Friday, February 22, 2013

Lunch Buddy

There is a little pizza restaurant in the town where I live that offers a $4.00 lunch on weekdays.  I don't have a lot of money, but I like to go there about once a week (sometimes twice).  I am familiar with several of the waitresses and the general manager, and have taken the liberty to introduce them to two of my friends.  Well, one is my friend.  The other is my friend's friend, with whom I am familiar because he used to be a server at another restaurant where I sometimes like to go.

This last Tuesday, I decided to eat at the pizza place for lunch. My friend, who is a woman, had to work. However, her friend who has eaten with both of us there before was off for the day.  I knew he was off and had his phone number, so I called.  I don't know what I was thinking, maybe that it would be nice to eat lunch with a friend instead of alone. Big mistake. 

I don't know what is with men.  I am very, very clear with everyone especially men that I am romantically unavailable.  Married, separated or divorced, it does not matter to me.  Call it a religious thing if you like, but when I vowed my heart to one man, I gave it to him for good.  That is the way it should be.  That is the way it is with me.  It is no secret and I wear a ring on my wedding finger to make sure it is no secret.  NOTE: What I do with my love life is not hurting anybody in any way, shape, or form, and is really nobody's business but my own.  Somehow, though, unattached men find the challenge of convincing me to abandon my conviction so that they can date me absolutely irresistible.

Long story short, my friend's friend and I got into a minor tiff about who would pay for my lunch.  Despite my protests and the fact that I am an adult woman, the waitress supported "the man's" position and put my meal on his ticket.  Not a problem.  I had cash.  When we were alone again at the table, I slipped a $5.00 bill in his hand and told him it was for my lunch.  He refused to take it and I refused to take it back.  It wound up being left on the table.

Mind you, this was after our lunch conversation had alerted him to the fact that I own my own house and two acres of land in another State.  It was also after he told me I should marry him, after he tried to talk me out of waiting for my husband to get through his midlife crisis, and after he told me he has no problem driving four hours in each direction to visit me on the weekends when he moves in about two months.  (Driving eight hours for lunch with a friend is a little extreme, don't you think?)

Today, I decided to go to lunch and try to see if I could catch the same waitress from the other day.  She was there and I told her in a very friendly manner that I felt bad about letting that may and pick up the for my lunch when there is no way I will ever be interested in dating him.  I'm pretty sure she knew that I understood she was trying to do me a favor; and she didn't say anything, but I could see from the look in her eyes that she understood how taking his side about paying a silly lunch tab was probably not the best thing for her to do.

Needless to say, I will not purposely be dining with that gentleman again anytime in the near future -- or ever, since he says he will be moving in about two months.  In retrospect, though, I think I am glad this happened.  With my celebrity steadily increasing (in minor increments), and with the irresistible challenge to men of a woman who does not feel available, I am certain to find other men who think they will surely be the champion to magically break my resolve and win the mystical treasure (whatever that might be).  It is good to know that there is at least one waitress at my favorite lunch hangout who understands that I will have a reason for declining a free lunch.

Sigh. Now all I have to do is find another lunch buddy.

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