~‌‌ ‌‌2.04 G ‌‌-‌‌ Unconditional Love ~‌‌

New Houston, Tx

Monday, June 23rd

Samantha Bundt was spry for her age. At 80 years old, she had been taking care of herself and Operah, her cat, since her husband Jason died in his sleep twelve years ago. However well she felt, the government was now forcing her to retire, letting someone much, much younger fill her role as a bartender at the Texican Sunrise.

Today Samantha was doing the one thing she was dreading for the past couple of years. Her extraordinary friend Operah was dying of old age. Even at the age of thirty-two, extended with medical technology, a cat's time on Earth will leave their human all too soon. Samantha was at the local clinic today to say goodbye to Operah.

“Wherever you end up, you be a good girl, you hear, buddy?” Samantha said.

“Meew,” Operah responded weakly.

Samantha started crying as she nodded to the Doctor. He pushed on the plunger attached to the IV inserted into Operah’s leg. Samantha kept stroking Operah’s thin coat of hair and whispering words of love.

Leaving the clinic, Samantha hopped onto a public bus heading downtown. She had decided with no family left and forced to retire; she would finally go into a virtual retirement facility. Samantha had seen the advertisements for a new gaming retirement pod community opening up in her area towards the end of the month. She had made an appointment with them to get the new implant needed to partake in this type of retirement. She was now heading downtown to get her’s now.

Hopping out of the bus like she was someone in her forties, she walked the three blocks to the Neurolink Medical Faculty. Entering the front door, the receptionist looked up and noticed the sad look on Samantha’s face.

“Good morning. How may I help you?”

“Hello, darling. I have an appointment, and may be here a bit early,” Samantha replied.

“Ah, may I have your name?”

“Samantha Bundt.”

“I have you right here. You’re a bit early, but we had a few reschedules, so it shouldn’t be any trouble. Would you like to use the washroom for a quick second before going in?”

“No, I’m fine, hun.”

“I insist. I’ll grab my make-up bag as well.”

The receptionist grabbed a small bag from her desk and led Samantha to the washroom close by. Looking into the mirror, Samantha understood right away. The lovely receptionist was a sweetheart. Samantha gracefully accepted the make-up bag from the younger lady. She had tear tracks down her face from the on and off crying she had been doing at the clinic and on the bus ride. Cleaning her face and reapplying a touch of eyeliner, she thanked the young woman.

“Are you ok? First implant jitters?” the receptionist asked.

“Oh no, nothing like that, hun. I had to put down my best friend this morning. Even though she stayed with me for thirty-two years, it wasn’t long enough.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that. I have two dogs; they’re my world. My husband and I tried to have kids for years before we found out we were affected by the virus. We decided to adopt two dogs after, and they’ve been like our kids since. I couldn’t imagine losing either of them.”

“Oh, darling. Thank you for helping me with my face. Enjoy every minute with your family, even if they are furbabies. You never know when the day comes, and you wake up, and they are just gone.”

The receptionist nodded in understanding. She led Samantha back into the first waiting room.

“A nurse will be around shortly to take you back. What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue?” Samantha asked, somewhat puzzled.

The young woman went over to a cabinet against the far wall, opening it and searching its contents. A minute later, she returned with a large sky blue shaw, handing it to Samantha.

“If you’re going into Medical Pod Retirement, they’re going to shave your head for the procedure. You can use this to cover yourself up afterwards.” the receptionist said.

“Oh, thank you, darling. I completely forgot about that detail.”

Samantha then said her goodbye to the young lady. Putting the shawl into her handbag, she waited to be called.

The entire ordeal took a little under three hours for her to be released to leave. Now wearing the sky-blue shawl, she got onto the shuttle heading for her part of the city. Arriving at her stop, Samantha got off the bus and walked the few remaining blocks to her old place of employment.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to need to see some ID, mam. You need to be thirty to enter this type of establishment,” the security guard said with a smirk.

Samantha smiled, taking out her ID and handing it to the bouncer at the door.

“Thank you, David. How's the new girl doing? She hasn’t screwed up too badly, I hope?”

“No, she’s a fast learner. Everyone loves her spunky attitude,” David replied.

“That’s good. I’m glad I can leave Lori here to defend for herself then.”

“Planning on taking a trip?”

“Yes, deary. I’m planning on going into retirement. Going into one of those new Gaming Medical Capsule Retirement or GMCR programs they’re calling them. I just got my chip today.”

Samantha removed the shawl, revealing her now bald head.

“Woah, that’s an interesting look for you, Sammy,” David said.

She patted him on the shoulder, put the shawl back on, and walked into the Texican Sunrise. Samantha made her rounds, saying hello to the regulars. Walking up and sitting at the bar, she waved down the young woman with bright blue and a small stripe of pink hair.

“Heya Sammy. You’re not here to work, right? You know the laws. Soon as you hit 80, it’s relaxation and vacations for you.” the woman behind the bar said.

“I know, but I figured I’d come and try my hand at baking again. Just tell anyone who asks, I’m borrowing the kitchen, Lori.”

“Have at it. I wouldn’t mind a couple more of those treats,” Lori replied.

Samantha ordered her drink, then headed into the kitchen. She had found a love for baking when Stanley, one of the regulars, came in and told her about a bake sale his daughters’ were a part of for their high school lacrosse team. Both Stanley and the girls had no baking skills within the kitchen. Stanley’s wife had lost her life, giving birth to the twins, and so was not around to help with the girls. Feeling sorry about their predicament, Samantha readily offered to make something for the twins to sell.

Since then, once or twice every week, Samantha would come into the Texican Sunrise and bake cupcakes or brownies. The bar would then sell the ones she left for them. The pastries became a massive hit with the bar’s patrons. Today, she read up on two new cupcake recipes; pina colada and Baileys Irish Cream. She decided to make the pina colada ones today. Samantha pulled an old school tablet out. On it was a modified recipe, altered by her the night before.

Ingredients

1/3 cup rum 1

1/2 cup coconut milk 1.5

1/4 cup cream of coconut .75

1/4 cup pineapple juice .75

1 tsp vanilla 3

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 4.5

1 1/2 tsp baking powder 4.5

1/4 tsp salt .75

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1.5

1 cup white sugar 3

3 tbsp brown sugar 9

2 extra-large eggs 6

1 cup shredded baker's coconut 3

1 cup crushed pineapple 3

Samantha raided the bar’s kitchen cabinets, finding everything she would need for her recipe. She wanted to triple the ingredients to make a batch of fifty-four cupcakes. First, she mixed the rum, coconut milk, cream of coconut, vanilla, and pineapple juice in a large bowl.

She next grabbed the dry ingredients; flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt, mixing these in the large bowl of the electric mixer. Samantha then started adding the butter to the mixture. After three minutes, she had a lovely fine crumb.

Cracking and adding the eggs, she slowly started adding the liquid bowl contents as the mixer kept spinning at a medium speed. Taking the bowl of mixture off the electric mixer, she folded in the flaked coconut and crushed pineapple into the mix with a spatula.

Checking on the oven, she found it was at the 350 F required for the recipe. Taking out five cupcake trays and she filled fifty-four of them with liners. After pouring the batter into the liners, she placed them into the oven and then walked back out into the bar.

“What are you making for us today, Sammy?” one of the patrons asked.

“Pina colada with rum.”

“Looking forward to trying that one,” a young woman said.

Samantha sat back at the bar, ordering another drink. She spoke with her fellow bar patrons for twenty minutes before going back into the kitchen to check on the cupcakes. Sticking one with a toothpick and finding batter still clinging to it, she left them in.

With some time on her hands, she began cleaning everything she had used and putting them away. Five minutes later, checking again and finding them done, she took the five trays out and let them cool. Samantha then began making a cream cheese frosting, with a hearty portion of rum for flavor. Using a piping bag, she frosted the cupcakes once they were cool.

Placing four of the trays in the kitchen’s fridge, she brought the fifth one out for the patrons outside. They were an immediate hit; even David at the door thought they were marvelous.

Placing two of the cupcakes from the fridge into a to-go box, Samantha said her goodbyes and left the bar. Heading back to the public transit hub, she hopped on a shuttle and was near her home in under an hour. Stopping by her neighbor’s door and knocking, she waited a minute before the door opened.

“Here’s my latest attempt, pina colada. I hope you and Charles like them. Let me know your thoughts after you’ve eaten them.”

“Thank you, Sammy. I’m sure Charles is going to eat his and try to eat mine too,” she laughed.

The lady at the door then noticed a part of Samantha’s shaved head.

“What happened? Are you sick, Sammy?”

Samantha removed the shawl then rubbed her bald head.

“Janet, I’m going to be selling my unit. I’m going into one of those GMCR programs. I had to put Operah to sleep this morning, and with the forced retirement, I just don’t want to sit around. I used to play games in my youth, and the thought of doing that again excites me.”

“I can understand. Charles and I spoke about the prospect if one of us were to fall ill. We decided if one of us does get sick and a medical pod can sustain them, then we’d both go in together.,” Janet said.

“Is that Sam?” came a voice from within the house.

“Yes, honey,” Janet responded.

A large man then came to the door and eyed the box in Janet’s hands. Janet sighed and handed it to the man, who nodded to Samantha and practically skipped back inside.

“The man loves your goods, Sammy.”

The two chuckled and said their goodbyes. Samantha walked down the hall and entered her condo unit. Seeing the metal feeding bowl in the kitchen, she started to cry again.