SHORT AND SWEET

I wrote the following short observation five years ago.  Still true today.

HUNGER

            The diner was full, every booth occupied.  There were the down and out, who could only afford the all-day breakfast with free coffee.  There were golden agers and seniors out for their weekend brunch.  There were young couples and families getting fortified for Sunday shopping.  There were also the mentally ill; one lady waving to imaginary friends, and one man in earnest conversation with a voice in his head.  The aroma of bacon and fresh coffee evoked our longing for sustenance.

            Middle aged waitresses ran incessantly from tables to kitchen to till.  People lined up to come in, and then lined up to pay when they left.

            We sat at one booth by the window, he and I.  We sat across from each other, the table between us, not like when we first met.  Then we always sat next to each other, touching, even at a booth.  Now we sat separately, lost in our own individual thoughts.

            Gazing around, my mind rambled to the chores waiting at home, then to the list in my purse of needed groceries, and eventually to pending surgery three weeks hence.  Thinking of the surgery, and my surgeon, and the confidence I felt that the outcome would be successful, I smiled.

            The man across the table perked up and his sharp blue eyes locked on mine.  “What?  What were you thinking?  Why are you smiling?”

            After twenty years, we still hunger for each other’s smile. 

_______________________

By Lisa A. Hatton