My Neighbors

They sat out on the patio together, a rare early morning sight. They sat in silence, hunched over their plates with characteristic single-minded concentration, chewing with dull satisfaction. They exchanged condiments more than words, and yet there was a bond between them, all the same. An aging couple, enjoying a rare cool summer morning together. Their son, perhaps five years my senior, still lives at home; his father works an overnight shift for a shipping company and the mother’s at the mercy of Walmart’s exploitative hours. Their drive to make money seemed matched only by the size of their cars, not to mention their mission to deforest their yard and disfigure the landscape. And yet, this moment of tenderness, in a morning that was unusually still… almost poetic.

Then the man lifted the bag that had held their breakfast, and the glaring red and yellow McDonald’s logo shattered the moment.