The Smile

It's pizza night and I've been invited. I'm worried but they've said there will be gluten free pizza and I want to go so I trust them. I've eaten with them before and didn't get sick. I arrive and find that someone else is bringing the pizza. I wait, anxious. Will I be going home sick? Despite years of saying no and downing pop after pop, drink after drink to keep from having to eat there is only so much you can do when you've been invited for dinner. It's hard to pretend you're not hungry then. Maybe some people can tell others they don't feel comfortable eating the food but as soon as someone goes out of their way to prepare food that is gluten free specially for me I feel obligated to eat it. So I'm nervous. 

The family arrives and the gluten free pizza goes into the microwave to finish cooking. The mother and her four year old walk into the kitchen. We are introduced. 

"Honey, she's gluten free just like you," the Mom points to me as she tells her daughter who is hiding behind her. I nod and smile back at her. 

"I'm just like you!" I exclaim, hoping she won't mind sharing her pizza with me. 

A smile slowly blooms across her face. I smile back at her. 

The smile that says I am not alone, I am not the only one, I am not weird. Someone is like me. 

A powerful thing for a four year old to understand that she is not alone and a powerful thing for twenty two year old to be a part of.