The hostess seated us at a table by the window and placed the menus in front of us. We had just begun to scan the menus, when a young man whom I assumed by his casual attire and backpack was a university student, entered the restaurant by the back door, near where we were sitting. On the way in, he grabbed a menu from the rack and seated himself at the table across from us. Our waitress looked a little surprised when she discovered him there as she brought our ice water with lemon and placed it in front of us.
I glanced over while she went to get a glass of water for him and the impression that I had was that he was worried or troubled about something. Then I wondered if he might just be hungry. I think he must have been because he did not hesitate to give his order for a dish of poutine when the waitress returned with his water.
My attention shifted from him when our soup and salad arrived and as Glen and I chatted, about the day’s activities, I forgot that he was there, until I saw the server place his healthy serving of poutine in front of him. As I finished my salad I glanced across to see him eating the last bites of his meal and swallowing them down with the water remaining in his glass. He wiped his mouth with his napkin, threw it on to his empty plate and looked quickly around. He avoided eye contact, as he looked our way. The next thing I knew was that he hoisted his backpack that had been on the floor by his chair, on to his shoulder and headed out the back door.
He was gone so quickly that I had no time to react. I wondered if I should go running after him and tell him to wait for his bill. Clearly that was not his intention. Then I thought to myself, if he is so hungry that he has to come in and order something and leave without paying, he is probably pretty desperate. I think we should ask the server to add his bill to ours.
Glen, who had his back to the door, asked me, “Did he leave?” I nodded in response. Then Glen said, “We do not want the waitress to get stuck having to pay for him. You remember how hard it was for Elizabeth (our daughter) when she had to waitress all through university.” I agreed.
It was a few minutes before the waitress finally came by again. She did a double take when she passed the table and said to us, “Has he gone?” Then she said to herself, “But I did not even bring him his bill.”
We said to her, “If you have to cover this yourself, we are happy to add it to our bill.”
“I don’t know what happens,” she replied. “Nobody has ever done this to me before.” I was happy to learn that this was not a common occurrence. It restored some of my faith in the common decency of people.
Eventually she found out that she would not have to pay, but our gesture of kindness transformed her attitude toward us. Until then she had been polite but not particularly friendly. After our offer of kindness, she smiled and although she was delayed in bringing us our desert she was most apologetic.
It is not an exciting story. Why do I share it with you? Simply to help us all remember that He who is the source of kindness gives us many opportunities each day to pass that along to those who come our way. It can help them avoid the cynicism that can be engendered by the wrong done to them by others.
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| Short listed Word Guild Awards 2018 |
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| Word Guild Award 2011 |
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| Word Guild Award 2009 |
1 comment:
This is a lovely story, Eleanor. May our Heavenly Father multiply His blessings to you and Glen. Your giving in this way no doubt turned a potentially disappointing situation into an experience of surprise and relief, for your server. Somehow, He may work grace in the young man's life and circumstance, too, as well as for her.~~+~~
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