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Gold Ingot sighed. It was a very, very long day at that carnival. That Topper guy really got on his nerves. But no matter since he finally got a present for Loaf. Hopefully, that would get Santa Hat off of his back now. Honestly, he didn’t even know why she cared so much about him, he was just useless. Why did he even hire him in the first place?
“Gold Ingot!” Speak of the devil. He turned around to see Loaf with a big smile on his face. “Oh, hey Loaf.” Normally, he would be a little more pessimistic towards Loaf, but Santa Hat really insisted on him being nice to Loaf today and he actually respects Santa Hat. “Hey, you’re coming to my party tonight, right?” Gold Ingot put on a fake smile. “Oh, uh, yeah sure Loaf, I’ll definitely be there!” He lied; he would probably be there for like a minute then make up some excuse to leave. Just him being there would satisfy Loaf enough, right?
Loaf could tell Gold Ingot was being a little funky, but he had gotten used to it, he still didn’t really like it, though. “You’re not just saying that to try to make me feel better, right?” Gold Ingot sweated. “Nope, not at all! In fact, I even got a special gift for you!” Loaf beamed with joy, a special gift?? Now, THAT was exciting! Gold Ingot never gave him anything, not even breaks!
“Oh my grain, I’m so excited!” Gold Ingot smirked. Good, he got Loaf off of his tail. “You know, Gold Ingot...” Oh great, what more did he have to say now? “I’ll be honest, you may not always be the best boss, and I don’t really appreciate being kicked into the forest or being hit with a golf cart but, knowing you got me a special gift and actually thought of me in a considerate way? That means a lot, more than you could ever know.”
…Huh, that felt…really nice to hear from Loaf. “Thanks, Loaf.” “No problem, Gold Ingot! Okay, I gotta go back to prepare for the party! Hope to see you there!” And with that, Loaf walked away. “Yeah, uh, bye Loaf!” As Gold Ingot watched Loaf walk away, he started thinking. Why would Loaf actually feel grateful when Gold Ingot never once showed an ounce of respect towards him? It didn’t make sense to him.
That’s when Gold Ingot started to…reconsider his view on Loaf. Maybe he was more than just useless dead weight. His kindness and compassion may have been a lot more important than Gold Ingot realized. Maybe…he could stay longer than a minute and give Loaf the compassion that Loaf gave to him.
Later, at the party, Loaf and Santa Hat were talking when Loaf saw Gold Ingot out of the corner of his eye. “Gold Ingot, you really did come! I was starting to think you wouldn’t!” Gold Ingot smiled at seeing Loaf so happy. “Of course, Loaf. I wouldn’t miss my faithful employee’s birthday for anything else! Oh wait, I almost forgot! Here’s your special gift!” Gold Ingot gave Loaf the bear from the carnival and Loaf lit up in happiness!
“Oh my bread bakery, this is so cute! Thanks, Gold Ingot!” “No problem, Loaf!” Santa Hat walked up to Gold Ingot with a surprised but grateful look. “Wow, Gold Ingot, I’m actually impressed, I didn’t think you would show up.” Gold Ingot frowned a little. “Look, you two, I owe you both an apology, Loaf especially.” Loaf and Santa Hat were shocked; he was actually apologizing?
“Loaf, I’m sorry for kicking you into that forest, hitting you with a golf cart and just being a downright jerk to you in general. And Santa Hat, I’m sorry for also being a jerk to you and dumping all my paperwork onto you. I realize now that I should’ve been treating you both better and fairly and I will do my best to make things right going forward.”
Loaf and Santa Hat were still shocked at the apology but gratefully smiled. “Wow, Gold Ingot, I-I don’t even know what to say. Thank you for apologizing!” Santa Hat said. “Yeah, this might actually be the best present I’ve gotten this year!” Gold Ingot smiled at the two’s enthusiastic response. “So, does this mean you both forgive me?”
“Of course, we forgive you Gold Ingot! Why wouldn’t we?” Loaf said. “Yeah, your apology means so much to us, it would be hard NOT to forgive you!” Santa Hat enthusiastically replied in a way that made Gold Ingot smile with joy. “Wow, thanks, you two! I’m so glad you two are both my wonderful friends!” And with that, the three of them went in for a big hug. Gold Ingot smiled, happy that everything was going right for them.
That’s when he woke up.
Silence, that’s what he usually woke up to now. Gold Ingot groggily opened his eyes as he struggled to get up and looked around the room. It was dark and empty. No annoying cousins, no loud TV on but most importantly, no Loaf or Santa Hat. Of course, it was a dream. He had been having that dream and other dreams like it for a while. Dreams where he “fixed” everything and redid every single mistake.
He had dreams of not kicking Loaf into the forest, not hitting Loaf with a golf cart, not dumping as much paperwork onto Santa Hat but the dream where he stayed at Loaf’s party kept replaying in his mind. He knew that was the final straw for the both of them and if there was any moment he wished he could change, it’s that moment.
Gold Ingot wished it was that easy, he really, really wished he could just fix everything like that. But he knew the truth all too well, reality set in for him every single day. The reality that Loaf or Santa Hat could never forgive him, that they would never come back and that he could never fix the many mistakes he did. He hated that reality so much. He wished he could live in his perfect dream world where everything was okay and they were still here.
But now, all he could do was the same thing he did every day since that argument. Rot on his couch, watch some TV until he gets bored of it and just stares at it, get pestered by one of or all of his cousins, usually Silver, maybe go outside and check in on the contestants to make sure everything was going smoothly if he felt a little bit more energized on that day.
Sometimes, he wonders how happy Loaf and Santa Hat are without him and everytime he knows the answer. Very happy. Because that terrible boss they had is out of their lives now and they don’t ever have to see him anymore. That’s what he thought they thought every single day and the worst part is that he knew it was probably true.
Gold Ingot layed back down to try to go to sleep, try to go back to his amazing dream but no matter how hard he tried, reality just sank in further for him. Why bother going back to sleep, why even bother with anything? Nothing ever goes right for him so why should he even try anymore?
With that, Gold Ingot reached over to the remote, pressed the ON button and just slumped, lazily watching whatever channel that came on.
This was his life now and he knew he could never change it.
No matter how much he wants to.