Squeezed

Elephant is big on limes.

Maybe it’s an elephant thing.

Are elephants known for a love of limes?

I make a mental note to find out.

We have a couple different pho joints that we haunt, and he’s always about the limes.

The soup, though.

Quick, easy, healthy, inexpensive.

Like, ridiculously inexpensive.

It checks all my culinary boxes.

I message a fellow noodlist back home with the deets

Today we’re at an expensive place

I run the numbers

The two of us are eating for $3.40

To get what’s arguably a perfect meal

The steamy, seasoned just so broth, accented perfectly with a mix of greens, gentle shards of meat, a touch of chili sauce and pickled garlic. A couple spicy chili peppers for that added zing

And for the final zest

A squeeze of lime

Or three

Or six.

Elephant loves limes.

As we sit down today though, there isn’t the usual fully stocked ceramic jar filed to the rim with sliced greenies. Today, at this table, slices only two.

Papa, ready to squeeze!

He grabs his allotted slice, but for whatever reason this one is slick

This is an uncooperative lime

Bit too much zest in the nest

Bloop

Augh

I look up and his lime has made a perfect landing straight into the steaming broth

It floats, indifferent.

And he now has a mission.

He fishes around with his chopsticks in an attempt to salvage

You gotta be careful

I say, matter of fact

He really needs to exercise greater lime care

I muse.

He’ll get better at it as he grows. More like me.

As I begin to squeeze my lime and peer at his bowl and earnest rescue maneuvers

My fingers slide together, lightning quick, unintentionally.

And my hint of lime makes a perfect arc

Through the sky

More like me

And lands squarely between the flip flops of the gentleman waiting in line.

Whoops

He looks me in the eye, grasping this unexpected and limeless moment, bright eyed and fully awake.

And we giggle together at this sudden turn of events.