A Scene

“Lord, gimmie the strength to raise these kids right and not cause a scene in this place. Oh, Lord. Please”

The woman in front of me in line at Ray’s Tacos mutters this while her 2 kids make a mess of the self-serve soda machine.

“Bradley! Kyle! Knock it off!” she yells.

The boys deliver a well rehearsed “sorry, Mama!” in unison. An older man, probably in his 70s, exits from the restroom and joins the woman in line.

“O.k. Tell the man what you want, Dad” she instructs.

“Chicken burrito. Diet coke”

“What size diet coke, sir?” the boy behind the counter asks. The older man is already shuffling away though, towards the boys in the corner.

“Small”, the woman answers for her Father. “Please”

The man picks up one of the boys and smiles at him. The boy laughs while his Brother is busy making the ultimate graveyard at the soda fountain. Just as he is about to add some Lipton Diet Raspberry Ice-T to the sugary mix, his Grandfather steps in gently.

“Now, now. I don’t think you’re going to like that one in there, Kyle”. Kyle takes a gulp from his current concoction and decides it’s good enough as is.

“Boys. Dad. You guys want to pick out a table for us?” the woman asks while putting away her change and collecting her Father’s small soda cup. “You want ice, Dad?”

“Yes”

The boy behind the counter is young. He is a small Japanese teenager with thick glasses and a crew cut. He looks nervous about everything.

The woman prepares her Father’s diet coke while the boys and him laugh together in a nearby booth.