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“How does wanting donuts equate with being hungry?”

“Donuts are food.”

“Yeah, but you’re not getting donuts right now. I’m going to cook.”

“Well can we have fried chicken?”

“That’s exactly what I had in mind.”

I took every weekend off to make sure I could spend time with Victor, even if we didn’t do anything but sit around the house and build shit with his favorite building set. My favorite days were the ones when he wanted to read or watch movies, and I actually got to rest.

Most of the time I wasn’t that lucky. This was one of the weekends where luck didn’t happen to be on my side. Me, Victor, and my cousin Warren’s son, Mikey, walked away from a long line with barbecue plates at a food truck festival near my house.

I planned to order pizzas and plenty of junk food for the boys to have at home while they played their hearts out. I wanted to chill, drink a couple of beers, and catch a game. I made the mistake of taking the scenic route after picking Mikey up and letting the boys spot what they referred to as a carnival.

We got pulled pork sandwiches and ribbon fries. I had to admit it was pretty good. I was actually stuffed, but I was beginning to think Victor had a tape worm.

“Can we get donuts now, Daddy? I see a truck with donuts and cakes on it.”

“Yeah, and after that, I’m getting out of this heat.”

“OK!” he shouted, jumping up and sprinting toward the truck with Mikey on his heels.

I shook my head as I stood and threw out the trash from our food. I actually had a sweet tooth myself, so I was looking forward to seeing whatever kind of donuts they had.

As I got closer to the truck, I recognized the color and logo from just a few days ago. I hadn’t seen it since both it and its owner peeled out of my parking lot after she made it clear that she didn’t want or need my services.

What a coincidence that I would run into Ms. Lane. Then again, it was a food truck festival. If I had been thinking, I probably would have been looking for her out here, hoping she was back on the road. I didn’t care if I wasn’t the one to fix her truck; I was just glad she was back on the road.

I walked up to stand behind the boys in line, and suddenly, there she was. Ms. Lane wore a fitted pink T-Shirt with A Little Bit of Sweetness written across the front. Her golden-blonde hair was pulled up into a tight bun that made her cinnamon brown skin look like it was glowing. Even when she was hard at work, she was beautiful.

Seeing her working gave me perspective on why she was too proud to take something she perceived as charity. It also made me realize that I needed to run some kind of women’s appreciation special or something. I would get with my marketing guy about that later.

At the moment, I was enamored as I watched Ms. Lane and another woman greet customers and prepare orders. She was completely oblivious to the fact that she was being watched. When I thought I was about to be caught staring, I snatched my eyes away and scanned the crowd.

“I want chocolate with the white sprinkles, Dad. What kind you want, Mikey?” Victor asked.

“I like regular chocolate.”

“When we make it home, I want y’all to run, jump, and play ’til y’all get tired. Make sure y’all burn off all that sugar. Both of y’all need to be good and sleepy tonight.”

My comment made Victor laugh. “You always say that when I eat sweets.”

“And I always mean it.”

We stepped up to the window, and Ms. Lane’s eyes finally landed on me. For a second, she froze in her tracks, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Her expression quickly shifted from one of surprise to something I couldn’t put my finger on.

“Quinton, what brings you here?” she asked.

“The boys wanted donuts.”

“Yeah, Theo said his mom makes the best donuts,” Victor revealed.

That made her smile and warmed my heart. “And he would be correct,” she commented.

“Well, donuts it is. I think the boys agreed on chocolate,” I stated.

“I want chocolate with the white sprinkles,” Victor announced.