"Snack Cart!" Part 2

Read part 1.

She made the afternoon rounds, invisibly pushing the cart, going through the motions. This had turned out to be a good job for her while she was busy flunking out of college. It required no thought and her autopilot engaged almost effortlessly. The money she made pushing the cart would pay for her spring break trip and that’s all she cared about. She was counting the days.

She found herself standing outside the office of that man who’d caused her haze to momentarily clear. “The man who likes bananas.” That’s how she thought of him. He made her squirm and she got the impression lately that when he looked at her, he really saw her… and he saw right through her. It was eerie.

She waited for him to emerge from his office, then remembered he’d said he had a meeting. Her mental rolodex flipped through the selections he’d made recently and she picked up a chocolate chip cookie and a bag of peanuts… and, of course, a banana. She looked up and down the hallway, feeling a little nervous about actually entering one of the offices. But in she went.

His desk was strewn with papers and files and stacks of stuff. She was quite surprised at the lack of organization. She looked around trying to find a clean spot to leave his snack. She found none. Instead, a piece of paper peeking out from a stack of files caught her eye. She carelessly deposited the cookie and nuts on a file marked “FY06” as she slid some folders off the top of the drawing. It was indeed a sketch, and as she uncovered it, she glanced back over her shoulder at the door.

The cart remained there in the hallway, alone. The masses from the mailroom hadn’t found it, but at that point she wasn’t concerned. With the files moved aside, she saw a steno pad – spiral bound – and moved to pick it up. Delight rushed through her as she took in the image. It was a doodle. Something he’d drawn while distracted… perhaps on a conference call. Maybe while sitting in yet another meeting.

Thoughts crowded her mind. It looked just like him! Did he really see himself this way? What is UP with that hair?! She snickered and covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes focussed on his exaggerated crotch. She wondered if this was like the middle-aged guy who drove a Porsche to compensate… then she saw the whip. The hand that moments ago covered a snicker now unconsciously made its way to her chest. She swallowed hard. Her emotions went from feeling a sort of endearment to feeling a sort of dread. She glanced at the words written across the paper: Lord Muerte. The smile crept back onto her face.

Then she saw it… sitting in the trash can on top of a few papers that had somehow managed to find their way there. The banana. The banana she’d picked out for him. He was the man who liked bananas. He’d caught her eye and captured her attention, then thrown it away. Literally.

Looking back at the drawing, she scoffed at the word “Lord.” She picked it up and flipping the page forward, she ripped it from the spiral binding and looked at the impression the ballpoint pen had left on the page underneath. Taking the banana gingerly out of the trashcan, she gathered up the other snack items.

A hasty trip to the cart and she was back to leave the snack that had been requested of her… She thought it was a simple response to his statement. Beef jerky.

Later that night, she’d lie in bed and look intently at the drawing that she’d stuck to her dresser’s mirror. She’d stroke her clit and wonder about that whip.


Many kind thanks to Artful Dodger at The Secret Brain for so perfectly capturing and reproducing the image I had in my mind's eye. You rock, Art!