Tales from the Pit - Great Expectations

The axiom "you shouldn't judge a book by its cover" is one that most people should use to guide them in their daily actions. Otherwise, it may lead to perhaps some of the most illuminating and possibly confrontational encounters possible. There are some instances where the opposite may be true.

Today was a nominally busy day, compared to the last two weeks. Customers were in and out and we ere mostly full around lunch time. This black middle-aged couple came in around 12:30 PM, the man with a bushy beard with growing streaks of gray and the woman with a hook-nose like a bird, with keen and quick eyes hidden behind horned-rimmed glasses.

The man walked up to me along side his wife, who was muttering about the catfish on the menu.

"Excuse me, can I get some shrimp egg foo yung?"

"What?" I replied, annoyed that this had to be another one of those days.

"How about some shrimp fried rice?" He continued inquiring.

"I'd actually like the catfish fillets, please." His wife said to me, ignoring his remarks. She rolled her eyes at him, mildly irritated.

I stared at the man and gave him my death stare, cold and unreadable as if boring into the depths of his soul.

"Sir, I feel as if I should be offended. I'm not sure whether to call the ACLU or not..." I remarked tersely, staring.

"What....?" He replied, mildly taken aback. His wife smirked a bit at his discomfort.

I sensed an opening and went in for the kill to catch my prey.

"Sir, I'm kidding." I told him, my expression softening slightly though without any betrayal of a smile or laughter.

"But...you're offended?" Obviously, he didn't get the fact that I was toying with him.

"Oh, he's not. Just stop it and order something." His wife barked, with a slightly amused look on her face.

The husband acquiesced and placed his order, returning back to normal.

Afterwards, the woman came up to me. She and her husband had finished their meals. I was mildly lost in my own world and didn't notice them until she stood at the register. She looked at me, her eyes shining slightly.

"I just want to say that that was delicious. I'm definitely coming back!" I was taken aback by the compliments since no one had every gone up to me like this before.

"Er, well...thank you, madam." I stammered slightly, bemused.

"I was sitting there and talking to those people and after I finished, I felt like I had to go out and start waving my arms at people and getting them to come on in! I mean when I first drove by, I didn't see many cars so I was a bit skeptical. But damn, it was great!"

"Well, that's certainly...admirable, ma'am." I thanked her and motioned my hand a bit to the menus nearby. What the hell was I supposed to say upon receiving such praise? I was impressed, especially considering that my experience with black people has taught me that they tend to be the most critical and most picky of eaters. What happened next was something that I didn't expect.

Her husband took out his hand and held it for a handshake. Confused, I shook his hand firmly.

"That was great. It was delicious."

The couple waved me good-bye and left the restaurant, heading back to work. Needless to say, some things are entirely unexpected.