I did without my 44 oz Diet Coke on Thursday, to take the Christmas Chex Mix to my best old ex-teaching buddy Mabel. I had the deviled eggs and potato salad to prepare for the Christmas Eve shindig at the house of my sister the ex-ex-mayor's wife. No time for my magical elixir.
I did without my 44 oz Diet Coke on Friday, because there wasn't time to enjoy it, what with cooking the roasted vegetables for our Christmas Day dinner, and then leaving for the shindig at 5:30.
I did without my 44 oz Diet Coke on Christmas Day, because the Gas Station Chicken Store is closed on Christmas Day.
As you might imagine, Mrs. HM was mighty excited on Sunday, to get to town for her 44 oz Diet Coke! That was my first stop. You can also imagine my HORROR at finding the only 44 oz cups at the soda fountain to be the flat-bottom kind! Not the tapered little bottom to which T-Hoe's cup holders are so accustomed to hugging. The barrel-shaped flat bottom that will not fit! That can only be wedged into the leather of the passenger seat by a purse and something else. I didn't have something else. So no magical elixir for me!
I figured I could get by with a can of real Coke at home. There was one on the bottom shelf of Frig II that I had put in the day before. The Pony has a habit of drinking them, even though he declares Sprite to be his soda of choice. I had several cans, because Country Mart had a sale on the 12-packs last week. There was already a Sprite in Frig II, on the second shelf. I put in two Cokes beside it, just in case, when I got back home at 4:00.
The Pony was having an early soak in the big triangle tub in the master bathroom. When he got out at 5:30, to join Farmer H and me in grilled sausages and Christmas leftovers, he said,
"I'm having a Coke with supper. Oh, and I had one with my lunch, too, when you left for town."
"WAIT! You had that Coke I was saving for myself from yesterday?"
"Mom. There are two more in here. I'm only taking one. There's one left for you."
"But I just put them in there! The other one was colder!"
"These are cold. Feel them."
"Not as cold in 90 minutes as one that's been in there over 24 hours!"
"Mom. It's cold."
"Put that last one in the ice bin for me. THEN it will be cold, by the time I get these dishes washed and my plate ready."
It was. But if I hadn't found out, I would have been disappointed with my less-than-icy real Coke.
Sweet Gummi Mary! Man Owner at the Gas Station Chicken Store has only been
ordering the cups once a week for 30 years! You'd think he might have
mastered that task by now. I guess I'll have to take my tapered-bottom
cup along with me tomorrow, and pour my magical elixir in it for
transport, once I get to T-Hoe. They don't let you bring in refill cups
any more.
3 comments:
It IS the little things that can make your day!!
No diet coke for four days? Let's hope that never happens again. You may have to keep 2 litre bottles on hand at home, just in case. I'm not sure what the equivalent would be in ounces, but you'll have to hide them away or only put them in the fridge with a skull and crossbones clearly marked on them. Maybe put them in a paper bag with "mum" written all over it. Although that might not stop Farmer H.
Kathy,
Yes, the little things like a giant Diet Coke!
***
River,
I forgot my tapered-bottom cup today in my haste to mail The Pony's paperwork to the DOL for his medical bill reimbursement. I have been living it up with a 12-oz can of REAL COKE on the days I don't have my magical elixir. It's fantastic, but 12 oz is plenty of the real thing.
I actually have a 12-pack of 12 oz cans of Diet Coke sitting along the wall of the kitchen, under the real Coke, beside the Sprite. Farmer H has been staying out of it. Probably too much trouble to lift the real Coke out of the way to get one.
I'm hoping my tapered-bottom cups return on Thursday, which is the day the soda man comes to the Gas Station Chicken Store.
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