THE WAITER

My daughter took me out to dinner last night.  Okay, it was a "Secret Shopper"  assignment so the meal was comped. And, okay, I was her third choice.  (Maybe 4th or more.  Who knows how many people chose not to dine in beautiful downtown Poughkeepsie last night.)  No matter, I was delighted to spend some quality time with daughter number 3.

We arrived at the Mill House at 6:20; one hour and twenty minutes after our 5 o'clock departure.  Our arrival is colorfully announced by thug-like GPS spokesperson.
Good conversation, good music.
We were late for our 6 pm reservation,  but they had been warned we might be late.  No issues, we were immediately directed to our table where our waiter soon greeted us.
"I hear you've come a long way," he queried.  Slightly disturbed, we provided a brief history of New Milford and it's proximity the MH.
The restaurant appears to be associated with a brewery; they had a vast assortment of beers I have never heard of.  Mrs. P ordered a non alcoholic Ginger beer.  I had a vodka martini.
We also ordered an appetizer to share.  Pierogies.  The waiter convinced us to upgrade to an added kielbasa.  Sure.
Beverages arrive, appetizer shortly thereafter.  Cheers.
I order the Fish and Chips; the lady orders an All American hamburger.  Hmm, no query as to how the burger should be cooked.  I on the other hand, received a well deserved "good choice" comment.
We finish our appetizer and we are nursing our drinks.
Our waiter offers to take our plates.  He does.  He also takes our silverware.

After a while, our waiter returns.  He wonders out loud if we would like to see a dessert menu, or would we like to see the check.  Once again disturbed, we inform him that we are in no hurry and content to just relax.  He assures us that is not a problem.

There is talk amongst ourselves.  Not in a harsh way, we question our waiters experience and skills.
Truth be told, he can do no harm in my eyes.  He is charming and reminds me of an older and much taller Landon.
After a few more minutes, he returns, wondering what he can do for us.  We respectfully remind him that we hadn't had our dinner yet.
He is stunned and dismayed.  My heart bleeds for him.  He mentions the pierogies and kielbasa.
We remind him of the burger and fish.  ( I fear his "good choice" comment was not sincere.)
With sudden and embarrassing clarity, our waiter remembers!
He overcomes his nausea, and recovers his composure and self esteem.
"Let me check on those,"  he whispers with only the slightest hint of mortification.
Gratefully, nothing of interest to report about the meal itself, except for the fact that we had to remind our waiter we no longer had silverware.
The paying of the check was a bit off; no itemized bill.  Maybe that's how they do things in Poughkeepsie.

The ride home featured a recap of the evenings events.
Good times.
I was also introduced to the music of Kane Brown, a Country singer.  Country music!  That means no cursing.  That means a sharp contrast to the banter banter of our GPS spokesperson.

A lovely evening........................