Olive Garden Flashback

Yesterday I went out to lunch with a few girls from my work. We were celebrating...well...I don't know what you would call it, but it was one of the girls last day. We decided to go to Olive Garden because it was close and because they have the all you can eat soup, salad and bread sticks for 6 dollars...you can't beat that.

While we were there, I began to reminisce about another time I spent at that same Olive Garden a few years earlier.

It was the week of Valentines day 2003. I had dated this kid all through high school and he was currently on his mission, so I was Valentineless and lonely. Knowing that I might be sad, my missionary boy asked his mom to take me out to lunch. So, she called and invited me. I gladly accepted and headed out to meet her and her two daughters.

We got to Olive Garden around the same time and waited for a table. As the hostess came and started to walk us to our seats I said, "I took Marc to Olive Garden once. It was his first and only time ever coming here." My tone of voice was that of 'can you believe he had never been to Olive Garden!'. His mother stopped, looked at me and said, (this is for real) "I am sorry that we don't have as much money as your family to go out and eat all the time." Ummmm...How do you react to that? I mumbled something to the effect of "We don't really have that much money," and kept the level of my eyes low to the ground the rest of the time there. I felt so stupid and picked on.

As soon as I left the restaurant I called my mom and told her about my horrific experience. She assured me that it wasn't a big deal and that people don't always mean the things that they say. She then told me that she would make an extra effort to be nice to his mom so that she no longer thought that way about our family. I felt much better and went on with my day.

Two days later I got a call from my mother. I had all but forgotten about the incident, until she told me this...

"Hanna, I am so sorry. You will never guess what happened to me today. I was pulling out of the bank where I had just withdrawn a couple thousand dollars (in 100 dollar bills), when I saw his mom. I remembered what you had told me so (in an effort to be nice) I sped up so I could wave to her and say hi. I pulled up next to her at the light by Wendy's. I honked my horn and waved my hand out the window. (at this point in time I was getting a little nervous, but didn't really see the harm in the incident) Hanna, I really am sorry. When I waved to her out the window I completely forgot that I had all that money still in my hand."

Instead of saying hi, my mother waved a wad of cash at her. She got a disgusted look on her face, so my mother said, and drove away. Just image the irony in this, a woman who is already bitter and thinks that we have so much money gets thousands of dollars rubbed into her face.

Needless to say, I didn't talk to his family for months after that happened. Oh, Olive Garden.