The man stood by the glass door with a bag over his hand and he nodded his head back. Danny looked at him through the water gurgling up from the water fountain. He swallowed another mouthful and considered opening the door.
The man wore a beanie cap, a blue work short, jeans, and he held a green bag with his left hand in front of his right. Behind the bag he appeared to hold something in his right hand. Danny thought about the bag as he returned to his seat.
Mary, his mom, sat on his right holding baby Jeff. His dad, Jeff Senior, sat across from him. Danny shared the same bench with his sister Ann. At every other table in the dining room families talked in pleasant harmony.
A man wearing a green beret teased a woman wearing a flowered muumuu with a french fry. She giggled and grabbed at the fry when she missed. A woman poked into her chili, while a man rested his cheeseburger to steady her bowl. The sun reflected off the glass and the beaded crystal curtain. Behind it a sign invited guests to visit the American Freedom Train at the Naval Air Station.
Danny slurped a gurgle of remaining soda out of his empty cup. Two drops rose up the straw with a slurp, slurp sound. He dropped the cup behind his sister’s and reached for her grape soda.
“Danny is trying to drink my drink,” Ann said.
“You know better,” his mom scolded.
He fingered his empty cup. More soda would be nice, although refills cost money, and his mom already made it clear this was a treat. He still wished for another. He looked back at the water fountain and the door. The man still stood there. Danny went to get another drink of water.
