The sun cooks me from above and the sidewalk cooks me from below as I walk to get my lunch. The vehicles scream past me in the opposite direction at an arms length. Warm gusts in between the stale warmth of today.

There is this new burger place that opened up and I can’t seem to stop going back to it. It’s become such a workday staple, I’m borderline embarrassed by how often I go.

As I get closer I can see the strip mall and the burger place now taking the space of the old electronics store. It’s sad cause that’s where pappy bought me a soldering kit. Look at me now, a proud mechanical engineer.

The parking lot is half full, easy to cut through, no weird zig zagging today!

I take the cowpath that others have made through the strip malls landscaping. The shade of the trees on the little curbed desert islands in a sea of asphalt is nice little break from the onslaught of the sun. The sound of gravel crunching under my feet and the shade of the trees tricks me for a moment that I am not walking from a busy street to a strip mall.

Did I come here yesterday? I am wearing the same clothes. 

Ding ding

The bells on the burgers places ring as I walk through the door.

I can smell the grill and hear the murmur of today’s regulars. I think that’s a coven at the big table, but that’s not my business. 

I walk to the counter and, without hesitation, as if today was going to be different, I say, “combo number five.”

Of course, I hated that it was in fact my favorite meal here. It’s as if the owner had some sick twisted sense of humor. Number one should be what everyone wants, but real ones know number two is tried and true, but five? This isn’t the garden fresco salad. 

But still, the simple cheeseburger combo is what’s up. 

Ding ding 

I’m reminded that others have entered after me.

“Thanks! We’ll bring it out to you when it’s ready. Have a nice day!”

“You too.” 

Ding ding

“I always cause the lunch rush,” I pick out my booth, the one under the vent. 

I’m pretty sure it’s a coven, they’re talking about a curse on a family and they don’t have many nice things to say about ancestors. Also it looks like there’s a tarot spread in the middle of the table, totally a a coven.

Ding ding 

I start to pull out my phone and put in my right earbud, keeping the left one in the case. I don’t want to appear rude when they bring my lunch. Sure, I can hear them with them both on, but they don’t know that. 

“Here you go, can I get you anything else?” asked the server. 

“Nope, thanks.”

“Enjoy your meal,” they say as they walk away.

The first ravenous bites hit the spot as they normally do, between the tiniest of breaths. 

I blink and, somehow, half of the meal is gone.

“Whoa,” I pause and say to myself, “we still got another 30.”

I sit back and look around, noticing that the dining area is still pretty full. I begin to wonder when the AC is gonna kick on. Sure, it’s not too terrible outside but inside should still be comfortable, right?

The coven laughs in unison. 

Ding ding

“I bet they did that,” I say to myself. 

A stifled laughter in the booth next to me.

“Maybe your ancestors need to unburden themselves,” says the voice behind the laugh, in an increasingly sarcastic tone, “they never have anything good to say except pappy and dad.”

I stuff my mouth with a handful of fries to stifle my laugh. I can hear the voice in the booth over slightly chuckle. We both knew we did not wish to be hexed by the coven. I have no need for magic myself, good or bad. Laws of thermodynamics or something.

The coven’s laughter begins to fade. The air conditioner kicks on and I begin to feel that cool air from the vent above me. That cold air makes me wish I had a light sweater, but right now this is a reprieve from walking in the sun.

I close my eyes and somehow that cool air reminds me of the droplets on the grass while waiting for the bus on a winter morning.

I lean back into the booth, satiated. The conversations in the lobby have blurred. I’m reminded of how when the weather is cool the highway sounds like a distant, roaring river. My eyes closed, I feel that cool breeze off the river wrap around me; I open my eyes.

I seem to see into infinity. Are my eyes open, are they closed? My mind wanders. I feel that cool breeze. I imagine sitting on my porch as a warmed afternoon gust makes me open my eyes.

The air conditioning shuts off. The coven is here, the jester in the neighboring booth is gone, and my tray is a picked over mess. I check my phone, “I better get going.”

“Can I take that?” the server asked, coming out of nowhere, as if they had waited for my return.

I look down at my tray and hand it to them.

“Yes, thank you!” I say as I notice my ear bud is still in my ear.

“Will we see you again tomorrow?”

I nervously laugh, “can’t, it’s the weekend.”

I pull the ear bud out of my ear and place it in its case. My case into my pocket.

Damn, I was here yesterday.