A stand alone story. Based on something that happened to me a long time ago.
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It was a night for celebration. My friend Pete got a big promotion at work, and at 28 was the youngest junior vice president at his firm. The man was a hard worker and a Master of the Universe type who, while good to his friends, could be an obnoxious pain in the ass. Not my personality at all. I was a more quiet, respectful type, but we'd been good friends since grade school, and 22 years later, we still were good friends, But some of the things he could say and do could rubbed me the wrong way.
Along with two other childhood friends, Jay and Steve (I'm Adam), we went to a German steakhouse to celebrate. The kind of place with great, aged steaks, everything a la carte and great booze. And Pete was buying, on his expense account.
With drinks before dinner and wine with the meal, we were getting a little boisterous. At least my friends were. As I said, I'm more the quiet type, a bit of a nerd, working in computer science. I was making a good living, not great yet, but the future was promising.
As we consumed more wine, things were getting a little loud with my friends, which embarrassed me a little. The manager came over and asked us to tone it down, that other customers were complaining. I said to my friends "Guys, lets chill a little. This is supposed to be a celebration, not a bacchanal."
"Adam, you need a little more fun in life" Pete said like a big wheel he was planning to be. "But all right, we'll behave" and then my friends burst out in laughter.
After our plates were cleared, our waitress came over to take our order for coffee and dessert. She was a beautiful blonde, mid-30s, short hair parted on the side, big dark eyes and a very curvy figure, with maybe 10 extra pounds on her. It looked good on her. She was trying to be polite and accommodating, but my friends weren't making it easy on her.
"Would anyone like coffee and dessert? We have the best apple strudel in the city."
Pete, of course, said "Well, I do want something sweet. You can sit right on the table in front of me and spread wide." Jay and Steve thought that was the funniest thing ever and laughed like it. Me, I just wanted to sink through the floor. I was embarrassed for them, but even more, I was embarrassed for her. I waited tables in college, it's damn hard job, and being harassed like that was shameful. Even if she wasn't serving us, she was a person, and she didn't deserve being treated like that.
She turned about 5 shades of red and I could see the anger and hurt bubbling beneath her surface. But she had to take it. This was a well paying job (the tips were big) and she couldn't risk getting fired for being rude to customers. This was the early 90s, not current days, with better protections for women being abused.
I ordered strudel and coffee for us all and she went away to put in the order. "Nice going, 'gentlemen'" I said with anger in my voice.
"Oh, get the stick out of your ass" Steve said. "She's a big girl. In fact, she's perfectly big. She can take it. Or she can work elsewhere."
Not for the first time, I wondered to myself why I stayed friends with them. My parents did not raise me to treat women like that, or anyone else for that matter. "I need to use the Men's room" I said, getting up.
I walked down a corridor to where the bathrooms were and I found our waitress -her name was Alyssa- there, clearly upset. I had to say something. "Alyssa, I'm very sorry for my friend's behavior. It's a bit of a celebration, and they're drunk..."
"Nice friends you have. You've had as much as they have, and you're behaving like an adult. Shit, I shouldn't have said anything. The customer is always right." She was clearly frustrated and hurt.
I didn't know what else to say to her. I reached for my wallet and said "Listen, let me give you something extra for all the grief, besides the tip we're going to leave." I reached for a fifty.
She was visibly angry. "I don't need your money. I just need a little respect. It's hard enough being the only female waiter in this place. I take a lot of grief from the men I work with. I don't need it from your friends as well. Keep your money."
She was right; my attempt to be kind was more humiliating, actually. "I'm sorry. I don't know what else to do to make it up to you."
"You could tell me why you're friends with them. You seem very different from them... what's your name?"
"Sorry, I'm Adam. We've been friends since Second grade. They've had my back in some very bad times, like when I lost my parents. You can't just find people who you can easily rely on in times like that. But I admit, there are times they just royally piss me off."
Alyssa chuckled at that. "I can believe it. In any case, you're a very nice man. The type I like." She was quiet for a moment. "I don't do this... are you staying with your friends the rest of the night?"
"That was the plan. But I'm beginning to have other ideas."
"I get done here at 11, two hours from now. Would you like to meet me for coffee? I usually need something to eat when I'm done here. We could go to a diner nearby."
"Don't they feed the staff here?"
"How much steak do you think anyone can eat? I'm just going to get a sandwich. I know you won't be hungry. You could sit with me. I'd like a little company." She had a sweet, friendly smile, when she wasn't pissed off.
"I think I'd like to take you for a sandwich. Do you have a car here?"
"Yes, it's how I get here. Did you think I took a helicopter?"
"Cute. I'll have to get my friends to drop me off at home after this. Should I meet you here or at the diner?"
"The Blue Bay Diner. It's on..."