Mr. Helpful

So, last night was Parents' Night Out at church...three cheers for free babysitting!!! Yeah!! It started at 5:30 (which I didn't realize until 5:15) and ran all the way until 9:00. Well, Kenny was on days yesterday. (He has a very interesting and complex schedule. When he's on days, it's a 12 hour shift starting at 6:30 am. If he's on nights, he starts at 6:30 pm.) Since he was on days, I knew he couldn't meet me until about 7:30 pm. But, I thought, "That's okay! I'll go have dinner and coffee at my favorite spot in Searcy...Midnight Oil!!" I took a book (Anne of Avonlea...go ahead...laugh!) with me to read. I've been watching the series on PBS (yeah, with all my free time, ha ha!), and it occurred to me that I really should actually read the books. So, I go in and order a Don Pepperon (if you use your imagination even a little you might guess that this is basically pepperoni and melted cheese on a bagel. Supper of champions.) and a blackberry Italian soda. All was well. For a spell. I sat contentedly reading about Anne and her jersey cow and the Avonlea Village Improvement Society (I TOTALLY think Searcy should have a Village Improvement Society!) Life was bliss. For a few shining moments. After Anne fixed the problem with the jersey cow, I decided it was time for coffee and dessert. Kenny still had about 30 minutes to drive, so I thought that should be just about perfect. It was about 7:10. I go to order. I get a short decaf mocha and a beautiful piece of spoon cake (a cake I've been trying to duplicate for years, without much success. Ergo, I order it any time I can.) In walks an old friend, Rich O'Connell. With his 3rd son, Ben, who is 13 months old. He was so cute!! (Ben, not Rich.) Rich explains Ben's been crying at a restaurant down the street, so he walked with him down to Midnight Oil. (Overachiever! :^) So I hold Ben and pat him on the back, which promptly caused him to throw up...I was like, "Um, I think I figured out your problem..." It was good to see those two, throw up and all. So, by then my mocha and spoon cake were ready. Yum! I sit down with them and call Kenny. He's nearly there!! Yeah! We talk for a few minutes, and I eat about half of the cake. I can't choke down another bite! So, I save it for my honey. Good wife. Score. At 7:30, Kenny's about 10 minutes out. I offer to go ahead and order for him. He's excited about that prospect. I head up to the counter, about to do a great thing for my husband. THINK AGAIN. I'm up there explaining the menu to him, when Mr. Helpful behind the counter pipes in, "Um, we don't serve sandwiches after 7:00." At first, I thought he was joking. Kenny's driven a whole hour in a car that's got only sketchy ac after having worked a 12 hour+ shift, and now he can't get a meal at the place I've waited for him for 2 hours? I kind of grinned at Mr. Helpful. Mr. Helpful grinned back. I said, "Really, please. Come on. It's a sandwich." "No, all the stuff is put away. I simply cannot make you a sandwich." The girl behind the counter pipes in, "She's been here a really long time. Why don't you help her?" "No, I can't do that. Everything's put away. Besides, I did that once and got in trouble." I couldn't believe my ears. I turned around and walked back to my table in a dazed silence. Kenny was driving also in a dazed silence. We were in a collective dazed silence. Really I wanted to tell Mr. Helpful, who was a Harding student, I'm sure, "Clearly you're not a business student. Because if you were a business student, you would know that it is far better to make a customer completely happy with a very slight bend of the rules (especially a rule which is not in place for safety or health concerns), than to tick off a customer (especially one who blogs) in order to get out of 5-minutes' work. Your boss, when I tell him, and I WILL tell him, will be most unpleased with your un-businesslike decision. Way to go. You know, don't change your major...business doesn't suit you." So, these were the possibly mean thoughts floating around in my head. I heard a little voice speaking to me (very quietly) that perhaps I shouldn't say them. Something about my being a christian. I'm not sure. However, I yielded to said voice, asked for a to-go box for my half-eaten cake, and hurried out of there. I'd like to say I won't be back for a while, but I'm pretty sure that's not true. However, I'm NOT tipping Mr. Helpful. Ever. Unless the little voice talks to me again. So, Kenny went through the drive-through at Arby's where he was promptly given the wrong sandwich, and we had an imperfectly perfect evening, which we finished up with a long talk on a swing at Harding's Campus (which I pointed out to Kenny that he need not fear since he's already got the ole' ball and chain. If you went to Harding you'll understand.) So anyways, if you happen to be in Searcy, hungry, and you go to the best coffee shop ever, aka Midnight Oil, make sure you're there early...the food doesn't stay out for long!