It Happened At Dinner

Lynn took me to Caffe Umbra for dinner for my birthday tonight. Amidst a tasty meal (mixed olives, chicken liver mousse, fish stew, porterhouse lamb chop), the following two noteworthy events took place:

• Lynn's water glass was empty. The waiter comes by, pours about an inch of water and ice into the glass, stops, and walks away. He wasn't out of water (he went and filled some other lucky soul's glass), and Lynn's glass was still mostly empty. Strange.
• As Lynn was finishing up her coffee and I my beer, and as we waited to pay the bill before leaving, a couple joined the large party at the next table over and set their little baby on the ground in her car seat, facing us. She slept for a few minutes, but then she began to wake and stretch her tiny arms and finally opened her big brown eyes. She stared at Lynn for awhile, and then at me, with no intention of looking anywhere else. We waved at her, and she waved back. (Well, at least, she blinked and murmured to acknowledge our actions. After we paid the bill and thought we had completed our conversation with our new friend, we got up to leave. As we traversed the fifteen feet from our table to the door, the baby started talking more and more loudly, before finally bursting into tears that could be heard restaurant-wide. Poor little girl. I'd cry, too, if Lynn and I were leaving my life forever!