The Girl Who Hates Vegetables

I know it's never wise to assume things about people but I've never claimed to be particularly wise. I assume the girl on the assembly line at the local Subway hates vegetables. The store is close to my work and I frequently stop in for lunch. If you just watched her face as she touched the "free fixings" you'd think she was handling raw chicken or toxic waste. She makes no attempt to mask the look of disgust as she adds minuscule amounts to the sandwiches. The first couple of times I asked her to add more. Now, I just accept my lot and instead consider it the price I pay for the entertainment of watching her in action.

She seems to dislike some items more than others, like spinach for instance. I prefer it over lettuce. I recently watched her lay four spinach leaves, edge to edge, across my six inch sub - all the while grimacing as if she was fighting back the urge to vomit. The spinach was followed by two tomato slices, each pinched between thumb and forefinger to limit contact even though she was wearing gloves. Asking for onion is almost pointless, a single strand draped across bun. Finally, two banana pepper slices and a single jalapeno slice round out the sandwich. She always looks up, ready to add something else, but her eyes are pleading for you to be done. I get the feeling that, in her mind, she has dumped heaps of veggies onto the sandwich - more than any person could care for. I also think she feels that with each added topping the quality of the sub is diminishing. When you tell her you're done, you can sense her relief.

Sometimes, as I stand in line waiting to order, I listen to the people in front of me: "can I get more lettuce?"; "a little more onion, please". Each of these requests is met with a look of disgust and mild shock and she reluctantly complies. You would think she would realize that if almost everyone is asking for more, she must be adding too little initially. Instead, she continues to ration, unable to comprehend that her tastes differ so from the average customer.

I've contemplated ordering a veggie sub but I'm afraid of how she'd handle it.