Free Drinks
When my Indiana friend, Jeff, told me he and Karen were going to the Cork and Cleaver to celebrate their thirty-third wedding anniversary I asked him if they had reservations. He said, “Yes.â€
Why did I ask? Because that makes it much easier to stealthily buy their dinner. I called the restaurant shortly after I guessed they’d arrived and told the manager, Matthew, that I wanted to pay for the Ruthenburg’s dinner. He went off somewhere, to look at the reservation list, I assumed, and came back and said, “You’re too late. James Ruthenburg has already picked up the tab. â€
I thought, DAMN, now what? Thwarted! I’ve never failed at this. “Alright†I said, “I’ll pay for their drinks. Jeff likes Makers on the rocks and give Karen another glass of whatever she’s having.†I pictured a hefty glass of merlot. Mad that I missed out on buying dinner, I started rattling off my Mastercard number when Matthew stopped me.
“No, no. I don’t want your credit card for two drinks.â€
I thought he was telling me he wasn’t going to let me buy those drinks. That he wouldn’t put so small an amount on a credit card. That pissed me off even more, so I really didn’t catch his last line.
“Next time you’re nearby stop in and you can pay me in cash.â€
“Okay,†I said in a huff, and hung up. Then I realized what he’d said.
Wow. There are still nice people in the world. Who knew?
Comment by Jen — February 6, 2008 @ 2:35 pm
Only in the midwest….
Comment by BirdBrain — February 6, 2008 @ 3:07 pm
Someone else with our idea? {Who is James?}
Comment by smiling — February 9, 2008 @ 11:14 am