French Fry

In the hospital they brought me steak and french fries. I hadn't had a french fry in 13 years. I had just come up from emergency and this tray arrives. Not the best choice for a bowel obstruction. I was foggy with fever so I picked up the fry and held it. Just wanted to hold it for a second. I tasted it. Just a fourth of  it--yet it was not the glorious, mind-bending taste that I had imagined. Too much salt, too much fear, too much disappointment--all in that tiny little piece of potato. I pushed it away.