My husband and college boy were off taking care of car stuff, enjoying some father-son time. (And if you read yesterday's post--hubby did find toilet paper for the boy, enough to last him several weeks. Whew!) I Sliced and read posts, exercised a little, listened to the maids chatter in Spanish as they cleaned the bathroom and made the bed.
I was going a bit stir-crazy, so I showered and dressed and walked over to Braum's, just across the parking lot and down a small berm, avoiding the doggie doo in the damp grass. I ordered a grilled chicken salad, small fries and a large tea, gave back the cottage cheese that came with the salad (?), and sat down to eat and people watch.
Gray-haired couples were coming in, shuffling up to the counter to order and slowly making their way to a booth. Families filled up booths with wiggly children and blank-faced teenagers. Two older gentleman were having a conversation over their lunch. The man facing me had scraggly long hair and a near-beard, talking loudly about his checking account. Two middle-aged men stood near the automatic sliding doors, eating their ice cream cones and conversing quietly. I wondered why they chose to stand there rather than sit in a booth.
Every once in awhile, some of these people would glance at me. Questions arose as I shoveled salad into my mouth, eating too fast as I am wont to do. Was it the way I was eating? Eating alone? The way I looked? I went to the bathroom to wash up when I was done, and caught a glimpse of my purple-tinted hair in the mirror. Is that why they were looking at me?
Maybe they were just watching me as I was watching them. Shaking off the looks, I lined up to get two scoops of cappuccino chocolate chunk ice cream in a cup to take back to the hotel. I can't visit Braum's without getting ice cream; it's what they do best.
Eating alone in a restaurant has to be one of the hardest things to do. Maybe it’s because most of ya do it so rarely. It’s not like sitting in a coffee shop w/ a book or laptop open, so I’m wondering why the difference? Of course you can’t go to Braun’s w/ out getting ice cream. That would be wrong on so many levels.
ReplyDeleteI usually don't mind if I have a book to read...but the weather was yucky, and I didn't feel like carrying a book across the parking lot. And the ice cream was wonderful!
DeleteThank heaven for the boy's TP!! Talk about moving forward ... I think these times are so weird that it's making people weirder than normal. As always your descriptions are so vivid - I am with you in the scene, wondering what you wonder, eating salad too fast, and getting uncomfortable with the glances. Aaahhh, does that ice cream ever sound AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteThe ice cream is sooo good, Fran. We don't have Braum's in central Texas, so we have to enjoy it while we visit our college boy. And yes, a huge sigh of relief was issued when hubby called to let me know he had found TP. The world is definitely weirder--good adjective for these times.
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