Random Sequence

[Scene: a French restaurant]

....I decided to order a fruit crepe. "What's a 'crap'?" my son asked in a loud voice.

"It's sort of like a big Pop Tart," I hissed. "Now keep your voice down."

He decided to order the only thing on the menu he recognized -- a glass of lemonade.

When it arrived, he was surprised to find that it actually was what it purported to be: a drink made from the juice of freshly squeezed real lemons, not the frozen, sugar-sweetened facsimile he was used to.

"This tastes awful," he said.

My wife suggested that he add some sugar to it and try again. After dumping in half the sugar bowl and maniacally stirring the drink, with the ice cubes clinking loudly, he decided it was drinkable enough to take a few sips.

"I want to go home," he announced just as our crepes arrived.

"Just be patient," my wife advised. "Want a bite?"

He made a face and repeated that he wanted to leave.

"Look at that," I said, desperately pointing to a mechanical fish on the wall over our table. "What do you think of that?"
--from "C'est la vie" (by me), originally published in Hudson Current