Sometimes the Malaysian serves as my sounding board. In this particular instance I was relaying my “Man Plan” for the new year to get his pseudo-unbiased opinion. The conversation deteriorated before we ever came to that point.
“Crappery, I need to you to tell me how inappropriate this might be, ‘kay? Do you remember me talking about the organizational book I bought?”
“Yes.”
During my normally jam-packed workday there is usually no time to take my government mandated 15-minute break. Shoot, I’m lucky if I have time for a bathroom break. Lucky for me today was different. I actually had a few spare minutes to head outside and enjoy some tea with The Malaysian. Behind our building there’s a small garden complete with benches and plenty of shade. Temperatures in the mid-70′s with plenty of sunshine provided a wonderful setting for us to chat, sip, and enjoy the efforts of our contract landscapers.
Lizards are not something my “fren” is very fond of, and the garden was infested with them. Each time one would scurry by he exclaimed, “Jessica, it’s a leezard! Look! Over dere (sounds like “dare”)!”
“Sorry, man, I don’t have my glasses on…can’t see it.”
“Look, right by the gates…” He picked up a pebble and tossed it near the lizard.
To appease him I admitted to seeing something dark near the gate. That satisfied him enough to change the subject back to our previous conversation. Five minutes later a large lizard runs into some grass across from us.
“Whoa! Did you see that?! So many geicos everywhere!”
They walked in and said hello as I rushed some drinks out to another table.
“Hi, guys. Same drinks as usual?”
They nod.
“Alright, be right back with those.”
Tea with an extra carafe filled to the top, coffee with two creams even though she only uses one, and a mimosa before the meal. He drinks lots of tea and drinks it fast, so I always bring him plenty. She drinks her coffee just as quickly but sips on the mimosa while waiting for a refill. For each refill I’ll bring her another creamer, so she always has an extra…in case her habits change.
Sometimes she grabs a menu while walking in to pretend like her order will be something different than the usual, always hotcakes with sausage. His palette is always in the mood for a new dish. Today it was fajitas and eggs, a few weeks ago it was the migas.
They’re talkers. They can keep you at the table for several minutes if you let them. It seems like an eternity on days where I find myself “in the weeds”, struggling and squirming to communicate a sense of urgency, eventually slipping away gracefully to fulfill the needs of my other guests.
Though not everyone will agree, I always enjoy seeing them. My sentiment is not based upon the tip they leave, usually a standard 20 percent (yes, STANDARD), but on the interest they show in my aspirations, including becoming a fluent Spanish speaker. As an adult I’ve grown increasingly self-conscious when trying to speak Spanish. I understand the words through context and familiarity, but prefer to respond in English which does not help in working toward becoming fluent. To remedy this I decided to try to start reading books in Spanish and shared that specific goal with this couple. The last time I saw them he suggested a book of short stories with Spanish/English versions on each page. When I walked in the pub today, I had the book waiting for me in the office.
There are times people are ridiculous, rude, demeaning, and sometimes downright evil, but this couple embodies the reason I have not given up my second job as a waitress. To both of them, thank you, thank you, thank you for caring, contributing, and being a regular part of the pub.
