On his birthday, I took Richard to IHOP, his favorite special-treat eatery. We slowly worked our way to the last booth at the back where I faced Rich toward the kitchen, hoping his loud voice wouldn’t annoy other eaters.
While waiting for service I noticed a young couple we had passed seated two booths away on the other side of the aisle. She was attractive with medium length black hair, dark eyes and pale skin, wearing light sweater and skirt. He sat across from her with his back to me but I could see he wore a brown T-shirt, had a short haircut and glasses. His shoulders hinted he was in good shape. I wondered if they were married as she seemed very comfortable with him and kept constant eye contact. I never saw her look our way.
Not much more than a year ago Rich finally got a new hearing aid through Medicaid. He only needed one as his right ear is not functional. Unfortunately he recently left his aid in a baggie on the lunch room table and it was thrown away by the help. If you shout into his good ear he can sometimes hear you. Realizing vocal conversation would be difficult at IHOP, I brought along a small pad on which I attempted to write out my side of a conversation. Unfortunately, Rich had not brought his reading glasses with him so he had to peer at my writing and query various entries. I soon ran out of energy and we mostly devoted full attention to eating.
Richard had his favorite: a stack of hotcakes with fried egg and bacon on the side. Richard had problems eating his fried egg. He apparently couldn't cut the white part all the way through, so when he poked the tines of his fork into a piece to lift it to his mouth, it would remain attached to the yoke and slip back off his fork. After a number of failures, I distracted Richard with some question and quickly sawed his egg into manageable pieces before he could notice my action.
I finished my three pancakes at a moderate pace; they were surprisingly good. Richard stopped frequently to add butter and syrup to his mound of cakes. He worked away at his bacon and egg. This was a major destruction project, to be relished. When I finished, I gestured to our waitress that I wanted our check and she nodded her comprehension as she strode by bearing a tray.
While Rich worked away at the remainder of his task, I saw the waitress stop at the young couples' table, tear off their check from her pad and hand it to the girl. The girl beckoned the waitress closer and whispered in her ear for a few moments. I wondered what it could be that she apparently didn’t want someone, presumably her dining partner, to hear. The waitress tore a second check off her pad and handed it to the girl.
Rich and I launched into some conversation and it was a few minutes before I realized I hadn’t received the bill. I stopped the waitress as she walked by. She appeared a bit embarrassed and mumbled something about the girl in the other booth picking up our tab.
I was suddenly energized, sensing something weird going on. I think I knew exactly what had happened but didn’t want it to stop there, didn't want the good deed unrewarded. The other booth was now vacant. I walked down the aisle into the main body of the restaurant with the waitress virtually in tow. Do you see them, I queried her. "No sir, they must have left”. I hurried to the entrance and looked down the parking lot for two people. A car nearby on the left pulled out with three occupants; one on the right had only a single driver. Far down the lot I saw a man getting into a driver’s seat. The car was parked with its rear toward me. I thought the man was wearing a tan shirt. I jogged down the lot toward the car, all the while thinking if they’re watching me through the rear window they must think I’m nuts. I tried to peer into the still parked car's driver's window from a few feet away but the window was tinted. I decided to call it a day and turned away. Just then the window rolled down and it was they. I slowly approached the window, crouched down and addressed her: “Do I know you…or do you know us?” She answered, “No.” I said “Well, then why did you pay our tab?” Leaning forward in the seat and turning to directly face me, she said “You showed such love for him.”
I was not surprised by her words because somehow I had expected something like this all along. Nevertheless, still crouched there, I was rendered speechless. I choked with emotion; I couldn’t express myself. I finally rose, reached over to put my hand on his shoulder while looking at her, “You two are very special people…you have to know that”. I started to walk away, I knew what had occurred really required no more words to explain. But I didn’t want to end our encounter so abruptly. I turned back to blurt three words I had never spoken before: “God bless you”.
Feeling as though I had undergone some sort of mystical experience, almost in a daze, I walked back to the restaurant. As I pulled the door open I turned to look back down the parking lot and confirmed what I already knew: their car had yet to move.
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