DEAR MISS MANNERS: I work in a fire station amongst people who, 99 percent of the time, could care less about any form of etiquette.

Due to the public’s appreciation of our services and lots of birthdays and social events, the station is a dumping ground for cake. We get at least two a week.

I know that for some reason, everyone else on the planet cuts cake working from the outside toward the inside or center. Where is the rule that states, “Thou shalt begin to consume cake from the outside edge and progressively whittle closer to the interior”?

Every time that we receive a new cake, I always try to be the first person to take a sample. I never cut out squares or pie shapes; I always carve out an oblong shape and always in the MIDDLE of the cake, thus leaving the outer perimeter intact.

Whenever I do this, my co-workers always seem perturbed and act as if the cake is ruined. Without fail, these whining hypocrites will wind up completely consuming the cake.

What’s wrong with them, or what am I missing here?! Mind you, I’m not talking about a thousand-dollar multi-tiered wedding cake. To the contrary, I’m talking about a $15 cheapo from the local grocery store, or something homemade from a person who dropped it off and will not be sharing it with us.

With all of that said, what the hell difference does it make where the chunk of cake came from?

I can’t think of any other food dish where an item is expected to be cut out in a certain way. What makes cake so special? I’m retiring in a year and would love to set this conflict to rest before I go.

GENTLE READER: How on earth do you cut a piece from the middle while keeping the rest intact? And why would you want to?

Is it really worth the effort this must take -- not to mention the resulting frosting on your sleeves -- just to prove a weirdly specific and irksome point to your co-workers? Or more likely, to play a hoax on Miss Manners?

Your co-workers are likely challenging your technique because it is leaving them with a thoroughly touched and mangled cake in your wake. In hopes of your properly enjoying your retirement, however, Miss Manners suggests that you cut a large piece of cake for yourself, big enough for you to create whatever fun shapes you want in it afterwards. Then, please, just leave the rest of it alone.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am wondering if it is considered polite to leave a spray can of air freshener in the guest bathroom to be used at the guest’s discretion. If so, where should the can be placed?

I’ve tried placing it on the floor near the toilet, but guests don’t seem to take the hint. What does Miss Manners suggest?

GENTLE READER: That you get better-smelling guests.

Leaving air freshener in an attractive container in plain sight is all that you can reasonably do. If the results are not to your satisfaction, Miss Manners suggests that you discreetly follow up after your guests have left.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My public, stated reason for leaving my job is that, in addition to an upcoming maternity leave, I will need some time to work on my professional qualifications, including improving my grasp of the local language and dedicating the time and effort necessary to advance.

However, I am also leaving to get away from my boss. His expectations are inconsistent and unclear; he did nothing to improve my working conditions, and his attitude is bad more often than not. Despite this, I expect to receive a good letter of recommendation from him, since I have been a dedicated employee for many years and am sticking to my story about leaving for my own development in all public and professional contexts.

I am working closely with the person hired to replace me. We are sharing an office and will spend almost every workday together until I leave. She has begun picking up on some of the dysfunction in our department and asks pressing questions about it, expressing her frustration with the way things are run.

How diplomatic and/or cautious should I be in addressing her concerns, describing what it has been like working with my boss, etc.? On one hand, I know that it is highly inadvisable and/or rude to bad-mouth one’s boss. On the other hand, we are working together intensively, these are issues she has noticed on her own, and I feel that being too cagey would come off as ridiculous obfuscation.

In addition, there is the real possibility that if she senses I am hiding something but does not know exactly what, she will spin the situation into something even more serious, and perhaps choose not to stay with the company.

Is there a polite way to walk the line between discretion and honesty in this situation?

GENTLE READER: Not, Miss Manners suggests, until the letter of recommendation has been safely written.

Miss Manners is not crass enough to imply that this is the only reason that you should not bad-mouth this gentleman unsolicited, only that it is an added incentive.

Your best course of action would be to continue to allow your colleague to draw her own conclusions. If she finds your boss challenging, you may delicately concur or offer solutions that have previously worked for you. If it gets to the point where she asks you directly whether or not he is truly awful, however, you should demur, telling her to talk directly to him or other current co-workers.

This is not only good form, but highly practical. Those who are staying on have likely found better ways of managing this difficult boss.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A friend of mind sometimes has involuntary flatulence. I wonder what is the proper way to deal with this in public.

GENTLE READER: What did you have in mind? “Whoa! That was a good one”? Miss Manners suggests that you ignore it, vehemently resisting the urge to laugh or look disgusted. She will further refrain from pointing out that you probably already knew that.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A classmate of mine bought me $200 shoes. I simply cannot accept such a large gift. I have told him this repeatedly, but he brushes me off. He comes from a wealthier family than mine, but this is such a large gift.

Is it appropriate for me to continue refusing the gift, or should I accept it and offer my profuse thanks?

GENTLE READER: It is the too-profuse thanks that you are, rightly, trying to avoid. Money confers many advantages, but one of them is not forcing gratitude on an unwilling beneficiary. A present of unusual value implies a more-than-usual debt to be repaid and its motives are, therefore, suspect. This is why young ladies used to be indignant when rejecting such gifts.

While Miss Manners recognizes that the classmate may not have ulterior motives, it is time for him to learn that this kind of casualness about his inheritance is not charming. If you cannot muster indignation when you press your rejection, then an insulted (though not insulting) tone will do.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Whether in person or on the phone, who is ruder: the person doing all the talking, or the person who interrupts to get a word in edgewise?

I am guilty of both, but mostly I let the other person do the talking. It makes for a very one-sided conversation. Not to mention a frustrating one. What should one do?

GENTLE READER: Comparing degrees of rudeness is to be avoided, as that is an invitation to further rudeness of the, “Yeah, but you were ruder” variety.

But if the other person does not stop for breath, how should you get a word in?

There is an art to sliding into tight conversational spaces: breaking in at the first appearance of punctuation, speaking quickly and distinctly, and making your interjection relevant and responsive. As for the infraction of drowning out others, Miss Manners’ reminder is simple: Don’t.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: A high school chum of mine recently began baking and selling delicious treats out of her home. Her business is really taking off, and my husband and I often purchase her amazing creations for parties or special occasions. She lives very close by, and though I offer to come pick up my orders, she always delivers.

Should I tip or not? On the one hand, I have been taught always to tip delivery drivers, but on the other, I have also been told that tipping the owner of a business is considered insulting and not necessary.

As she is both owner and delivery driver of her business, I neither want to offend her nor cheat her out of a well-deserved gratuity.

GENTLE READER: Gratuities, a system against which Miss Manners has railed for years, are given to delivery drivers more on the assumption that they are too-often underpaid for their work than for the nature of that work. If the former is true of the owner, then the solution is not more gratuities, but ordering more treats. While many owners these days mistakenly feel that they, too, should be tipped, none should object to increased sales.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)