I Know This Feeling
When A Party Of One Isn’t Alone
“Relieved, I waited and he quickly returned and asked me to follow him. He pulled out a table that was quite snug in next to another couple. This couple was using one of the chairs of my table to store their things, and as the maître d’ pulled out out my chair, the gentleman began to remove his belongings when I told him it wasn’t necessary.
“You are alone?” He asked me.
“Yes,” I said. And then the maître d’ jumped in.
“No! You are not alone! Now you are here, dining with us!” he said, smiling, and with a gesture of his hand indicated the restaurant.
It was perhaps one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. I settled into my seat and watched the families and couples enjoy their dinner while I slurped my last briny oysters of my visit. And the feeling of being alone was forgotten.”