Cinnamon Rolls - A Short Story

Thelma clicks the button on the TV remote. The screen came to life with advertisements for new shows and movies on different streaming platforms. She scrolled for a few minutes but wasn’t interested in watching anything. She sighed and clicked the TV off. 

She glanced at her phone to check the time. It was 9:43pm. Her little apartment was dim with light from the kitchen spilling into the living room. It left the room feeling unwanted or forgotten. The crumpled tissues and empty soda cans stood as pillars of her emotions on the coffee table. Thelma rubbed her eyes. She felt bored. More than that, she felt lonely.

Her phone buzzed. She jumped to grab it, thinking it was a friend who texted. Yes, she had wanted to talk with Rebecca. Maybe the universe had prompted her to read Themla’s mind. That would be lucky. 

Thelma looked at the message:

”BOGO sale at Old Navy this Saturday June 25th. Summer Shorts 50% OFF!”

She sighed. The promotional text felt worse than receiving nothing at all. The marketers of the world seemed to be the only people talking to her. Recently, there have been a lot of transitions in Thelma’s life. She had broken up with her boyfriend, moved to a different town, and was trying her hand at working in a ceramics studio. Ceramics was a passion of hers since childhood. So with the change in her relationship she decided to move and follow a childhood dream. With all that was new, there was still time to feel lonely and wonder if her old friends had forgotten her.

Thelma felt as though she made a good effort to keep up contact with people, but now she wasn’t so sure. Were there people who care about me?

When Thelma was with Dan, her boyfriend, she dissuaded feelings of loneliness by texting him. Often she would say hi or send a meme because she wanted to make sure Dan remembered her. A pang of sadness hit her. Maybe that was part of why they broke up? She recalled Dan’s angry words of how he felt that she didn’t trust him when he didn’t respond to her messages. Instead she would jump to conclusions and create worst-case scenarios that had her spiraling. This leads to incessant messaging and texts. Dan called her suffocating. “I can’t breathe here”, he had said in their final conversation before they broke up. Her cheeks burned with the memory. How dare he call her suffocating! Dan didn’t understand her love. She refused to believe that there was anything wrong with her behavior. 

Thelma pauses mid thought. Was this really true? Was she completely justified? With some time to reflect, she realized that in many of their arguments, Dan had a point. Thelma wanted to reach out. But texting or calling Dan felt like a step too far into the unknown. What would she say?

She sighed again. Swinging her legs off the couch, she walked over to her fridge. The shelves were scarcely filled; a carton of eggs and some ketchup. She needed to go grocery shopping badly.

In a few minutes, Thelma was in her car making her way toward Walmart. Luckily even at 10:00pm, the Walmart would be open. She pulled into the parking lot to find a handful of other cars. Strangers who, like her, needed to buy something to eat late at night. 

As she walked into the store, the sound of a pop song lightly played in the background. She grabbed a shopping cart, the squeaking wheels rhythmically sang as she walked along. At this time of day, the store was busy with workers restocking the shelves for the next day. Busy ants walking to and fro with huge palettes of food and other items. Thelma made her way toward the aisle with milk. She grabbed a carton and pushed toward the eggs. 

There was an old lady standing by the eggs. She was wearing a long black dress and had glasses with large black rims. As Thelma passed, the old lady said, “Excuse me, could you help me grab those cinnamon rolls?”

Thelma stopped. She smiled and said, “Sure thing.” She didn’t mind helping the old lady. She reached up and grabbed the cinnamon rolls, then handed them to the lady. 

“I always love cinnamon rolls,” the lady remarked. “Reminds me of my late husband. He had to have cinnamon rolls every Sunday before church.”

Thelma smiled. She was turning back to her cart when the lady asked, “Do you like cinnamon rolls?”

”I do, indeed,” Thelma said. There was a pause.

The old lady continued, “Sometimes, I still buy them just to remember how sweet they taste. Reminds me of John.”

“Did John ever get bored of eating cinnamon rolls?” Thelma asked. She wasn’t sure what prompted this question.

”Oh no!” the old lady laughed. “John could eat the same thing for five weeks straight. A man of simple pleasures. He loved his sweets though! Do you know, I think in all my years we must have eaten thousands of cinnamon rolls together.” She put the cinnamon roll canister in her cart.

”How long were you together?” Thelma asked. Again, she wasn’t sure why she kept prompting for more information. But it seemed like the right thing to do.

”John and I were married for 55 years. A good long while.” The old lady looked back at the cinnamon rolls in the aisle.

”A long time.” Thelma said.

”A long time indeed.” There was a pause. Then, the old lad continued, “You learn a lot about a person in 55 years. My dear, forgive your loved ones often. That’s what I learned. It’s worth it in the end. Especially if you want to stay together.” 

The old lady turned and looked at Thelma. She seemed as if she was going to say something more. Her eyes were bright through those dark rimmed glasses. Her face broke out in a smile.

”Well, dear, thank you so much. I must go home now. And I am sure you have things to do. Good night.” 

“Enjoy your cinnamon rolls.” Thelma said. She watched the old lady leave the aisle and disappear behind the shelves.

Thelma couldn’t stop thinking about that old lady and her cinnamon rolls. John, cinnamon rolls, forgiveness, 55 years. These words kept rolling around in her mind. She continued through the store and picked up other items that she needed. All the while, she kept thinking about cinnamon rolls and forgiveness. 

Was it too late for her and Dan? Did she want to try and make it work with him? How would he respond to her call?

Thelma headed to the self-check out line and started to scan her things. She picked up a canister of cinnamon rolls.

How did these get in here?

Thelma didn’t remember putting them in her cart. Then the old lady’s words played in her head,

”My dear, forgive your loved ones often.”

She scanned the canister and paid for her groceries. As she got to her car, she knew she had to call Dan before she lost her nerve. Her phone said it was 10:43pm. Not too late but maybe Dan would be asleep and she could leave a message. That’s what she would do.

She tapped to call Dan’s phone. It rang. It rang again. Then click,

”Hullo? Thelma?” Dan said.

Thelma paused. She hesitated. Glancing to the passenger seat, she noticed the cinnamon rolls in the bag of groceries.

Thelma breathed in and spoke, ”Hey Dan, it’s me. I wanted to say, "I'm sorry.”