About 5 miles down the road from Coatesville. I’m eating fries in a Burger King on the fringe of this burnt-out suburban steel city.
Patron Rex is sucking cown his cola with fervor. He’s taking up most of the seat at a booth about six tables away. Embroidered patches shaped like skulls and wings cover his denim vest, although there are a couple of holes he missed. Some tattoo hides on his neck under the tail of the sweat-stained red paisley bandana around his head, where his hair is greying and balding.
It’s pretty hot outside and the air in here is frosty. My bitter lemonade chills me as I sip, casually surveying the other BK customers.
Two booths up from Rex is Patron Deshawn and his buddies Troy and Clayton. Clay is maybe as round as Rex, but shorter. Troy comes back from the soda fountain with his second refill of Coke, hiking up tent-like low-crotch jeans. There’s as much basketball paraphenelia on these guys than the Lakers’ starting line, and their shoes are mint. Deshawn’s gold medallions swing heavily as he throws mock punches at his boys then returns to munching his fries - wide white-toothed grin, open-jaw exposed mashed potato.
I drop my glance to the cover of the book I brought to lunch. It’s colors seem muted against the vibrant mauve decor of the BK dining room. The walls are covered in movie and music memorabilia. There is a Star Wars poster, a signed picture of Humphrey Bogart, and several 45-speed record albums. There is a CD Werlitzer bubbling near the front entrance, and the Elvis tunes they make it play are too loud for reading.
Over by the jukebox, Patron Rico sits under the front window with his girlfriend Juana. His service station uniform looks authentic, though he has no grease on himself. Juana’s jabbering on her pink cell phone, holding a giant hoop earring in the other hand. Her micro-salad sits untouched while Rico washes down his first Whopper Jr. Reclining his lean frame uncomfortably into his rigid dining room chair, his gaze drifts past Juana to a car in the parking lot. It’s vivid yellow, freshly waxed, and very low to the ground.
