The Angel of Mercy
My brother and I were sitting at The Cedar Lane Grill ready to sink our teeth into delicious bacon cheeseburgers, French fries and milkshakes.
It was a sunny, crisp day and we had the diner to ourselves.
A couple walked in. Laurel and Hardy from the looks of it. The man, five feet nothing was puny and spare looking. He sat down at a table near us and when the waiter approached to ask him what he wanted, he answered “well, I just had lunch, so tea and a jello.” The lady was twice his size both in girth and height. She told the waiter that she too had just eaten her lunch but that she wanted a hot fudge sundae.
The waiter placed our orders on the table.
My brother took one look at this ten ton tessie and turned to face me. I was about to bite into the burger. With a stern look on his face, he said to me, “Seby, God has sent this angel of mercy as a warning sign to you.” A stricken look spread across my features. The burger glistened with the bacon and cheese and the fries beckoned me to take a bite. I looked at my brother poker-faced and then bleakly at the lady. My brother continued, “…if you are not careful, you will end up looking like her very soon.”
I swallowed with difficulty. Here I was about to dive into what was a heavenly lunch and now I couldn’t even take one bite. I put it down. My appetite vanished and I looked forlornly at the lady who was eating her sundae with gusto, her thin husband, my brother and the food on the table.
I did finally eat it but without the joy I normally reserved for such pleasures.
The “angel of mercy” has often visited me in various guises throughout these years. On my own, I move on ignoring her presence. With my brother around, that is highly unlikely as he never fails to point out the sins of over indulging. Reader, is he lean? Far from it.
It was a sunny, crisp day and we had the diner to ourselves.
A couple walked in. Laurel and Hardy from the looks of it. The man, five feet nothing was puny and spare looking. He sat down at a table near us and when the waiter approached to ask him what he wanted, he answered “well, I just had lunch, so tea and a jello.” The lady was twice his size both in girth and height. She told the waiter that she too had just eaten her lunch but that she wanted a hot fudge sundae.
The waiter placed our orders on the table.
My brother took one look at this ten ton tessie and turned to face me. I was about to bite into the burger. With a stern look on his face, he said to me, “Seby, God has sent this angel of mercy as a warning sign to you.” A stricken look spread across my features. The burger glistened with the bacon and cheese and the fries beckoned me to take a bite. I looked at my brother poker-faced and then bleakly at the lady. My brother continued, “…if you are not careful, you will end up looking like her very soon.”
I swallowed with difficulty. Here I was about to dive into what was a heavenly lunch and now I couldn’t even take one bite. I put it down. My appetite vanished and I looked forlornly at the lady who was eating her sundae with gusto, her thin husband, my brother and the food on the table.
I did finally eat it but without the joy I normally reserved for such pleasures.
The “angel of mercy” has often visited me in various guises throughout these years. On my own, I move on ignoring her presence. With my brother around, that is highly unlikely as he never fails to point out the sins of over indulging. Reader, is he lean? Far from it.
posted by Acadeka and that rum cake @ 6:47 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home