Something About Subway

For some reason, whenever I take Aaron to Subway, I find that it’s quite an experience.  Actually, I’m the one having the experiences as I watch Aaron and listen to Aaron and try to hush Aaron and so forth.  What is it with Subway?  Maybe because it takes so long to order there if anyone is in front of us, and if Aaron has time on his hands, there’s no telling what will happen. 

Aaron told me after one of our trips, when he was with Zach, that they had gotten a sub at Subway.  “Subway is a nutritious food area,” he told me.  So earlier this week he asked me if we could have a sub on Friday night, and I told him that we would do this if he had a good week.  So seeing that he had a good week, and seeing that Aaron never forgets any prospect of food, he and I were off to Subway shortly after he came home today.

I was hoping we were early enough to be there alone, with no one in front of us.  No such luck.  There was a mom with two children already there, just placing their orders.  I told Aaron to slow down, that we would have to wait our turn, and I gave him the usual “Shhh” sign as he began talking loudly.  It took several “shhhh’s” before he finally halfway whispered.  I was trying to get Aaron to go ahead and tell me the kind of bread he wanted, and the kind of sub, but he said he wanted to wait until we got up to the counter……meaning that he would take forever to decide as he tried to find a picture to match his sandwich choice, identify the proper bread, talk about the cheese, etc. 

In order to help locate the exact meat he wanted, he started edging closer to the family in front of us, craning his neck to look around their shoulders.  I quietly motioned for him to stand back.  He doesn’t worry much about other’s personal space and he definitely doesn’t notice their wary stares.  I whispered for him to come back and stand beside me, but Aaron didn’t follow my whispering lead at all. 

“Should I tell them they’re in the way?” he asked in his normal voice…..which is too loud.  He also doesn’t notice my looks of frustration or embarrassment. 

“No, Aaron,” I told him again in a whisper.  “They’re not in the way.  You are.” 

But Aaron was already intent on listening to the mother as she requested the  veggies for her sub.  “She wants pickles!” Aaron told me, not in a whisper.  “Who would want pickles?!” he continued.

How many ways can I tell him to hush, I wondered?

At this point, Aaron was getting a little frustrated at the wait.  He saw another employee behind the counter, but this young man was working on a malfunctioning piece of equipment. 

“Hello?” Aaron blurted out.  So again I told Aaron to be quiet.

“I’m trying to get his attention,” Aaron explained, as I explained to him that this young man was not making subs right now. 

Finally it was our turn.  I had already figured out that Aaron wanted ham, but when I let him do the ordering, he just pointed to the meats and said, “I want that one.”  Like this poor girl would know which one Aaron wanted?  And he hadn’t even told her the bread choice yet.  So with some patience from her, and from me, Aaron finally began his order correctly.  She laid Aaron’s sub aside as she turned to take my order before beginning the veggies.

“Wait!” Aaron said.  “I want tomatoes and….” he started to say, but I told him to wait.  So he tried to be patient as I got Gary’s sub ordered, and then mine.  Aaron watched the nice girl spread the Gouda cheese on mine, but he couldn’t resist giving his opinion.

“That looks like barf!” he told us.  And I was glad that no one was behind us.

Aaron finally got to order his veggies, the way he always does. 

“Can I have tomatoes?”

“Can I have lettuce?”

“Can I have onions?”

“Can I have cucumbers?”

And he told her that he wanted mayonnaise.  Yay!  He didn’t call it white mustard this time!

I finished the rest of our order.  “I’ll take spinach, lettuce, tomatoes…..Aaron, don’t press the debit machine buttons……jalepenos, cucumbers……Aaron, don’t mess with the tea dispenser…….black olives, onions……Aaron, I said don’t press the debit machine buttons……and mayonnaise and a little oil.”

Aaron decided to whistle then…..a song we had just listened to on the radio.  The girl guessed that he was whistling The Lion Sleeps Tonight, which made Aaron very happy and which reminded him that he should tell her about the movie he had been to see today with his day group.

“Have you seen San Andreas?!” he excitedly asked her.  Except that Aaron pronounces the word “Andreas” the way he says his sister’s name, so it comes out as if he’s talking about San Andrea’s.  Our server was confused, but Aaron wasn’t, so he launched right into as many movie details as he could manage while she finished wrapping our sandwiches.  He bent over and rubbed his hands together, which only added to the comedy of this whole situation, as he breathlessly told of falling buildings and cracks in the earth and the lines on the earthquake machine going WAY up!  I finally got him to quit talking when I told him that he shouldn’t tell her all about the movie before she saw it, and he laughed and agreed and somewhat calmed down as I paid for our subs…..finally.

We said goodbye and headed for the door.  I thought we were nearly ready to escape as I pushed it open, and then realized that Aaron was not behind me.  And there he was, bending over beside the trash can, picking something up off the floor.  He sure can move fast for a big guy.

I could only imagine what it was that he was now putting in his hand, but as he stood I saw that it was only someone’s receipt.  He had already turned and was headed back to the front when I stopped him. 

“But I thought they wanted it,” he explained as I told him to throw it away.  He reluctantly tossed the receipt in the trash, sorry that he couldn’t do a good deed.  And probably especially sorry that he couldn’t once again talk to the nice girl who had already listened to far more than she had bargained for, I’m sure. 

Whew!  That was over!  And I smiled as I thought of Aaron saying, “Hello?” to the young man behind the counter, and then explaining that he was just trying to get his attention. 

Little does Aaron know that he doesn’t have to TRY to get anyone’s attention.  It comes pretty natural, trust me!