Chapter 6 - The Banquet of the Forgotten
It started slowly,
with Mr. Miller crossing the street,
looking hesitant as he stepped onto our porch.
“Is everything okay,
Hank?”
he asked,
peering inside at the glittering table.
“Everything is better than okay,
Jim,”
I said,
ushering him in.
“Gloria made thirty-eight dishes,
and we need people who actually have an appetite to help us finish them.”
The nurse from the bus stop followed shortly after,
looking shy but clearly drawn by the incredible aroma.
“I’m so sorry to intrude,”
she said,
clutching her bag.
“I just got off a twelve-hour shift,
and I haven't eaten since breakfast.”
“You’re not intruding,”
Gloria said,
rising from her chair as her instinct to serve kicked back into gear.
“Please,
sit down,
dear.”
Within twenty minutes,
our dining room was filled with the most unlikely collection of guests.
The delivery driver was there,
along with a young couple from three doors down who were struggling to make ends meet.
I went back out to the porch and saw a man I’d seen sleeping in the park occasionally,
carrying his life in a backpack.
“Sir,”
I called out.
“Would you like a hot meal?”
He looked at me with a mixture of suspicion and hope.
“Are you serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life.”
He sat at the foot of the table,
his hands shaking as Gloria handed him a plate piled high with prime rib and roasted potatoes.
The atmosphere in the room transformed.
Instead of the bored,
judgmental silence of Kayla’s classmates,
the house was filled with the sounds of genuine appreciation.
“This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted,”
the nurse said,
nearly closing her eyes as she tried the seafood chowder.
“Ma'am,
you’re an artist,”
the delivery driver added,
his mouth full of fresh bread.
Gloria was glowing.
The tired,
beaten look had vanished,
replaced by a vibrant energy as she moved from guest to guest,
refilling glasses and offering second helpings of the thirty-eight dishes.
I watched them,
feeling a lump in my throat.
Tiffany wanted luxury,
but she had no idea that true luxury was the feeling of being seen and fed with love.
These people were strangers,
but in that hour,
they became the family we deserved.
I sat at the head of the table,
looking at the coffee can on the counter.
The six hundred dollars didn't seem like a loss anymore.
It felt like an investment in humanity.
But as the night wore on,
and the laughter grew louder,
I knew I wasn't finished.
Tiffany and Kevin were sitting in a cold,
sterile restaurant,
thinking they had won.
They needed to see what they had thrown away.
I excused myself from the table,
grabbing the coffee can and my car keys.
“Gloria,
keep them fed,”
May you like
I whispered to her.
“I’ll be back.”
