Chapter 4 - Shopping Bag

Jack pulled into the half-empty parking lot near Pops Waffle Stop and parked the Malibu. He killed the engine and enjoyed his moment of bliss. The time elapsed between the loud music being silenced and the ringing in his ears to dampen out. He exited the car and considered his choice before walking toward the restaurant entrance. A single lonely plastic supermarket bag slowly scraped its way across the pavement crossing his path. The wind that pushed the bag was very slight, yet very constant because the bag made no other movement as it scratched its way toward a chain link fence.
It was the smell of garbage that got him. Only a faithful patron of Pops would even attempt to eat there given all of the obstacles set before him prior to even looking at a menu. First of all you had to have the courage to park near the alley between Pops and the roach motel next door. Second, you had to walk next to the foul smelling dumpster to get to the front door. And finally, you had to walk through the hallway where the restrooms were located to get to the main dining room. If after passing all three trials successfully, the faithful diner was usually rewarded with a hot and tasty meal courtesy of a somewhat friendly cook named Mike Z. Jack didn’t know his last name because Mike’s nametag only showed the last letter of his last name and Mike didn’t like to talk too much because he was afraid that space aliens might snatch up his gold capped tooth if he opened his mouth for too long. But, because Jack had been eating here for years, he knew a few things. Jack went to his usual booth and nodded for Alicia to bring him some coffee. Mike waved a quick hello as he went back to his morning cleaning routine.
Jack sat down and glanced out the window facing the parking lot where his Malibu sat. The plastic shopping bag had almost escaped the top of the chain link fence where a weak burst of wind must have lifted it up, but not quite over the top. The shopping bag was caught by a single twisted tine and gently shuddered to escape.