The Restaurant

When I was a pre-teen, before boys and jobs took over all my spare time, I had another kind of date.

My grandmother would take me out to lunch at the Barlow Garden Restaurant. It's not there anymore. Like so many things, the landscape of that area of our city has changed. In its place there is a formal wear shop and some other small stores. But at the time, the restaurant was a buffet-style place - a fact I loved because I could pick a just a sampling of what I liked. Plus, I could pick out a dessert.

It would be just the two of us, shuffling our pink plastic trays along the silver tracks. Me, choosing what I imagine was a maddenly small amount of food. I was tall and rail-thin with the appetite of a sparrow. We'd reach the end of the line and I'd grab the piece de resistance - a chocolate cake donut.

We'd carry our trays - Grandma carrying my drink on her tray so that I wouldn't spill - and select a small table for two by the window. Grandma would sit on the side facing the window so that she was out of the sunlight. I would sit facing the restaurant so that I could people watch. We'd smile at one another and delve into our meals, both of us knowing the food was not really the reason we were there.

I don't remember what we talked about. I wish I did. But I remember the feeling. Just two ladies, having a lunch date. I remember feeling special. I was important enough to my grandmother to have her want to spend this time with me - just the two of us.

I don't remember how often we did this, but it was more than just once. I remember ending each lunch date wondering when we could do it again.

Once I was older and splitting my time between school, jobs and boys, I didn't think I had the time for these lunch dates anymore. Maybe we never even tried to set them up. I suppose I thought there was plenty of time for that.

Instead of having time, my grandmother died during my senior year of high school. As usual, hindsight is 20/20 and now I wish I'd spent less time working and chasing boys who weren't worth it. I wish I'd spent more of my time eating lunch with the woman who showed me just how important I was to her.