Slice of Life: Improper Planning Leads to Better Performance

    It's Tuesday, and Tuesdays are for slicing.  Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices! 

As Julia and I headed for a much needed shower, we tasked Garth with finding a place for dinner. The requirements? They could take us soon and they could provide us with some substantial nourishment and a cold beer. Maybe even two of them. It had been a long day of driving, cleaning, and moving Julia into an apartment. 

"So where are we going?" I asked as I combed my hair out as quickly as I could. 

Garth showed me the menu, and it looked great. Almost anything would. 

"Is it close?" Julia asked, slipping her feet into her shoes. 

"Five minutes."

In about ten minutes, we pulled into what looked like a cute Italian restaurant. There were tables outside, and it was cool enough to enjoy an outdoor meal. As I surveyed the group of four sitting near the door, I wished I had a fork. They had way more food than they could possibly eat, and it all looked divine. Then I noticed the four open bottles of wine and the coolers that accompanied them. Uh oh. 

"Is this BYOB?" I asked the waitress. 

She nodded.

"So you don't serve anything?" I said, my vision of a cold IPA dissipating. 

We did a quick search of any establishment nearby that might sell beer or wine, and nothing was too close. 

"You'll be fine, Mom," Julia said. 

"True," I said. Who needs a beer after a hard day of moving into an apartment with the previous tenant's stuff still all there. Not me. 

"Let me see what we have in the cooler," the hostess, who was one of the cutest people ever, said. "Sometimes you get lucky."

I wasn't sure what she meant, and I settled into my healthier option of water with lemon. A few minutes later, she came back to the table with three mostly finished bottles of wine, and proudly poured me a glass of chardonnay. "It's on the house," she said, "since we don't have a liquor license."

Dinner was great, my half a glass of wine was perfect, water was healthier, and the bill was a lot less than anticipated! All was good, and the next morning I was much readier to go than I might have otherwise been.