Without warning Mark has stopped bringing cookies to work. Even though neither Theresa nor Mae ate the gingerbread men, they are still upset. Mark cites exhaustion. He announces that he is retiring from baking cookies.
Mae is inconsolable that she will never be able to eat Mark's peanut butter cookies again. Since Theresa never ate even the peanut butter cookies, she seems less affected.
The rest of the week passes with no cookies. I become accustomed to working without cookies. The next week when I arrive at work I am suprised to find a plate of cookies on my desk. Mark claims they are not his cookies. Indeed they are not as good as his cookies. Mae seems a little happier at least. Theresa says that no cookies could ever replace Mark's cookies. How could she know when she never tasted Mark's cookies?
Once a week I arrive to find the cookies on my desk. Each week they are a little better. Finally, after several weeks they are exactly like Mark's cookies. It is as if Mark were still baking them.
The next week when I arrive at work I am surprised to find, in place of the cookies, an empty paper plate. Everyone else has this same paper plate on their desk. On it is written: