Free Tragic Toppings by Jessica Beck

running for us today.”
    She thrust a folded sheet of paper toward me, and I took it and studied it for a few moments. I really liked what I saw, and I had to admit that it had a real sense of fun about it, something we’d agreed we wanted to capture in the ad. There was an image of a donut and coffee cup holding hands, and their legs appeared to be dancing. Song notes hovered around them, and the ad copy said, “Don’t be afraid to take a chance on Take-a-Chance Tuesdays, only at Donut Hearts in downtown April Springs. Try your luck, they’re only a buck!” It may have been a little busy for my taste, but still, there was a whimsical charm about it that I liked.
    Then my glance caught the fine print at the bottom of the ad.
    Emma and I had discussed it before she got started on the design, and we’d agreed that there would have to be a limit of one per customer. After all, we were losing money selling a small cup of coffee and a donut for a dollar, but we hoped that most folks who came in would want more than one donut.
    There was a problem, though. Instead of a limit of one per customer, someone had slipped up, and the limit was now eleven! We could actually sell out today and still lose money.
    “Emma, did you check this before it went to your dad?” I asked as I handed it back to her.
    She looked puzzled by my question. “Sure I did. It’s perfect, don’t you think?”
    “You didn’t make any changes to it at all at the last minute?”
    Emma frowned at me. “What’s wrong with it, Suzanne? You told me I could do whatever I want. We agreed on the general scope and conditions of the ad, but I got to design it myself.”
    “Honestly, I love just about every bit of it,” I said.
    “Then what’s the problem?”
    “Look at the bottom of the ad,” I said as I handed it back to her.
    Emma looked puzzled, but after nearly a minute, she finally caught it. Her face was white as she said, “This is just the proof. I’m sure that Dad fixed it. He had to.”
    “Did you tell him to make any changes to the proof?”
    “No,” she admitted, and I could hear the tears coming up in her voice. “How did I miss this?”
    I touched her shoulder lightly. “We may be worrying for nothing. Call him,” I said.
    Emma nodded and took out her telephone. After a brief conversation, she hung up, looking as though she wanted to cry. It was clear she hadn’t gotten the answer she’d been hoping for. “He said he thought that was what we meant to do to drive in some foot traffic. Suzanne, this is a nightmare. What are we going to do?”
    I thought about it, and then said, “Honestly, what can we do? Sure, it was a mistake, but mistakes happen all of the time. Trust me; I’ve made more than my share myself.” I saw her lower lip start to quiver, and I knew that I couldn’t deal with a crying employee at the moment. “Don’t worry, Emma. It will be fine, but I think we should be prepared for an onslaught, just in case. Let’s start making some extra donuts so we won’t be caught short.”
    “My coffee blend is ready. Are you happy with the recipe you’ve been working on for today?” she asked.
    “On second thought, I don’t think I’m going to take a chance on that one,” I said as I started scanning my recipe book. It not only had the recipes I used every day, but also contained ideas that I wanted to try someday when I got the chance. My gaze settled on a brightly colored confection I’d played with on paper but had never made, and I decided that it would be just right for Emma’s Thunder Coffee offering. “Today, I think we’ll make rainbow-iced orange cake donuts.”
    “We’ve never done those before,” she said.
    “No, but they should be pretty and festive, and I don’t need to do anything exotic to them except decorate them like rainbows.”
    “That sounds great.” She paused, and then added, “Suzanne, I really am sorry about this.”
    It was time to put what had happened behind us so we could