Lunch bag

That morning, as usual, Hanna set the alarm clock at 7 AM. It was still dark outside, but she refrained from turning the lights on as she didn’t want her son, Peter, to wake up before time. He had that big meeting ahead with the principal and the district supervisor, and he had been complaining all week about how he wasn’t getting enough sleep. So she decided to let him sleep. She put on the robe over her pajamas, and then she went to the toilet, washed her face, and combed her gray hair. In the kitchen, she prepared the coffee and toasted some bread. Peter usually woke up at 7:30, and he would be glad to have his breakfast ready and the table all set. Hanna put some oranges and apple slices on a plate, took the milk bottle out of the fridge, and placed the sugar bowl next to the spoon and the napkin.

“Poor dear Peter, he’s so skinny, I don’t think he’s eating enough”. One thing was when he was in the house during the evenings, but each morning, it broke her heart to see him face the workday on an empty stomach. Especially today: she knew the meeting was around noon, chances are the whole thing would last for more than an hour, and that meant one thing: he would not have the time to have a proper lunch at the cafeteria. “Not that the servings are big enough to feed the teachers!” So she decided to prepare for him something he could eat standing up, maybe during the break time, or possibly in the public transport that took him to his second job in the afternoon. It would have to be a cold meal, something she regretted since those winter days were especially harsh. “A sandwich will have to do”, she mumbled. Hanna always prepared delicious sandwiches, and surely, Peter would appreciate eating something after the big meeting was over.

So she set apart two slices of bread. There were some cold leftovers from the dinner last night: she carefully cut strips of meat and, since it was already hard from being all night in the refrigerator, she decided she would soak the meat strips in a plate filled with soy sauce. In the meantime, while the meat got moist, she chose one of the best-looking leaves of lettuce, cut a tomato in cubes, and spread honey mustard on the bread. She carefully placed the meat between the tomato and the mustard, and the fresh lettuce on top of it. She wrapped the sandwich in paper napkins and a plastic bag and packed it in Peter’s lunchbox. It sure looked tasty, but it was a rather small sandwich for such a skinny young man. She decided to add a hard-boiled egg and some cheese cubes. “I guess today’s lunch is full of protein, but what about the vitamins?” Some tomato cubes and a leaf of lettuce didn’t seem quite enough. So she added a peeled tangerine, some grapes, and a bar of chocolate because it was oh, so cold, and her little Peter loved chocolate.

As she heard Peter’s alarm ringing, and him reluctantly getting out of bed, she poured coffee in his favorite mug, added some cream, and took the toasts to the table, together with honey, some strawberry jam, and butter. “Peter, dear, are you up and about?” she asked. All she got as an answer was a grumble through the bathroom door. “He is up, right about time”. Hanna went back to the kitchen and realized the lunchbox was already full, but he would probably be thirsty with the meat sandwich and so much soy sauce. So she added a bottle of homemade ginger lemonade. And a few crackers in case he got light-headed before the meeting. She had a hard time trying to zip the lunchbox, but eventually, she managed. 

As she decided to join his son at breakfast and poured herself a cup of coffee, Hanna noticed Peter hadn’t touched a single slice of toast. He was all dressed up, knotting his tie in front of the mirror and with his briefcase between his legs. He looked handsome, but she still saw him as a little boy, her little boy.

“Peter, dear, you haven’t had breakfast! Please, sit down; it will only take you five minutes”. “No can do, mom, I’m already late”, he said, rushing towards the door. “But, Peter, at least drink your coffee…”, “Bye, mom!” he shouted already outside. Hanna rubbed her hands in her robe in despair. As she walked to the kitchen, her worst fear became true: the lunchbox! Not only he hadn’t tried the homemade breakfast, but he had forgotten about the lunchbox. Without thinking about it, still in her robe and wearing her pink slippers, she grabbed a coat and rushed outside. It was freezing! Peter was already heading towards the bus stop, but maybe the 7:50 bus was yet to arrive. Holding the precious lunchbox between her arms, Hanna crossed the street without looking.

The lunchbox flew in the air, spreading crackers and cheese cubes across the pavement. The hard-boiled egg rolled on the street like a tennis ball. The plastic bag with the sandwich ended up under the wheels of another vehicle that had to do a maneuver to avoid the collision. The grapes and the tangerine got lost in the sewers and the chocolate bar… well, no one found out what happened to it, but it somehow became part of the terrifying scene. The bus driver explained to the police officer the woman came out of nowhere. He was doing his maximum speed because he was already delayed, and the poor lady had crossed in red. 

Two blocks ahead, too far away from the scene of the accident to be a witness, a single passenger was at the bus stop staring at his watch. He wondered what might have happened to the 7:50 bus, but apart from that, he didn’t seem to notice anything: he simply got on the following bus, the one of 7:53. He had to run a few blocks but managed to arrive on time at the school where he worked. His cell phone wouldn’t ring until a couple of hours later. His previous thought before picking up the call would be “Man, I’m starving. I could grab a bite before today's meeting”.