A New Baker

“You Barbara’s kid? James?”

James looked up to see what had to be the biggest dude he’d ever seen. He wasn’t sure what he expected when he’d been called for an interview at the local bakery, but it wasn’t this. The guy had to be close to 300 pounds easily, if not more. The guy was huge, and not just fat - those arms looked like they could bench two of James.

His imposing bulk and semi-scowl were more than a little intimidating, and James took a moment to respond. “Ye-yes. That’s me. I’m here about the job,” he stammered.

The bakery owner looked James up and down for another tense moment and then imperceptibly nodded. “Sure, you got it if you want it.”

Another unexpected turn. Didn’t interviews usually have… questions? “Uh, sure, thanks?” James said, although his gratitude sounded more like incredulity.

If his new boss picked up on James's hesitation he didn’t show it. “Alright,” he said in a gruff tone before handing James a broom. “To start, you’ve got cleaning duty. Flour and crumbs get everywhere and we gotta keep the place clean for health codes. Get sweepin’ and I’ll go get you a uniform.”

James took the brook and stared at it for a moment as the baker lumbered off to a nearby closet. “What size shirt are you?” He heard him call over his shoulder, before replying, “Uh, medium.” The big guy then came back and handed James a t-shirt that had “Rubico’s Bakery” embroidered on the front right pocket.

“The name’s Donnie, by the way. Welcome aboard,” the giant said while extending a hand. James had to quickly shuffle his t-shirt and broom to his left hand just so he could shake, the whole process doing nothing to make him seem less nervous. Donnie’s calloused hand nearly enveloped James’s up to the wrist, his grip expectedly strong as he pumped hands twice before releasing.

“Now I gotta go and man the front as the store opens in a few minutes. I’ll come get you for your first break,” Donnie said before making his way to the door that led to the front of the store, leaving James alone in the cooking area. He sighed and slowly took off his t-shirt to don his new uniform and then began to sweep the floor.

Donnie had already decided to hire James before he’d even walked into his store. His mom was a friend of the family, who’d spoken to his aunt and told the story of how he’d run into trouble at college and dropped out. Donnie never quite got the reason why, but he imagined the reason drew sympathy considering he’d been told to help the kid out and not ask too many questions.

In any case, it wasn’t really Donnie’s way to start nosing into people’s personal business. The kid wasn’t in school, so that meant he had to work and Donnie was fine with him starting off by keeping the place clean.

Donnie did catch a glimpse of him while he was taking off his shirt to put on the uniform, and while the kid was undeniably cute he was far too thin for Donnie’s tastes. Donnie liked ‘em with a bit of a meat on their bones, and while James wasn’t anorexic by any means he was still a virtual scarecrow to Donnie’s eyes at maybe 150 pounds.

Well, now that he was working at a bakery maybe he could put some meat on his bones, Donnie thought, and began to formulate a plan.

“Hey, kid - break time!”

James nearly started at Donnie’s booming proclamation. He’d swept the entire floor - twice, in fact - and the place was practically sparkling. The big baker did take note and nodded at James, which he took to be in appreciation for his work. It was a small thing, but it was the most he’d gotten from Donnie so far.

He was about to take a seat to break out his packed lunch when Donnie poked his head back in. “Oh, and I forgot to mention - employees get a discount on all our products.”

“What kind of discount?”

“The free kind,” Donnie winked, and then went back to the front to assist with another customer.

Free food always got James’s attention, and he decided to check out the selection - something he’d neglected to do upon entering the store. While Donnie sold several loaves of bread to an elderly woman James scanned the glass display filled with all manner of confectionery. There were cakes, cupcakes, mini cakes, donuts, muffins, cookies, brownies - everything he could think of, and even stuff he didn’t recognize.

Once the lady had gone James went up to the counter and pointed at the display case. “What’s that thing?”

Donnie crossed his considerable arms and raised an eyebrow. “You never seen a cronut before?” James shook his head.

“Well, now you’re gonna,” he said and grabbed a chocolate and nut encrusted cronut from the case to hand to James.

James took a bite and his eyes lit up. “Oh, I get it - it’s like a donut and a croissant. It’s good!”

Donnie nodded. “Of course it’s good. I made it.” Then he winked, and James smiled at the lack of modesty.

James then took the cronut back inside the bakery where he decided to wander around and get a feel for the space. The bakery was surprisingly spacious, and while plenty of it went toward the large devices that made dough and icing on a nearly industrial scale, there were other parts to the store too. He found the closet where the branded uniforms were kept, bathroom, cleaning closet, as well as a back office. The office was large enough to contain a small home gym in the corner. Guess that’s how Donnie got to be so big - he works out while he works here, James thought.

Cronut finished, he ate the rest of his lunch in peace and quiet.

James performed well at the Bakery for the first week, and soon Donnie was training him to perform the basics of baking - making dough and preparing ingredients for the day’s baking. James was a quick learner and Donnie was surprised and delighted to find him soon not requiring his supervision,

He was also delighted with how James had taken Donnie up on the free food with lunch. The kid definitely had a sweet tooth, and every day was a new adventure in baked goods for James. A donut here, a few cookies there, but all of them calorie dense, sugar-filled delights that had already started to show on James’ lithe frame. His almost starved features had filled in so he no longer looked sickly. In fact, he was looking quite healthy lately, with full color in his cheeks and some meat on his limbs. Donnie could actually make out some features beneath his uniform, and what he saw was a budding appetite.

One day he decided to give James an additional benefit - free breakfast. He was coming in early to prep for opening, so might as well ensure his employee got the most important meal of the day in while he was here. The only catch was Donnie didn’t specify what James could eat for breakfast, believing that left to his own devices James would choose the same sugary delights he usually did for lunch.

Donnie’s hunch was proven right on the first day, as James opted for an icing-covered sticky to go with his morning coffee. The next day was donuts, and the day after that a chocolate cupcake. Combined with his normal lunches (along with more baked goods), James was easily packing away an extra thousand calories per day.

In another month it was really starting to show. James’ shirt was straining to contain a far more substantial young man. Donnie guessed he’d put on 25 pounds easily - maybe even 30 - since he’d started working for him. He was still a ways away from being appealing, but he was certainly on the right track.

“Uh, Donnie,” said a very sheepish James one morning. “I was wondering if I could have another uniform… maybe a size large? This one doesn’t seem to fit anymore.”

Donnie chuckled good-naturedly and without a word went to the closet to find a larger uniform. As James took off the far-too-tight t-shirt Donnie was treated to a much softer young man. James now had an adorable paunch just beginning to peek over his belt and a pair of budding love handles. The rest of him appeared soft and smooth without a hint of definition remaining. Not a single hint of definition remained on him - a soft boy was born.

Donnie smiled as he watched James begin to prep for the day. The boy was becoming a true baker indeed.