Friday, August 20, 2021
Recipients:
Elouise & Sean (her Dad) / server Rick @ Uno Mas, Platt Park
Foreword
I am writing this *95 days* after the fact.
A recipe for disaster, under normal circumstances.
I have pictures of the award. Something is written underneath "For". Theoretically I know why I gave it in the first place. However, it's a far cry from knowing the emotional context, which makes the writing part of this process easier. Oh, this is the same kind of recall-related hubris that kept me from writing names and dates on pictures I had taken during college. I see these people every day, some part of my brain must have said. How could I possibly forget? Ha.
Thankfully, we had an idea on our walk home from the restaurant.
Mike and I decided to park ourselves on a nearby bench and take a few moments to record ourselves on his phone describing what happened. The audio diary captured details I had forgotten about in the intervening weeks. Better still, it preserved our amusement and delight in a way that typing information into my notes app couldn't have done. Listening to it now is a joyful experience. (Our couple-speak, finishing each other's sentences, and the audible smooch at the end preserved for posterity is the cherry on top.)
~ ~ ~
The Rest of the Story
We were seated at one end of a picnic table; our neighbors at the other end were a guy with a little girl we presumed was his daughter. She was about six years old, adorable, blond with green eyes, and -- we were to find out soon enough -- not afraid of talking to strangers.
Elouise ("with a U, because I'm unique") began the conversation with a sincere endorsement of the quesadillas, which she noticed Mike had also ordered. It just got better from there.
"My dad makes me the *best* margaritas." Sean quickly clarified that the ones he made for her were alcohol-free.
"It took us longer than we thought [to visit the restroom] because then Dad had to go, too."
Our waiter, Rick, won us over with his willingness to play along as well as getting our food to the table with impressive speed for a busy Friday night. When Elouise used the term "fast food", Rick took the opportunity to educate her, saying it was quality food served fast, which is different.
The most snort-worthy moment came when Elouise told Rick that her drink was the best drink ever, which pleased him greatly as he had made it himself. He mentioned that it came with free refills and he could give them one to go. Dad quickly said, "Nooooo, no, that's OK," as we teasingly chastised Rick for breaking the commandment, "Thou shalt not offer the six year old more sugary drinks before bedtime."
We could not have been more entertained.
Bonus: As we were walking out, another diner who had observed the merriment and award-giving stopped us to say how uplifting it was to witness, especially during these times, and encouraged me to keep being me. Not necessary, not the point of the exercise, and also still nice to hear.
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