A Valentine Story

One year, early in our marriage, my husband and I decided to go out to dinner on Valentine's Day. Somehow, we didn't realize just how crazy it would be to try this without making reservations. The restaurant we chose was, of course, packed. And there were plenty of naive couples like us waiting for tables. We were told it would be a long, long, long wait.

There was one way to cut the wait short. The restaurant was filled with small tables, each occupied by just two people. The exception was one large table, intended for a party of six or more, that was empty. The manager said that if two couples were willing to share the space, they could be seated right away. Nobody volunteered. After all, Valentine's is a romantic evening, meant for gazing into our partner's eyes as we hold hands and whisper intimate endearments. This isn't a moment to be shared with strangers.

However, we thought this looked like a possibility. We could sit close together at one end of the table and completely ignore the couple sitting at the other end. No real problem. We told the manager we were willing to share, and were seated immediately. No one else accepted the offer, so we got a lovely, large table all to ourselves. The romantic experience of fine dining one-on-one was greatly enhanced by the satisfaction of being just a little more resourceful than everyone else.