The Nice Thing About Strangers
Creative Non-Fiction Short Stories. :) Travel, Oldsters, Love, and Compassion.
An Apple A Day
She’s been silently enjoying her lunch. Though she’s consuming soup she blows quietly to cool it, like whispering over a sleeping child, and she eats from a breadbowl, which makes no sound as she sets her spoon upon the side. She drinks an iced tea without ice, so nothing clinks against the cup. She suppresses a sneeze. She turns pages in the newspaper like Mr. Miyagi.
It’s the first bite of her apple that makes a few of her neighbors look in her direction. The apple crunch happens during a lull in the calming cafe music. The apple crunch seems to echo. Once the picture of peace, now the woman resembles her Red Delicious. She’s so embarrassed to have caused a produce ruckus that she sets the apple down, pushes it away. She waits for the silence to return, the music to return, then she lifts the apple and tries again. She takes timid bites and somehow feels they aren’t quiet enough, as far as her nervous reactions go. She slices the apple into smaller pieces, but there’s still the chewing that must seem to her like a monster truck rally in her mouth. She gathers her things and waits to finish the apple until she heads to her car, until the engines in the parking lot let her munch without notice.
–Missouri
It’s in Kansas.
The Nice Thing About Strangers 
Great observation, as ever….
🙂 Sue, I was so excited to see her with that apple. I’ve been waiting months to use the Garden of Eden pic! Hehe.
Thank you, Sue–
Paige
Fab! And why is the Garden of Eden sign where it is – where you took that photo?
The sign is directing one toward The Garden of Eden in Lukas, Kansas. It’s a pretty amazing little set of sculptures in a random Kansas town. Sue, you might really like it. http://www.garden-of-eden-lucas-kansas.com/
Paige
I’ll need to look at it on the iMac, the gallery won’t load on a tablet…but it sounds like my kind of place! Interesting 🙂
Definitely up your alley, Sue. Maybe I’ll get you to road trip in Kansas! 😀
🙂
fab story
“that must seem to her like a monster truck rally in her mouth” — a simile that makes me smile!
Not that I’ve ever been… 🙂
Reblogged this on The Nice Thing About Strangers and commented:
Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Paige
Very vivid 🙂 Lovely writing. 🙂
:)) Monster trucks, yes! You go Paige. I cherish your book each day! Have you traveled to Germany? (Special place in my heart for Germany since I study the language). TAMCON so soon. I plan to give you a great big hug and get my book autographed.
Keith, I can’t wait to get there either. I have missed a lot of shows with my schedule lately. Please don’t let me miss out on the announcements about the when and where! 🙂
Paige
Lovely story! The imagery and self-conscious observation make for a very relatable piece.
Thank you! I am also trying to eat an apple a day, but alone somewhere. 🙂
Paige