Sneakers

Chapter 10 - eat at joe's- part 1

"Claire! So go to see you, sug'!" Betsy cheered as the little bell above the Eat at Joe's door echoed between the closely-knit seats. The diner-clad Texan physique hustled out to give her a warm, inviting hug as her large beau, Joe, peered out from the window & smiled at her.

"Good to see you again, darlin'," he said, waving a ladle around before dunking it back into a big pot of chili & placing a bowl in the window.

"Hey, guys," Claire breathed, rubbing her belly to try & simmer down the monotonous pain.

"Well what'll you have, sug'? You look like you're 'bout ready to keel over!"

"I practically am, Betsy- I don't know what came over me today, but I've been hurtin' somethin' fierce & knew I had to see you." Betsy brought out the 'country twang' in her, so every chance she got to put an extra 'hitch' in her 'giddyup', Betsy could.

"Well aren't you the sweetest thing- Joe? Better fire up Mabel for the Alamo!" What a language- Mabel was their prized flattop griddle, oven, & deep fryer all in one bronco-sized machine- a true sight to see that Joe was only ecstatic to get started working every day.

As for the Alamo... that was Betsy's Blue Plate Special, also known to other diners as 'the works'- full breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, country fried steak, biscuits & gravy, stuffed hash browns, pancakes & french toast, sticky buns, pie & coffee. She scuttled Claire to the booth closest the kitchen door & brought out the dessert menu, 'just in case something tickles your fancy,' she often suggested. As Joe worked his magic with Mabel, Betsy brought out a bowl of their Texas-red chili, loaded with cheese, green onions, sour cream & scratch-made bacon bits. Claire crumbled in one of those little 2-cracker packets soup always came with before her spoon dug deep & lingered in her mouth- moaning over the meaty bite so as not to shock her system when the trench of food showed up later. It only took her 5 minutes to get through the bowl- every so often the metal of her spoon clinking upon the edge of her ceramic bowl- but she could've sworn it was an eternity before Betsy came back with a 'complimentary' shake, talking about how she wanted to 'try some new flavors this year', giving a wink before taking the empty dishes into the back.

She took the straw out of the metal 'glass' & took a big gulp- what an explosion of flavors! Chocolate hazelnut spread, peanut-butter cups, oreos, bananas, strawberries, marshmallow fluff, French vanilla, coffee, toasted coconut & protein powder swirled around her mouth in little chunks & pieces, the whipped cream, chocolate & caramel sauces giving her the sweetest mustache above her puckered lips. Claire could only giggle as she practically chugged down half the concoction, stopping every so often to keep from getting an ice cream headache, absentmindedly rubbing her growing gut before the doors to the kitchen flung open.