Ranch Dressing & a Couple of Extra Napkins

by James Babbs

sitting here alone
waiting for my food to arrive
I sip at my sweet tea
and watch the little boy and girl
in the booth across from me
arguing back and forth
fighting over the silverware
until the mom snatches it from them
and the dad glares
points his finger and says to them
no more
I look at my phone
checking the time
but I don’t have anywhere to go
checking to see
if I have any messages
when I know I don’t
but I look anyway
and the old man laughing
with the guy at the register
the old man nodding
as he heads for the door
and I hear the guy at the register
telling him to have a nice day
and when the waitress brings my food
she gives me some of her smile
asking me
if there’s anything else I need
and I tell her
maybe some ranch dressing
for my onion rings
and a couple of extra napkins
she says sure
and she’ll bring me another tea
I watch her walk away
knowing she’s probably too young
for me to think about her
but I do it anyway
biting into my burger
holding it over the plate
just in case anything falls out