Dependent relationship

The best relationships are based on love, trust and mutual respect. The worst drag on because of interdependency and that dejected feeling that nothing's better out there. The latter pretty much sums up my relationship with the Chesapeake Bagels by my office in McLean.

When I want a quick bite in the middle of the day, it's basically the only option where I can be in and out in 20 minutes.

Today, I ordered a vegetarian bagel with hummus, provolone cheese and veggies, but without tomatoes or sprouts on a sourdough bagel. What I got was a bagel with a little bit of hummus falling out the hole in the middle, a slice of cheese, a piece of lettuce and a tiny piece of onion.

I also found a couple sprouts stuck to the cheese, as if they'd included them, realized their mistake and proceeded to remove them by hand. There was also some suspicious pieces of something dark on the cheese that I hoped wasn't bacon, because I was so hungry I ate it anyway.

This should be the end of a mediocre relationship, but the truth is, it's not. It can't be. I'm dependent on the Chesapeake Bagels in a strip mall in McLean. For my personal needs, I can't do any better.