Before Everything

"Water, no lemon."

"Sweet tea, lemon."

"Do you have Mountain Dew?"

"Do your ribs normally have this much fat?"

"Can I get shredded crab meat on my steak?"

"The bun is soggy from the pulled pork, can I have a new one?"

"I want every kind of sauce you have, bring it all."

"More water."

"More tea."

"More sour cream, please"

I turn the pages of my book as the servers circle like vultures.

"Another car just pulled in!"

"Do you want that table?"

"I'll take it if you don't want it."

"I mean, they don't look like good tippers anyway."

I swing off of the barstool, push it in, make another round.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Did you guys save room for dessert?"

"Will this be all together tonight?"

I flip through a sudoku book and start filling in boxes.

"Adrienne, who was the greek god of war?"

"Five letters."

"Ends in -s-."

I watch a family of four walking towards their table, following the peppy hostess like lost children. Not in my section.

"Aries"

I start to doodle on the side of the sudoku puzzle. Flowers and circles are exploding from the perfectly symmetrical boxes.

Frame of Reference