The king with his cake and new baby, who is now displayed on the top ledge of Darrin’s cubicle.

The Residential Operations team celebrated Fat Tuesday early yesterday, with a treat from their National MI rep: a “king cake.” In keeping with Mardi Gras tradition, a king cake has a tiny plastic baby doll baked into it. Whoever receives the slice with the baby is named “king” for the day.

An example of a king cake.

Residential loan specialist Darrin Sowinski was anointed the lucky monarch for Wednesday’s celebration.

“At first, when this weird-looking cake was brought out, my thought was to avoid it,” Darrin joked. “But once the backstory was provided by (residential loan processing manager) Cindy Nell, I thought, Hmm, might as well have some fun and see if I can be a king today! I was wearing a purple shirt, which perfectly aligned with Mardi Gras colors, so I went right for the smallest purple piece. Lo and behold, the baby’s leg was sticking out of the piece that I cut. It was a pleasant surprise, and I’m ready to try and win again next year!”