I used to frequent the sandwich shop in my building nearly twice a week like clockwork. I always ordered “The Cyclist” on marble rye. The kind man behind the counter making my sandwich always greeted me with a smile as I picked out the slice of strawberry cake with the most icing. On my way out, I always grabbed a small stack of napkins along with a plastic fork and knife (the latter being necessities to keep the avocado from oozing out from between the slices of bread, with help from the Thousand Island dressing).
I still remember the clicking sound my black pointy high heels made against the beige tile as I ventured back to my office, with my Cyclist on marble rye and strawberry cake in tow.
Over the years, my visits to the sandwich shop dwindled…and eventually stopped. As walking became more difficult, it became easier to use my wallet or waistline as an excuse not to venture out for lunch.
Until today.
Today, I was in need of a quick bite, and a sandwich seemed easy. It had been several years since I had “The Cyclist on marble rye,” and I was looking forward to visiting my old stomping ground with help from Big Red.
Yet everything about today’s visit reminded me that things had changed…and it wasn’t just because I opted out of the strawberry cake.
Today, the sound of my heels clicking against the beige tile was replaced by the clicking sound made by my scooter with each spin of the wheels (a rather annoying sound resulting from an encounter with a sidewalk months earlier).
Today, the kind man behind the counter greeted me with a smile, but then asked, “What happened to you? The last time I saw you, you were walking. Well, you’ll get better.”
Today, I forgot to grab a fork, knife and stack of napkins, because tears began to form in my eyes. This was neither the time nor the place to engage in a conversation about my health, much less with “the guy behind the counter.”
Oh no, the avocado is going to ooze out now.
Today, I didn’t bother checking to see that my sandwich was mistakenly on a wheat bun, and not actually on marble rye, because I wanted to get the hell out of the sandwich shop.
Today, it hit me like a ton of bricks…things were different.
plugging along 