THE DATE THAT FAILED

Sitting on the patio at the Bella Union Restaurant

Debra had gone to lunch with Ashley a few weeks ago in a quaint little town at a quaint little restaurant with a quaint little outdoor dining patio amply covered with shade from a single tree.  When she was there, she ordered a Wild Salmon Burger and that decision made a lasting impression on her life.

Today, I took the day off work and Debra wanted to relive the adventure by taking me out to lunch at the Bella Union Restaurant in Jacksonville, Oregon, with a gift card she had received from co-workers on her birthday.  When we arrived, the place was packed and the hostess told us that we would have to wait about ten minutes for a table, so we sat in the waiting area and studied the menu, even though our hearts were already set on the Wild Salmon Burger.

After our brief wait, the hostess escorted us to the patio and seated us at one of the best tables available.  After we took our seats, the hostess said, “Your server, Jon, will be with you in a moment”.  She left us alone, and within a couple of minutes Jon arrived to a couple of salmon-burger-obsessive customers and asked, “What would you folks like today?”

 

“We’d both like your Wild Salmon Burger,” I answered.

 

After a brief pause, Jon said, “I’m sorry, but we’re not serving salmon burgers today.” 

Our body language might have been unsuccessful in concealing our disappointment.  “Oh,” I bemoaned. “Then please give us a moment to look over your menu again.”

 

Reluctantly, Debra and I surveyed the selection of sandwiches and we both decided to order the Pulled Pork Sandwich.  After we made our choice, we waited for Jon to return to take our order.  He arrived shortly.

 

“We’d both like your Pulled Pork Sandwich,” I told him.

 

“That’s an excellent choice!” Jon replied.  “In fact, it’s my personal favorite.”

 

Jon took our order and left us to enjoy the beautiful setting and, of course, to enjoy each other.  After a few minutes Jon returned and apologetically proclaimed, “I’m so sorry, but we’re out of Pulled Pork today, too.”

 

“That’s okay,” I said.  “It’s not your fault.”  Then I looked at Debra and said, “Why don’t we just come back on another day?”

 

“Okay,” she sighed.

 

Then we left.

 

We will go back again and his name really isn’t Jon.