The Polish Donut

On Fat Tuesday, or for Ben, Paczki Day, he is as giddy as a kid, dragging his sleepy wife Amy out of bed for a run to The Garden Bakery and its variety of Polish donuts. While Ben obsesses over flavors, childhood memories, and the eternal mistake of trying the rose paczki “just one more time,” Amy mostly humors his ritual, enjoying how something as simple as a donut can light him up.

Ahead of them in line stands Phil, a rumpled stranger who seems far more anxious than a box of pastries should warrant. When he realizes at the register that he’s forgotten his wallet, Amy quietly steps in and pays, assuming it’s just a small kindness on a busy holiday morning. What Ben and Amy never learn is why Phil was so anxious to get that plum paczki.

Told with gentle humor, vivid bakery details, and alternating viewpoints, The Polish Donut explores how tiny choices and brief encounters can carry enormous weight in someone else’s story. Fans of character-driven, slice-of-life fiction and sentimental holiday reads will find a moving reminder that even on an ordinary Tuesday, love and mercy can be dusted lightly in powdered sugar.