"Meal Planner's Creed," a Story by Diane Williams

In the 18th in a series of posts on 2012 short story collections entered for The Story Prize, Diane Williams, author of Vicky Swanky Is a Beauty (McSweeney's Books), raises questions about stories and replies with a story of her own.

What is a story?
They are are always asking. What is a story?
Is that a story? What is a story?
Can a story be a dream-come-true?

 

Meal Planner's Creed

     “Will your restaurant always be as bad as this?—or do you expect to make changes? It used to be such a good restaurant. We loved coming here. What happened?” I said.

     “What was wrong with the food,” the manager said,

     “Do you ever eat this food? You should eat this food,” I said.

     “I am not going to run around anymore I decided,” the manager said, “and serve people and see what people need. I am just going to enjoy myself!“