Lost and Found: A Dinner Out
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Diane: “How much asparagus comes with the truffled potato and duck dish?”
Waiter: “Approximately 5-7 spears, m’am.”
Diane: “I see… and are there nuts in the ‘Coddled Cod’… which, by the way, is an adorable name for a dish…”
Waiter: “Pine nuts to be precise: it is one of our signatures and Chef Seamus is quite fond of alliteration – he originally has a background in literature!”
Diane: “NOOOO! Ooooh, a renaissance man. Jaime, did you hear that?!? Literature!”
Jaime: “Hmmm.”
Diane and Jaime Hilgenbra had been married for 15 years: most of them good, and some of them wonderful. They were the proud parents of two children, now in college (one at State, and one off to Hamilton, upstate… studying social something or other). They were good people who had lead decent and honest lives – save for that one little indiscretion that Jaime had had, but that was years ago, and what Diane didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt her… after all, he DID love her – he knew that. Jaime worked as the front office man for the construction contracting business he had started with his brother, Robert, 12 years prior, and Diane was the receptionist and billing “department” for Dr. Cross’ dental practice near the center of town. Diane ordered the “Coddled Cod” with a small garden salad, and in the end Jaime ordered the chicken stuffed with haggis, wrapped in ham – they split a molten chocolate cake and two glasses of champagne for desert… which they had first. It was their 15 year anniversary after all.
Found fluttering in ankle high grasses on the Long Island Expressway as I stepped from the car to relieve my aching bladder.
“Was kind of into it until you had to make it all personal with the ‘where I pee’ commentary.”