Cucumber 5 ways
Our love made all other love
seem pallid and weak. We felt sorry for
the couples not nearly as in love as us.
‘Let’s never be boring in our love’ she said as we drew hearts on the
table with the sugar jar. ‘Never,’ I
said with stars in my eyes; constellations only she could read. ‘That waitress is so jealous of our
love. Right?’ she asked after the
waitress wiped up the table for the second time and asked if we were ready to
order. ‘Poor thing probably has an ordinary
love,’ I replied. ‘Like that couple over
there, look at him, he’s reading the paper and she’s reading a paperback
book. How sad, they aren’t even speaking
to each other.’ The woman with the book
blew steam from her mug and took a sip while the man kept on reading the
paper.
‘Let’s just order a couple of
things and share,’ she suggested.
‘That’s how I love to eat,’ I said, ‘I just like to share.’ Our almond milk chai’s arrived at the table
and the waitress asked again if we were ready to order. ‘Oh we haven’t even looked at the menu,’ she
said. To busy looking at each other, I thought.
‘Okay I’ll give you two a minute,’ the waitress smelled of a just smoked
cigarette.
Finally we broke gaze for
long enough to peruse the menu. It was a
bountiful menu filled with mouthwatering treats like deep fried rhubarb pie,
chicken fried, double stuffed, marshmallow wings, three layered peanut butter,
banana and miracle whip sandwiches with a side of strawberry au jus and a full bowl
of noodles and sauce. ‘Well my truest
love, what looks good?,’ she asked. I
slowly looked up from the menu, ‘what do you have in mind my love?’ I
asked. ‘I’m not eating salt, or sauce,
or breaded and fried things, so I don’t know.
What looks good to you?’ My
stomach turned with hunger as I looked at the Hungrydillo section of the menu loaded with items that would make
me fat and happy.
I turned the menu over
to the side she was looking at. A light affair. A
chill ran through the restaurant. A
child was coughing. I heard the clink of
plates and silverware. The stench of the
waitress’s cigarette hung in my nostrils. I read on: Cucumber 5 ways, Button
Mushroom Stock Soup, a Sprouted Seedwich, Ice Cold Gazpacho.
My brow furrowed. ‘What’s wrong my sweetest?’ she asked, her
words like apricot jelly. I looked at
her, truly looked at her, maybe for the first time. Who is
this woman? I asked myself. The man reading the paper was sharing an
article he had read, the woman laughed.
My love sat staring at me. The
restaurant swirled as I tried to justify a life of compromise. Slowly I arose. Grabbed the keys and walked out the
door.
I was doing well over 75 mph in a
residential area when the officer pulled me over. ‘Do you have any idea why I pulled you over,’
she asked.
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