On the way to T’s childhood Wendy’s I tell her
about mine, a Fancy Wendy’s, with a salad bar,
rooms, tin ceilings or something. I’ve been too afraid
to go back: no person ever steps into the same Wendy’s
twice. T wants to take photos of hers, but we arrive
to find a letter on the door. As of last December’s fire,
the building is unsafe to occupy. A plastic tree still leans
against the window. They didn’t even have time
to put the chairs up. This Wendy’s is now open
only in T’s memory and nothing has changed
since she came here with her grandparents years ago.
T smiles. Inside this Wendy’s, they are still alive.
We can’t go in, but it’s enough to cloud this glass
with breathing, trying to get a good picture.
____
Address: 3006 Anderson Ave, Manhattan, KS 66503
Eaten: n/a
With: Poet + T
Why: Nostalgia is a GPS
