Day 2: Gettin' Cheesy

Sam's excerpt today was such an inspiration, as you will surely notice. I wonder when the plot will start in my novel. Not today, at least! 

    With an extra skip in her step that could only come from perfecting your pant cuff roll, Cara let herself through the red front doors of This Ain’t the Stilton, a plant-based cheese and wine shop in downtown Stratford. Her brown plaid trousers had a cuff precisely two inches above her ankle that better highlighted her black flats. It was just before noon, when the store was about to open to the clamouring public. Her co-worker Gordon was already there, busying himself with restocking the chive and cheddar case by the front window. He was sporting a jaunty charcoal grey cape that paired smartly with his all-black attire. The only pop of colour in his entire ensemble was his yellow Free Men’s Ankles Support Group ™ pin, with the tagline “Ankles are the new male cleavage.” While Cara shared Gordon’s passion for a perfectly cuffed pantaloon, she did not think that the issue merited its own support group. She also did not think that comparing cuffed pants to women’s cleavage, and the many issues that women experience being sexualized in public, was the way to go. Gordon, who was the founder and likely the only member of the Free Men’s Ankles Support Group ™, would not be dissuaded. 

    His commitment to wearing the pin was one of the many things that she did not like about Gordon. More on that later, though.

    Cara might have taken action on the obviously inappropriate button, but she knew that wouldn’t be necessary. Gordon was clearly only wearing as a show of defiance since the owner of the establishment, Jackie Bauer, would inevitably make him take it off. This Ain’t the Stilton had a lot of rules. That button broke at least three of them: no buttons that promote embarrassing causes (based on Jackie’s discernment), no use of the term “mankles” (which admittedly wasn’t on the button, but Gordon had used the term so many times that it was definitely implied), and no taglines whatsoever (a bizarre rule, but one that Cara was always sure to adhere to). Jackie was due at This Ain’t the Stilton later that afternoon, and Gordon would most certainly be planning on removing the pin before then. 

    If Gordon cut a memorable figure, Jackie permanently seared himself into your brain. Cara would believe that he had literally done this, if someone had told her that he had.