out from No Frills to the mall every clothing store she passed by stood a discount sign board that ranged from 30% to 50% off. It is now deem "normal" for new merchandise to go on sale before the next season starts: cardigans, sandals, shorts, shirts and flip-flops. It felt like Summer already even though she just had her clock advanced by one hour last weekend. With all the discount hands smiling and waving at her Mrs. Bento was so tempted to visit one or two or, all the shops. Then a chill came over her as she recalled the temperature outside was still -2, and with her layers of clothing it would be clumsy to try anything on. Her mind was in battle, it is such a right thing - a Canadian thing to buy things only when they are on sale. Her attention was diverted when she passed by Hall Mark, one of the places she would shop for cards that bear a cat theme or cat illustration. It is always for Ginger, she would insist herself to believe. But in truth she knows it is an excuse to satisfy the joy of consuming. Since many forgotten years ago Ginger would receive a cat birthday card every year, and Mrs. Bento always surprised her with unusual finds, like Salma Hayek likes to surprise her fans every time she appears publicly by wearing something drastically different. Ah, a banana gown! Ah, a portrait of two cats applying yogurt face mask!
Besides cat birthday cards, Ginger also gets a birthday cake every year. Mrs. Bento has tried a number of different bakeries and wanted to surprise Ginger every single time. Selecting cake faces from cartoonish little mermaid to fanciful arrangement of bouquets, from fruits garden to simple numeric made spectacle by a single sparkler, or a stunning 8 inches tall buttercream cake topped with the real flower Iris and a red edible heart. In fact, Ginger prefers spongy birthday cakes topped with a little fresh fruits and cream from Chinese bakeries, but who wants to avoid the temptation of being surprised? This year Mrs. Bento has no time to do any research on another outstanding birthday cake. She resolved to order last minute, the "cake of the month" from Dufflet Pastries. This local bakery has a long history and is popular among Torontonians. Ginger has not been born yet when the owner Dufflet Rosenberg opened her first pastry café on Queen Street West in 1982.
A few hours after sending the order Mrs. Bento received a confirmation email from Dufflet:
Good morning Bento,
This email confirms that we have received and entered into our system your order for a 6” Lemon Coconut Cake with the inscription “To Ginger with Love” and the flower moved off-centre for Thursday, February 28th. Your order will be available to pick up from our downtown location at any time during business hours on the day of (10 am - 7 pm), and will be held under the order number P#9.
Regards,
Alberta
