At Christopher's, our favorite breakfast haunt, we gaze ardently at glass encased decadence as we wait to be seated. Amply proportioned cinnamon and sticky buns wink 'come hither' as our wills tremble. I shyly smile at the iced chocolate cupcakes, my soulmates.
Then I spot them; ginger-folk in fancy frocks of color coordinated icing, jimmies,and chocolate chips with the cutest candy faces in matching colors; white dalmatian puppies dotted with chocolate chip spots, purple princesses, red-faced fellows with googly eyes and sun-kissed yellow daisies. The 7 year old child in me squeals with glee as I point them out to my friend. "Mary Lou, look at the little ginger-breads all dolled up! Oh, so sweet!" She replies "Oh, I must buy the purple one - my friend is celebrating her seventieth birthday soon, and she BREATHES purple!" She promptly purchases three cookies; purple for her friend, a white dalmatian, and a yellow smiley.
Our table now dressed, we are seated. We order our coffee - leaded, of course, then tame to taste with creamers and yellow packets of artificial sweetener.
But there's nothing artificial about our friendship.
Stirring steaming cups of coffee, we chat of children, husbands, clubs, friends, and church. We talk about books we've read and the movies we've seen. I listen with admiration as Mary Lou shares humorous anecdotes of hazards and heroics as a member of Winthrop's school committee and substance abuse council. We lighten each others' burdens; an empty nest for her, a struggling teen for me.
We reminisce with mock horror the day of our high school graduation when we wore matching empire waisted white "bridesmaid" gowns. This vision of 150 vestal virgins prompts gales of ringing laughter from us now. I recall the painted wooden banana hung on a cord like a talisman which Patty C. wore with her dress. I presume this was a statement fashioned from four years of yellow blouses which buttoned in the back, brown skirts with 2 front pleats worn an inch below the knee, (this was the seventies!) and the ugliest yellow, brown and white plaid vests this planet has ever seen. Brown knee socks and penny loafers completed the ensemble; which proves the proverb: "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger."
Generous portions are placed before us; 2 poached eggs sit atop disks of ham, crowned with hollandaise sauce and served in crispy potato skin beds. A shallow bowl of orange wedges and grapes balances on the plate's edge. Scrumptious "Banana Foster French Toast" teems with pecans and round medallions of pale yellow fruit swimming in caramelized buttery syrup.
Our plates bear evidence of total enjoyment.
Breakfast with Mary Lou - a buttery, cinnamon-raisin toasted slice of heaven.
Author notes
God, I love food. *sigh*
In a list
A contest entry
- hurry your arse up. by ZachP.
1000 points, ended November 12, 25 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 7 of 7
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You should be ashamed of yourself ...
writing like this. Now I"ll have nightmares all night about all those things just slightly beyond my reach, and no way to get to them.
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This made me smile
I recently started going out to lunch with my church on sunday afternoons (to give you an idea of my church; if all the winklings became southern baptists, that would be their home
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and reading through this made me hungry! drat. I haven't eaten since 6:30 this morning (it's half past 4 PM now).
But very well written, Joyce. I love this!
My best,
Zach
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every so often, I just have to indulge in a breakfast like that one, and those Dalmation puppy gingerbread cooks will be on my mind for a while.
There's nothing more fun than writing about food. Unless it's eating it.
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That was the CUTEST ONE! It had black spots on it's face and chocolate chips for dots in it's torso and extremities. I couldn't eat it. It was such a work of art.
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Outstanding alliteration and imagery in "ginger-folk in fancy frocks."
Interesting "our table [is] dressed"--not a phrase I am familiar with, but instantly understandable as the preparation with silverware, napkins and menus.
Delightfully expressed "coffee...tamed to taste."
Excellent transition, "but there's nothing artificial about our friendship."
Fabulous brunch date! Thanks for taking this reader along! *burp*
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Nourishment for the heart and soul exceeds that for the body!
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Though salt, sugar and fat raise dopamine levels, so does friendship and a kind word.
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