“Eat your hot dog,” I repeat.
Regina and Maverick sit down at the table with me. I know that Andrew will be bringing me an iced tea and a bowl of fruit. Maverick takes a bite of his hot dog and then spits it out.
“Maverick!” I shout.
I certainly did not raise my son to be this rude.
“Mommy, it has worms in it!”
I look around at the people who are now looking at us, having overheard him. I feel my face go crimson.
“Maverick, lower your voice. There are no worms in your hot dog.”
Regina takes a bite of her hot dog and then spits it out and starts crying.
“Mommy, I felt the worm crawling on my tongue,” Regina cries.
Dylan, who is paying for our lunch, hears the kids screaming. He finishes quickly and rushes to the table.
“What’s going on??” Dylan asks.
“Daddy, there are worms in the hot dogs! See?” Maverick says loudly.
“Stop it, Maverick. Stop this nonsense right now,” I say, embarrassed at this point.
Andrew and Fiona come back to the table with several plates of sushi. Regina begins to cry louder and points to the sushi.
“Look how it jingles! They’re alive!” Regina shouts.
Now, the whole cafeteria is looking at us. A rigid gentleman in a zoo uniform comes towards us.
“I’m sorry, is there a problem?”
“No problem,” I say.
“Mommy, tell the man about the worms,” Maverick says.
“Where are the worms?”
“In our food!” Regina begins to howl.
Fiona and Andrew start to move away from the table. I want to start crying. Dylan is trying to figure out the situation.
“Are there worms in the food?” Dylan whispers to me.
“Worms in their food!”
The gentleman takes Maverick’s plate and looks closely.
“You have to look at what I spit out,” Maverick says.
The gentleman’s face turns white. He has had enough of us.
“Please, I need you and your family to come with me,” he tells me.
I want to pass out on the spot. There are people getting up to throw their lunches in the trash. People are even backing away from the serving counters. Who knew people put this much faith in some kids who don’t know have any idea what they’re talking about.
Dylan and Andrew gather the children who are now all crying.