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With a blinding smile, she held the bag. “Oh my goodness.” She rifled through it without delay. “I can color for days!”
The truck fell silent, us men watching this woman reverting to a child, in a sense. Eyes wide with amazement, she was ripping open a package to touch the pencils.
Possibly to break the heartbreaking moment, Pops pointed over the dashboard. “Do you boys see what I see?”
Dagger grinned. “Some golden arches?”
Vice started the engine. “That’s right. That McDonald’s is calling my name.”
Elle’s jaw dropped. “You’re getting food from there?”
The young man was now on a mission, headed straight for a drive-through. “Better believe it. I’m starving!”
Her gaping mouth had me chuckling, even though it wasn’t sincere because I was still trying to recover from her glee over the coloring books. “Babe, you ready to order the menu, too?”
Sitting forward, Elle grabbed the seat in front of her. “What’s on it?”
The truck went silent again.
Blink. Blink. “Babe, have you never eaten at a McDonald’s?”
“No.” She was exasperated. “I’m not to get fat.”
My nostrils widened as I tried to breathe and not demand we go kill a yacht-riding Italian cowboy. Rigid from head to toe, I growled, “Vice?”
My best friend heard me loud and clear. “Everything on the menu. On it.”
In disbelief, Precious was precious, staring at the bags of food in her lap, her bagged coloring materials at her feet. “What do I try first?”
The truck was now sitting at a nearby public park, but Vice chose it because it was empty. We faced the only entrance and had woods to our back. This way, we could eat in peace and be alert if a vehicle showed up.
I answered Elle, “Anything you want.”
There were bags of food everywhere, and burgers were already being swallowed whole by Dag, Pops, and Vice. I was more patient. My stomach wasn’t too interested due to all it had been through, but I also didn’t want to miss her first bite.
Smiling at me, she held up a chicken nugget. “I choose this odd item.”
Vice started choking on his extra-sauced Big Mac. “Du she ju say dat?”
She took a little nibble, chewed, and then her mouth slowed. Looking as if struggling to swallow the food so beneath private chefs, she held up the other half of the nugget and claimed, “Very good.”
Throughout all the laughter in the truck, Pops had to swig some Coke to stop from choking to death.
Still smiling like a sap, I opened a honey mustard sauce and offered it to her. “Try dipping it in here.”
Hesitantly, she delicately dipped her nugget and took another nibble. I think she paled before she swallowed the bite down in a labored gulp. “Oh, yes, much better.”
Coke sprayed from Dagger’s mouth onto the back of Vice’s head, which prompted a “Hey!” as the Enforcer wiped his hair.
The food-tasting only got worse. Lifting off the top bun, she observed the cheeseburger like it was a green goo-oozing zombie. She was so petrified that Pops started examining his double Quarter Pounder. “Seeing it more clearly, it is a little concerning.”
Vice advised, “Don’t look. Just eat.” He savagely took a bite of his next burger.
To Elle, I suggested, “How about a fry?” I reached into her bag that was obviously not going to be housed like the other already empty bags in the truck.
Chewing on a French fry, she pondered, then asked, “Is this even real potato?”
“The fuck?” Pops cursed.
