I'm at my desk. It's where I always eat lunch at work. As I finish off my leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes from last night's dinner, I push them away. I overate, and I feel miserable. How will I have the energy to finish the next six hours of my twelve-hour shift? As I ponder this, I painfully reach down to my black backpack on the floor in the corner of my desk. I unzip the front pocket and find my usual fix to hide whatever atrocious lunch smell is on my breath.
I feel the familiar round plastic container. Pulling it out, I feel the clear plastic wrap around the edge, remembering that I had just purchased a new container. My thumbnail slides under the dotted, perforated area, and I feel each section pop to release the protective plastic. Now it's time to decide. Do I want one or many? Both sides are always more challenging than they should be to open. So I choose the "many" side. It's slightly easier to open since the whole side of the container lifts vs. with the "one" side; it's a small tab I have to open.
I reach into the "many" side of the container to retrieve my relief. If I had chosen the "one" side, I would have had to shake the container into my hand to get what I needed. I place the oval-shaped object in my mouth. The red, strawberry-flavored side is always the side I put touching my tongue. It has these little raised circles that give my tongue a brush as I move it back and forth on top of my tongue. Conversely, the other side is dull and only provides a mild freshening flavor. I chew up the rest when the little round circles have been worn down. The main problem with this type of after-lunch mouth maintenance is that I need to eat more than one. I will continue this ritual at least three or four more times before I snap the lid closed for the final time and place it back into the front pocket of my backpack and zip it up.
I can now confidently carry on conversations with coworkers without them being fully immersed in my lunch choice.
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