Lying
on a piece of cardboard box on the sidewalk against the wall of Rosie's
diner, I rise up at mid-day in the scorching heat of the
sun. It is directly overhead. My head feels heavy and I am tired
as usual. I haven't eaten all week and I don't have any more glue.
As I stretch and sit up against the wall of the diner, wondering
where my next meal will come from, I see a couple crossing the
street opposite me. "Maybe this is my lucky day," I
think to myself. The couple comes over to the restaurant and stand
outside of the diner. They look over the menu in the front window.
I can overhear them talking.
"I'm
so hungry; I can eat anything right now" says the man.
"Let's eat here, then," says the woman. "This will
do."
As
they open the door, A blast of cold conditioned air gushes out.
"Mmm. That feels good. What a relief from the heat,"
the woman says. They are greeted with a resounding " Welcome
to Rosie's Sir, Ma'am!"
They
walk through the brightly lit restaurant with huge glass windows
and take a window seat. Once seated, the waitress comes over with
a gleaming smile on her face and gives them each menu. They
carefully look over it and order: two Rosie Big Burgers, two plates
of French fries, two large Cokes and two solid slices of Rosie's
Homemade Apple Pie with whipped cream topping. The waitress jots
it all down with a smile and asks if there will be anything else.
"How
long will it take? asks the man.
"About fifteen minutes, sir" says the waitress.
"Can you make it faster? I'm starving," says the man as
he rubs his big belly.
"I'll see what I can do sir," she replies.
After
a small chat, the food arrives. "God," I say absently to
myself, watching the waitress place the full tray of food down on
the table. I can smell it through the window. The couple smiles graciously
and starts in on the hamburgers. They eat greedily. I
watch longingly through the glass divide like a hungry dog
salivating, waiting anxiously to be fed. I can't wait it any
longer. The hunger pains in my stomach induce me to scratch at the
restaurant window with my dirty scarred hand covered with scabies.
I get their attention. They look briefly up at me with
mouths full and continue as if I was not there. I tap at the
window again. This time they took full notice of me. I do a
Hollywood, put on my sad puppy dog eyes and bring my mouth to
indicate that I want food. The man snatches his gaze away from me.
With his mouth full of burger and fries, he raises his arm to
signal to the waitress standing ready at her station. She sees the
man and comes over to the couple's table. The man wipes his mouth
with his napkin and says something to her. The waitress raises her
eyes to look at me, then she turns on her heels and heads out of
the door.
It
is scorching hot outside. The waitress looks irritated as she
walks towards me. She is shielding her face from the sun as she
tells me not to disturb the customers while they are eating. I
pretend to go away, but as soon as she goes back into the
restaurant, I return to my place window at the window.
When
I came back, the couple is done eating. I watch the man as he
leans back in his chair and lights up a cigarette, belly
protruding over his belt. He is contented. His hunger has been
satisfied. after a couple of puffs, he signals to the waitress,
who is waiting patiently at her station. Like a remote controlled
car, she goes over to the table and deftly places the plates half-
eaten sandwiches, French fries and apple pie onto her tray. She
leaves the table as she goes out to the kitchen. Later she returns
with a bag and the check. The an pays the check and generously
tips the waitress. She thanks the couple and they get up to leave.
"Thank
you Sir, Ma'am. Come again soon," she says automatically as
the couple leaves the diner.
Like
a dog waiting patiently for his master to finish eating, I jump up
excitedly and run to intercept the couple at the door of the
restaurant. I can feel the cool rush of air gushing out on the
streets. My tongue is wet with anticipation of eating. I give to
the couple as they leave the restaurant and follow them half way
down the street, tasting the food as I smell of the burgers escape
from the bag drawing me by my nose. Gently i tug at the man's
shirt like a playful puppy and put my hand to my mouth indicating
I'm hungry. Skipping and trotting along side of them, I try to
keep with their pace. Abruptly, the man stops, looks down at me
and tells me the bag of food is for his dog.
Looking
like a confused puppy, I stand motionless in the meddle of the
sidewalk, My head is tilted to the side, one ear up and the other
down as I watch the couple walk off the bag of half eaten burgers,
French fries, and apple pie for their dog. I watch them disappear into a crowd of people. The faint smell of the food unleashes my
nose and disappear.
I
turn to walk back to the restaurant and spy a garbage can. Like a
hungry dog, I tilt it over and scrounge through it. I sniff out a
few scraps of half eaten food and eat heartily.
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