Local lunch place
Pizza, salad, all you can eat
Here comes a young Marine
So proud
Holding his lid in his hands like it was fragile
Ramrod straight posture
A woman tells him "You look great in your uniform."
"Thank you ma'am."
"My dad was a Marine," she says with a surprising lump in her throat
"Sharpshooter?" as she points to his medal
"Expert. Sharpshooter is the cross."
Mom and grandma fuss over him
They pass around a greeting card after he reads it.
Birthday? Basic training graduation?
Another young man is with them
He wears a flag tie
Brother? Cousin?
They exchange a few words and there is clearly an intimate relationship
But not necessarily romantic
The non-marine faintly pings my gaydar
Maybe childhood friends who have worked past the idea that one is gay?
And now grandpa awakes from his doze
"These people in southern California..." he starts to lecture
All the while marine mom scans her phone
She can't look at him in his unform without awakening
her fears of a death
of a catastrophic injury.
She looks at my beer with longing
