Sitting at the dealership

Sitting in this nice waiting room

at the car dealership, waiting while

mechanics serviced the car, 

waiting areas didn’t used to be

so nice, this one had coffee, and

bottled water neatly lined up

in a small refrigerator, and popcorn,

with the showroom of new cars

shining and sparkling conveniently 

close by. The gray-haired man

shuffles in, glances at the coffee,

and ponders the pre-packaged muffins,

finally selecting the wild blueberry.

He sits, contented, and opens the book

that had been tucked under his arm.

I’m too far away to see the title, 

but the cover photograph gives it away:

he’s reading Mystery and Manners

by Flannery O’Connor, while he waits

for his car to be serviced, and I think

a good car is hard to find.

Photograph by Daniele Fantin via Unsplash. Used with permission.