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TM at dinner recently at Angus Barn. It was his grandmother's birthday
and his father wanted to take her out to a nice restaurant. Also in
attendance was TM's aunt, uncle, two cousins, Grandma's best friend, Grandma's
best friend's boyfriend, and Grandma's boy-toy. By some fluke, TM got stuck
at the end of the table, next to his uncle and the boy-toy. Within 30 seconds
the three of them had exhausted all possible mutual subjects of conversation
(seriously! It went something like this = Uncle: "So, how about that Duke
football team?" TM: "I don't like football." Uncle: "Oh.") TM sat in bored
silence for several minutes following that exchange, and then began looking
around the restaurant.
Situated immediately diagonal to him there was a small table of the cozy
sort which would seat only two. While TM sat there admiring the picturesque
little table, a young couple walked up and occupied it.
TM spent the rest of the meal staring at them. It's not the sort of thing
that he normally would have done, but he was rather bored. They seemed like
a cute couple; mid twenties and dressed very finely, she with a corsage and he
with a lapel-flower. After several minutes, the young woman noticed him
watching her and her date, and looked at him with a sort of suspicious
curiosity. The young man had his back to TM and never seemed to notice that
she was looking off at TM.
Fourty minutes later, this look had been transmuted to one of
paranoid anger. TM began feeling guilty, and was wondering what could be
done, when the young man got up and stepped out of the hall, presumably to
use the restroom or perhaps to make a phone call. Seeing an opportunity to
apologize, TM excused himself from his relatives and then went over and sat
down in the chair which had just been vacated.
"Forgive me for staring at you and your -uhm-"
"Boyfriend", she filled in.
"- date, the two of you look so cute together, and I was very bored."
"Uhm, do you often do this sort of thing?", she asked.
"No, the two of you are my first."
"Oh, ok." She looked around nervously and then, turning back to him, said,
"You're really weird, you know that?"
"Yep.", replied TM. "Well, I'd better get back to my table."
"Bye."
TM had just sat back down in his chair when the boyfriend returned. The
boyfriend did not return alone, though, he brought with him 3 violinists who promptly
began playing sweet melodies as he got on one knee at her chair-side and proposed.
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