The Crumb Vault

I squeezed back inside through the patio door and marched straight onto the kitchen counter where a heavy chrome toaster sat gleaming. Cash rules everything, but breakfast meddling rules the morning. Down along the base, I spotted a tiny metal lip and gave it an inquisitive yank. Schwick! A secret stainless crumb tray slid out like an underground vault, packed with golden sourdough flakes and charred sesame seeds. I set down my little white bucket, loaded it up with three giant, crunchy toast fragments, and gave the side plunger a sharp stomp for good measure. Clack-sproing! The internal coils shuddered, so I threw my head back and loosed a triumphant morning dove coo into the kitchen.