Sunday, March 1, 2009

Miss Sassy Peppers

Waiting for cold coffee at the counter of the local Subway, I was jolted out of my private musings by a sassy little miss. She was dancing around in circles, trying to order herself a sub.
The little one could not have been a day over seven. But, she spoke with the authority of a 30 year old.

Veggies on toasted whole wheat, if you please!

Beside her, stood a rather hesitant woman. I was intrigued, by the contrast their demeanours presented.
Her nanny, I guessed.
Or, maybe her mother.

As the sandwich 'artist' busied himself toasting & slicing her wheat loaf, the little miss stopped pirouetting and, raised her petite self on to her toes. Gluing her goggle eyed, pouty lipped face against the glass-case, she fixed an unblinking stare on the artist, as he delved into a tub of shredded lettuce.

" Not so much."

Her imperiousness stayed his hand for a moment. Snapped the lady to attention. And, brought a hint of a smile to my lips.

The white-green bed of lettuce made, the artist held aloft a thick slab of cheese, mutely looking to the pig-tailed diva for approval. And, he was not disappointed.
She beamed, a wide toothy grin of approval.

With a flourish, he, then, flicked the lids off tubs of cut vegetables.
The little one flexed her knees, and, stretched for greater height.

She solemnly gazed at the vivid spectrum of colours before her.

A moment later, her decisions made, she lisped out her choices in a sing-song voice,

" Little onion, gherkins, lots of olives, 3 tomato rings, 1 cucumber..."
"...Only 1 CUCUMBER...."
The melody in her voice had given way to notes of steel. And then, a rhythmic chanting
"...More Olives...More Olives...."

I watched in fascination as the artist's brown hands flew about, in silence, piling pale purple onion rings & soggy green gherkins over the pale lettuce bed, followed by a shower of purple-black olive bits. Three perfect red tomato rings came next and finally, the solitary cucumber slice in the center.
Finicky as I am, even I, have never been so fastidious about my sandwiches.

He gestured to the green peppers, and the jalapenos.
But, before the little Missy could reply, her timid escort found her voice.
" Is that Khara*?"
" Of course, it is..They are peppers"
pronounced our little diva "I don't want..."

" Take away?" queried the artist, finding his voice for the first time, as he wrapped the foil around the master-piece.
The little girl nodded in affirmation. With a happy smile, she reached out for her meal and, skipped away into the sunshine, with her guardian in tow.

As I settled with my coffee, at a seat by the window, I found myself staring at the pair on the pavement outside.
Such self-assurance in one so young.
Such singularity of focus.

As my eyes followed the figure traipsing down the street, I found myself wondering what she would be like a few decades later.
Sassy as the peppers, I hope!





*Khara = Spicy

10 comments:

  1. That was a nice read...loved the descriptions :) Kids these days do have a mind of their own and sure are picky (rolling my eyes) You should see the way my 4 year old makes his own "5 group healthy sandwich" very clear about what goes in and what stays out :)

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  2. Your 4 yr old makes a 5 Groups Sandwich???
    My goodness, at 4, all I wanted to do was go live on the moon beecause I thought I could eat Macintosh chocolates thrice a day and milky way bars the rest of the time!!! Don't ask me why the moon? I still haven't figured that out...And yes, I did think the milky ways the universe had were chocolate bars!!!

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  3. It's really woderful that you are able to see the beautiful things around you in the finest of details :-)

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  4. Thank you very much, Abhilash.
    I try...
    As we all do, I am sure...
    :) :)

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  5. Wow! Children do know their minds these days!

    Ganga, my 4-year-old doesn't like anything that goes inside a sandwich other than peanut butter!! How do I make her eat a 5-group healthy sandwich?? And do enlighten me....what ever is that??

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  6. By the way, forgot to mention with my motherly concern getting in the way...it was a wonderful lovely read :). You do have an eye for things and words to describe them :)

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  7. Thank you Roopa...Have always told you that any praise from you is high praise indeed!!!
    :D :D :D

    And, please, please let Saanya eat her peanut butter sandwiches without trying to wean her on to Group 5 sandwiches!!!...
    ;)

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  8. Ladies, it's nothing as dramatic as his school makes it sound...the sub miss sassy peppers ordered is a good example of a 5 group sandwich :) bread, veggies, cheese, ham, and oil in the dressing, i would guess.

    This reminds me of my post on Mani's provision store that threatened to become a discussion on aviyal recipes, instead of the longing for good ol' sustainable days!

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  9. LOL, yeah I remember that one!!...the path the post discussions takes can sometimes be fun, right?

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  10. Such a refreshing post, this! Kids! 'Phew'...in capitals..'PHEW!' is all I can say about them. My 2-year old spits out cheese spread, but doesn't mind Irish cheddar! Did I say 'PHEW' already?!

    Loved reading, Rekz :-)

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