“The other gentleman paid your bill,” he responded. He came over and said, “There’s no charge for you.” “What do you mean?” I asked. As Natalie and I were finishing our meal, I motioned to the server to bring our check. They left.Īll in all, we were together for about 20 minutes. I thought about asking for his card but we rarely use caterers. When he returned, we said our goodbyes and wished each other luck with our medical issues. As I was enjoying my French toast, heaped with whipped cream and fresh fruit, Kevin got up to pay his bill while the three of us continued talking. Our food came while they were finishing theirs. My atheist outrage quickly dissolved, and I enjoyed the warmth of the moment. He was including me, whom he had just met, in his prayer. He then asked Jesus to watch over me because he knew I was going to see the oncologist.
Kevin thanked Jesus for their food and for watching over Kim during her pregnancy. After all, they were gracious enough to share their table. It was presumptuous of Kevin to assume we would be comfortable with this. Being a Jewish atheist, my first reaction was indignation. They were asking us to join them in saying grace before eating. Kevin held out his hand to me and I thought to myself: “What the heck is he doing?" Natalie took Kim’s outstretched hand so I grasped Kevin’s, feeling most uncomfortable.
Since they had already ordered, their food arrived before ours. The conversation was friendly and pleasant. Natalie talked about her teaching and research about women and crime and they seemed very interested.ĭan Rodricks: Out of homelessness in Baltimore with the help of strangers Kim asked what I taught and when I told her my specialty was the sociology of race relations, she described a diversity training session at her workplace. I told them about my MRI and I also mentioned that I had taught at the University of Maryland Baltimore County before retiring. Kim had just finished a week of bed rest during her pregnancy and was about to go back to work. They were at least 30 years younger than us. Kevin ran a catering business and Kim was a hospice nurse. We sat down, introduced ourselves and started chatting.
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