Chapter 8: Lunch

We were ready to leave when the minister came over and cornered us. He remembered our names even though it had been almost four years since we'd attended church.

He took Mom's hand in his. "I was sorry to hear about Wesley. Is he still in intensive care?"

"No, he's actually home."

"Oh, my. I heard he was in a coma."

"He's still in a coma but his doctor thought he could sleep just as well in his own bed as in the hospital. He has a volunteer who comes over a couple of times a day to help him and the doctor stops by frequently."

"I should make some time to stop by and see him."

"I would be happy to see you Reverend, but I'm afraid Wesley won't know you're there."

"The Lord works in mysterious ways, my dear Mrs. Bond. I'll give you a call in the next or two and arrange a time I can stop by."

"That will be fine."

"So, are you thinking about visiting us regularly?"

"Not really. Leslie and I thought it would be a good idea to come by today."

"Ah, yes. It's always a comfort to come to church in times of turmoil. Perhaps your husband can come with you next week."

"I don't think that will happen. My husband and I are going through a divorce. He doesn't live with us any longer."

"Oh, my. What about you, Leslie? Have you thought about coming back regularly?"

"No, sir. I asked Mom if I could come today but I did what I came here to do."

"Well, I want you to promise me you'll think about it."

"I'll think about it but don't get your hopes up."

"Just take a good hard look and ask the Lord for guidance."

We got in the car and drove out of the parking lot. Mom patted me on the thigh. "That's why I hesitate about going to church in the first place. If I could come and go as I please without constantly being asked to come every week, I'd spend a lot more Sundays here. How would you like to stop and get something to eat?"

"What? You mean go somewhere and eat there?"

"Sure. Let's splurge. Any ideas?"

This was quite a question. Going out to eat was not something we did every day. In fact, we didn't do it every month. Dad usually took us all out to a restaurant on Mother's Day. Grandma and Grandpa always wanted us to go out to dinner with them a couple of times when they came out on vacation. Mom usually talked them out of the second time, telling them not to waste their money. I know Dad took some people out to dinner once in a while for his work. And recently Wes had told me that he used some of his lawn money once in a while to get a snack at a new restaurant.

"Well, Wes was talking about a new restaurant in the Safeway shopping center. They serve Mexican food. He said it's mostly food to go but they have a few tables."

"OK. Well give it a try. Can your stomach handle it?"

"I'm sure I can. We'll just talk to the guy and get something that's not spicy."

We drove in the center near Safeway and started looking. I saw a sign that said La Bodega. "I think that's it."

We went in and they had a menu on the wall with pictures of big plates full of food. Rice, beans, main dishes with sauce covering them. I didn't know if I'd be able to eat a full serving for dinner. Then I saw a list of things headed A La Carte. I asked him what the various things were. I'd heard of tacos and enchiladas. The burrito sounded good. He asked me if I was real hungry and I told him I was. Mom ordered some rolled tacos with some kind of avocado sauce on them.

Mom's came and I could see she was disappointed. There were five things with a cup of green sauce, something like a dip you would use with Fritos or potato chips. The rolled tacos were like hand rolled cigarettes. Think of meat instead of tobacco. The paper you roll it in is a corn tortilla. I don't know how they do it but they grind up corn somehow and make these flat round things you can put food in. Almost the size of the lid you take off when you open a big can of coffee. Anyway, they roll the meat inside the tortilla, then fry it a bit so the tortilla gets crispy and stays rolled up. Mom got five of them and they were smaller than she thought they would be. I put my finger in the green dip and tasted it. Different, but pretty good.

Well, my burrito was ready. I couldn't believe it. The thing was huge. It was like a big version of Mom's rolled tacos but with different stuff. My tortilla was made with flour instead of corn. It was softer and a lot bigger around. Inside I had some shredded beef, some Mexican beans (which are real good - nothing like pork and beans) and a lot of cheese. Anyway, it was almost a foot long, maybe 10". And the thing was probably three inches wide and two and a half inches tall. I walked over to the table holding my plate. "Mom, I don't think I can handle this." I held it out to her. She took one look and we both started laughing.

I went over to the counter and got a fork and a knife. I also got a small cup and put some of the mild sauce in it. They had six or seven kinds from mild to extra hot. Most of them were red but two were green. The green ones were hot and extra hot.

I cut into my burrito and tried some. Oh, boy. This was good. "Mom. How's yours?"

She giggled and held one up between her thumb and index finger. "Not as satisfying as yours but it's good."

"This burrito is real good. There's no way I can eat this whole thing. You want some?"