A meal and that's all

Spaghetti in Tomato Cream Sauce
Originally uploaded by disneymike.

I am not accustomed to the kindness of strangers so it came as somewhat of a surprise to me that two older guys wanted to buy me and Dr G dinner tonight. We had turned up at Topo after our wine class, in search of a basic pasta for me and a robust red wine for the pair of us.

What we hadn't counted on was meeting two very debonaire gentlemen who decided that they would stay on, dine with us, and watch the Olympic swimming. All in all, it was a great night.

But when they didn't accept my financial contribution to the evening I felt rather unsettled. I was not only trying to be polite, but I was trying to pay my own way for the night and they weren't having a bar of it. One of the kind men owns a construction company that builds public schools in Chicago, and the other guy knows a bunch of rich people (thought I didn't quite catch what he does himself). Needless to say, I didn't want either man thinking I was a freeloader, but I needn't have bothered. Neither of them wanted my cash and were quite adamant that my drinks and my meal were entirely on them.

So this is basically the first time that a stranger has ever bought my dinner and drinks, and I am quite touched by the gesture. The guys were so polite and genuine and very sweet, and I do hope that I run into them again. In a town like Chicago, it really wouldn't surprise me!