A Pizza Battles Sarah

His pace walking down the side of the road was as determined as ever. The rumbling in his stomach was equally set in a queasy dance.  As he got close, he could see Sarah sitting on what looked like an old church pew on the porch of the pizza place. Lynnhaven Pizza, lettered on an old metal sign, hung out from the eve of the pizza joint. The closer he got to her the more vivid his memory of their first encounter. This evening she was wearing another long skirt, sky blue with some type of lace.

            When he was three or four steps away, she jumped up from the pew, her smile as big as ever. “Al, Al,” she said, “I'm so glad to see you.”  To say the least, he was surprised at her excitement and smile. She ran the few feet and kissed him on the cheek. The smell of Lilacs filled his senses; every cell in his body was under her control. “This place has the best pizza in the world,” she told him.

  Inside they took a booth near the front window. Al, looking around like a reporter, took in all the setting. There was a single row of booths along both walls and a row of tables down the center. The counter at the end served as the place to order and pickup. . There was an old chrome soda fountain to the right of the counter. He thought, “Man, it’s been a long time since I sat at an old soda fountain.”

            Sarah, as excited as a child at Christmas said, “I’ll order the pizza, it’s my favorite and I know you will love it.” After she said that he thought, “I’d love it if it was cardboard and ketchup.” She seemed to spring from the booth and in a flash was at the counter ordering the pizza. At the counter she ordered two mugs of root beer from the soda fountain. She carried the mugs to the table and set them down. A moment later her upper lip escaped the mug covered in foam. Al snickered a bit as she said, “What, never seen a root beer mustache?”

When the pizza arrived it was smothered with fresh wild mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh shrimp, and three cheeses. In between bites, which he really enjoyed, he watched Sarah. She ate her pizza like she lived, unfettered and loving every moment.  When he laughed, she asked, “What’s so funny?” He chuckled as he said. “I swear it looks like the shrimp and mushrooms are trying to escape their trap.”