Lunchtime

It seemed like Alicia did twenty or more deliveries that morning. Then around noon, she finally got a chance to break for lunch.

As her friend Casey noted, there was a special area reserved for the Delivery Dames to eat. An area that had no tables or benches or even chairs. The only thing on the menu was a special gray gruel that looked like oatmeal but was not quite that tasty. It was served in bowls but alas, not with spoons. Instead, Alicia and the other Delivery Dames had to eat with their hands.

And just in case they had to relieve themselves during lunch, a special area was set up by the side of the eating area. An area that did not consist of a toilet but rather a large box of sand...

Wait a minute, thought Alicia. We're expected to use a litter box? Why not lay down a couple of newspapers while we're at it? Oh, wait! People rarely buy newspapers anymore. Just the same... Treating us like animals? Where do they get the nerve?

She looked at Casey and pointed to the sandbox. Casey just shrugged.

"You should hear how they treated us before they put that in," said Casey with a world-weariness that did not quite match her young age.

All the same, the food was filling enough to quiet the rumble that had been developing in Alicia's tummy for the last half-hour. Indeed, Alicia could not help wondering if maybe it was too filling.

Suppose I get used to this food, thought Alicia. Suppose I get addicted to this stuff.

When she woke up this morning, Alicia would not have thought that was possible but now, after several hours on the job, she was starting to wonder. What kind of person was she turning into?

When lunch was finished and Alicia was washing her hands at the communal sink, she kept thinking about the future. Then Casey gestured in her direction and Alicia realized that it was time for her to make another delivery. And she found herself actually welcoming the chance to shut off her brain for at least another twenty minutes while she went ahead with the delivery.