Thursday, September 3rd, 2020

The city square is quiet. I’m here later than usual, after shopping at the supermarket downstairs from work. Most of the shops that had been open are closed. I see a woman roll a baby carriage out of a shoe store. A worker locks the glass doors behind her. I don’t stop for dinner. I’m not hungry. But I do sit down and drink a bottle of grapefruit juice from the supermarket. I’m still full after a massive lunch at work. The bosses often order lunch to celebrate something. Today’s celebration seems more ad-hoc than usual. They announce a birthday from a week ago, as well as something or other for one of the other programmers. I think they just feel like ordering out. Usually, we get falafel or shawarma. Today, they order from a rotisserie chicken place. The boxes are about the same size that I remember from KFC, but are full of food: a quarter chicken, coleslaw, green beans, rice with peas and carrots, and roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini, and eggplant. It’s delicious. Somehow we still manage to wobble out to the hall for the afternoon prayers and to get work done afterward. I’m glad that my direct boss has an espresso machine in his office, for just such emergencies. But I only think of eating again after nine PM, long after I get home.