the waiter

"wait here."

simultaneously slamming the car door & firing the ignition, she did not leave me time to take a breath, much less voice an objection.

why? - i thought. why wait? and, for that matter, why wait here? what is special about this place? and, wait for how long? wait until she returns? when will that be? if not until she returns, then... until when?

i was unsure & indignant. i did not understand why she issued the command or why i should follow it. what could possibly be the basis for her seemingly simple yet exceedingly random request? and, furthermore, what made her think she could tell me what to do? i am an independent person with thoughts & feelings of my own.

the car screeched to a halt, and she was out of it before the dust had settled around the tires.

"thanks for waiting."