and when it arrives he sticks his face real close
to the plate, as if to nuzzle rising heat with his snout.
The waitress giggles and I giggle and when he tries
to giggle it comes out as a roar, which makes
everyone jump, but none of us are as surprised
as he is, so he sticks some fries up his nose
to get us giggling again. It’s cute. We joke about
taking the line cook home because he’s adorable
and we’re easily infatuated, but we don’t—
we don’t need a third. When we leave we take
turns losing at the claw game, trying for the pink bear,
and then in the parking lot I kiss him
because he paid, and also because I’m in love.