Breakfast at AJ's

It has become a weekly tradition, a chance to gather our family right before church. AJ's is one of those places we assume will be around forever.

We pile in through the door and we're first hit by the smell of strong coffee. AJ's is bustling with cash register noises, orders screamed to the kitchen, and the clattering of knives and forks.

It is still early, and we are lucky to find a booth. My family scoots into position. Michael, my fiance, sits next to me. The girls, Dawn and Carolyn, sit across from us. Carolyn is seven, and is predictably complaining that there is not enough room for her doll "Jillian." She thinks the doll is real, so out of respect I ask what she is ordering for breakfast.

The waitress walks past us and is skillfully balancing three plates down her left arm to her...
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