"Abrupt" and when it is too late

So I started reading this and realized that I had already read this story - but I couldn't remember what happened. I did remember, however, that I ended up feeling sympathetic for the baker. As I read the first portion of the text in the bakery I thought about how many casual encounters we have with people each day and how, very often, they are meaningless to us. Is this contact meaningless to the other party? I think that we often assume it is, but perhaps we are mistaken. It appeared to Ann that the baker was looking to move her along and get back to work; he made it clear he did not want to engage in a conversation with her. As Ann thought about who he was or what he did in his life it seemed like she felt as though she was superior to this man. She considers if "he'd ever done anything else with his life besides be a baker" (377). Immediately following that thought she thinks of all she has done in her life.

I was intrigued by the baker throughout my reading, probably because I knew he played a more important role later in the story. Because of this I found myself juxtaposing the baker to every other character in the story. Ann used the word "abrupt" to describe the baker's dismissal of her. That description was constant in many of the characters in the text, especially those that were male. The man who hit Scotty was abrupt in his decision to leave the scene of the accident. He seemed like he had so many other things to do that he couldn't be bothered with this child, even though his actions were life-altering - actually like ending. Dr. Francis was continually short and dismissive with Ann and Howard. Perhaps if he had paid closer attention to Scotty they would have been able to see the real situation.

Because this is how I was thinking I kept finding similarities and differences between these two characters. The baker had "coarse features" while Dr. Francis was described as "handsome." The baker was listening to country music; Dr. Francis looked like "he had just come from a concert." They were anxiously waiting for Dr. Francis' diagnosis and opinion, but the baker was so unmemorable that he wasn't recognized until after days of contact. The baker was known as "the baker," while Dr. Francis was immediately given a name. Ultimately, however, Dr. Francis was more dismissive and escorted the grieving parents to the hospital's exit so that he could get back to work. The baker stopped doing his work, was sorrowful and brutally honest. He gave all that he could give to Ann and Howard: compassion and cinnamon buns. "A Small, Good Thing."

What do you think about the "Negro family" in the waiting room? That entire scene was one I had a hard time wrapping my mind around. It seemed a bit out of place for me, but I feel like I am on the verge of having some great epiphany. Maybe someone can point me in the right direction!