Loneliness

"One chicken nugget happy meal with a diet coke please," the woman
said to the fresh-faced youngster with three gold stars on her badge
that told the world she was Mellissa.

"Boy or girl?" said three gold star Mellissa.

"Boy," replied the woman.

After a short wait watching Melissa construct her meal in a box the
woman paid and found a table for two in the corner to eat her meal. She
lifted her box from the tray and placed it to one side. Four chicken
nuggets, small fries and a toy all in a cardboard box with bright
colours and this month's fad printed on it. The woman opened the box
and removed her meal and plastic bagged toy. It was Betty Spaghetti,
the girls' toy and there was no little container of tomato sauce. She
went back to the counter clutching her Betty Spaghetti to her side and
joined the four deep queue. Slowly shuffling forward watching meals
being dispensed with speed and precision. At the counter she was now
standing before four star George, "he should know what he's doing," she
thought.

"I had a boys' meal but I got a girls' toy," she told him and offered
him the bagged Betty Spaghetti.

"Sorry about that madam," he said, taking the Betty Spaghetti from her,
"I'll change it for you."

After a moment he returned with a bagged boys' toy and handed it to
her. She took it and looked at it closely for a moment. "You don't have
the Action Man on the motorbike do you? My son already has this skiing
one you see."

Four star George took the Action man from her, "I'll just check for
you."

He was away longer this time. Not looking under the counter but out
through a side door where, she assumed, they kept supplies of happy
meal toys. When he returned he was smiling and carrying a bagged Action
Man and motorbike. He handed them to her and she thanked him, telling
him how pleased her son would be. The woman sat back down at her table
for two and realised that she had forgotten to ask for tomato
sauce.

The queue was longer now as it was nearing 12:15, the time when things
really began to get busy. She shuffled forward again. Reading the
posters advertising special burgers and jobs at ?5.00 and hour for the
hundredth time. At the counter she was served by Amy no stars.

"Could I have some sauce please," the woman asked.

"What sort would you like?" asked no star Amy, mechanically.

"Oh, well what sort do you have?"

"There's sweet and sour, tomato, curry and barbecue."

"Tomato please."

Amy no stars reached under the counter, pulled out two small tomato
sauce containers and handed them to the woman.

"Thank you, but I only wanted one," said the woman and offered one of
the sauces back.

"It's OK," replied no star Amy, "you can have them both."

"But I really only want one," said the woman still holding out the
sauce.

No star Amy took it and threw it back in the box under the counter. She
then looked over the woman's shoulder and said to the man standing
there, "Can I help you?"

The woman returned to her table for two and sat down. She picked up her
fries and put them back in the happy meal box, then her chicken
nuggets, her toy and finally the tomato sauce. She closed the box and
put it beside her diet coke on the tray.

On her way out she slid it all off the tray into the bin then neatly
placed the tray on top of the bin by the straw and napkin
dispenser.