It's been almost a month since the narrator took over the job of running his father's bakery. He's worried about his health since he also has to work late at night. He has an idea: he wants to go to the bakery across from his office and have a cup of coffee and a slice of cake to cheer him up. He hopes that the bakery will still be open. The bakery welcomes him back with open arms. He orders his usual strawberry shortcake and a latte. He tells his boss that he inherited the bakery from his father. He says that when he was a kid, he used to buy the bakery's cake, but the shop had gone out of business. He asks where the idea came from. He wonders if they might have met in a small town before. He feels like he's about to burst into tears.