My partner Sabine and I, had been working all day and were hungrily searching dinner options that evening. We’d been eating out a lot recently, with all the best intentions to cook, but alas, the fridge was empty and so was our imagination.
What’s a couple of hungry entrepreneurs to do?
We’d been spending a lot of money on taking courses and eating out. For this reason, I was feeling rather uptight about going out to a “fancy” restaurant that night. And I was willing to settle for “cheap” to save the money I decided we didn’t have!
We had been learning from our courses the importance of asking questions. Even to ask our bodies what foods would our bodies like to eat.
As you already know, I wanted to eat “cheap” and Sabine’s body was saying, “Let’s eat at Waldo’s” in the downtown of our city. I knew Waldo’s to be a more expensive choice, but she was determined to eat well, so this time her choice “won” and I resigned myself to order a salad, even though my tummy was grumbling already.
Did I ask my body what it wanted to have for dinner?
Well, actually, I did. In contrast with my mind, I think my body was saying it wanted the yummy salmon dinner with roasted vegetables. But that was $29.00! Conversely, the salad was only $7.00. Admittedly, not listening to my body, but to my pocketbook and to my conclusions about money, I ordered the salad and Sabine ordered a butternut squash pasta dish.
After we had ordered, I noticed a colleague of ours sitting at the next table over with his date. They were laughing, enjoying a nice wine in crystal goblets and then, the inevitable unfolded. Presently, I, salivating, watched the server carry 2 delicious salmon dinners over to their table. Whispering to Sabine that my body wanted that, she whispered back and told me to order it if that’s what I wanted.
I shrunk instead mumbling that the salad would be perfect.
After the food came to our table, I took my time, biting every lettuce leaf with care, and faking orgasmic enjoyment while Sabine thoroughly and unapologetically enjoyed every bite of her steaming hot plate of aromatic, homemade pasta. With puppy dog eyes and a plastic half smile, I enviously watched our friends enjoying the delicious dinner I did not order.
After our meal ended, and as I was swishing down the last mouthful of tap water from my regular glass, Sabine got up to go to the restroom before we paid the bill. As I was sitting alone in the booth, waiting for her to come back, our server came to our table, I assumed, to give us the bill. While I reached for my wallet, she put her hand up like a stop sign and said, “Oh, don’t worry, your meal has already been paid for.” Sabine was just returning to our table and I looked at her as if to ask “Did you pay it already?” No, it was our colleague, who was now just leaving the restaurant.
As we both gave him that stunned “Did-you-really-just-pay-for-everything?” look, combining a “thank you” with total surprise, he said, “Wow, you two are cheap dates! No wine, no dessert? You could have ordered anything you wanted! Have a great evening!” And out the door he and his date went.
In shock mode, I realized, “I could have had the salmon!” The delicious possibility I wasn’t quite ready for. Sabine just looked at me and smiled.