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Half-Baked
A Farmers’ Market Misadventure
A few years ago, my friends, Mark and Shannon, owners of a small artisan bakery, needed help working their stand at the weekend farmer’s market.
“It’ll be easy,” Shannon said.
“Piece of cake,” Mark agreed, pleased with his pun.
“You’ll get to eat as many cookies and macarons as you like,” Shannon promised.
“You can even have a lemon trollop,” added Mark. “But just one.”
“A trollop?”
“It’s like a lemon tart,” Shannon explained, then she and Mark exchanged mischievous grins.
“But trollop is a much nicer word than tart!” they singsonged in unison.
Before I go any further, I must tell you that Well-Bred Bakery, the name of their business, prides itself on its quirky wordplay. There is the “Quentin Tarantino Danish,” aptly named because the pastry resembles a gunshot wound, and their wildly popular “Butch” bread, with a tagline reading, “Gay Bread for Straight People.” There is also the famous Killer Brownie, claiming that “People have died.” You get the picture. Pastries and puns. Good times.
“I’ll do all the money transactions,” Shannon said. “All you have to do is be friendly and put things in bags for people with a pair of tongs. Plus, you’ll make…