9.30.2005
Eerie coincidence or movie moment?
Kristin and I have this acquaintance that we adore. We call her (S) an acquaintance because we met her through her sister and when our friendship with her sister went south in a VERY bad way, it grew awkward to maintain a friendship with S. We didn't see her for months, and then we and some friends went to the Olive Garden and unknowingly sat at her table (she's a waitperson) and she gave us huge hugs and told us that just because we weren't friends with her sister anymore that didn't mean we couldn't be friends with her. Still, she was busy and is very close to her family, so a friendship in the real world just didn't work out. To make up for that, Kristin and I went to the Olive Garden waaaaaaaaaaay too much and insisted that we would only sit at S's table. We tipped her big (and she brought us free food) and we would gossip and chat and tell each other funny stories as she took care of her other tables.
A few months after Kristin got pregnant, S quit the Olive Garden and went to work at Fiddler's Elbow. We went there a few times, but S usually worked the busy shifts and we couldn't get anywhere near her and it was noisy and crowded and besides the food sucked. We gave her our numbers, but couldn't get hers cause she was moving and such, and decided not to return to Fiddler's Elbow. We hoped she'd call us when she got a phone and an address. We heard from her once while we were very sick and couldn't really do anything with her, and then that was it. We lost touch. We missed her and wished she could see the baby, but didn't really know how to find her without braving Fiddler's Elbow or her sister, and neither seemed like a good idea.
Last night our friends N & A decided to take us out to dinner for watching their dog for 10 days while they were in Hawaii right after the baby was born. Now, this was not a big deal. Their dog has been friends with our dog for years -- since he lived with 2 other friends of ours -- and though there are dominance maneuvers and struggles (like siblings) they all get along great, plus Aussie is really a great house dog. But they seemed to think that this was a huge favor on our parts and decided to take us out to dinner to thank us. We decided that we'd like to go to The Melting Pot.
Kristin and I have never been to the Melting Pot but have always wanted to go. So, we got a babysitter (how nice to eat with both hands for a change) and all 4 of us drove up together. We got in, sat down and started looking at the menu when our waitperson came up, plopped our fondue pot on the table, took a look at us and screamed: oh my god what are you two doing here? (or something to that effect, I was so stunned my note-taking abilities were temporarily disabled) I looked over and saw this woman with yellow-streaked bright red hair and glasses and didn't recognize her and then suddenly she was giving a bemused Kristin a hug and it hit me -- it's S. S is our waitperson. We, unknowingly, were seated at S's table. It felt like a movie moment. In all the booths in all the restauraunts in all the cities of the Salt Lake Valley, we sat in hers. It was wonderful. We didn't get much of a chance to catch up with her -- we were being treated after all, and our hosts don't know her and it was only polite that we pay attention to the people wining and dining us rather than talk about and to S over and over and over again. Still, we did talk to her some and give her our information again. She'd lost her phone and all our numbers. Hopefully we won't lose track of her again, especially since The Melting Pot isn't especially child or tight-budget friendly. Though I'm beginning to think that it doesn't really matter if we lose touch with her again since it seems fated that we know her for some strange reason. Either that or she's stalking me in an extraordinarily clever way...
I love reconnecting with lost ones. Do any of you have any stories of wondrously strange remeetings you'd like to share?
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Actually...although mine isn't quite as eerie as yours, it was pretty darn cool.
About 3 weeks ago i was telling T about this really fun woman i used to work at an animal hospital with. i started there when i was 16, and she was 24 or 25. Anyway, it turned out that she was married to this great guy who had been a senior camp counselor at a marine biology camp i worked at in middle school, so we had that connection already. Christine was a riot--she knew everyone's business and was always smiling and laughing with me. She and her husband had a child, and soon after moved away to Ohio. i hadn't seen them in about 6 years, found a picture of their little family from ages ago, and was just telling T how sad i thought it was because they would be really great friends to have around.
Well, when we took the puppy into this clinic, there she was behind the counter! She told me that her husband had been in the equine program at Finlay, and that they were back, working with cutting horses and thinking of opening their own riding business. i was so tickled, that after all those years, i had JUST been thinking of them, and then there they were, doing the same type of work that T does on the plantation. Yesterday they came out on a trail ride that T organized, and stayed for a beer to catch up a bit afterwards. It sounds like they might end up great friends afterall.
i thought that was pretty cool.
I agree, that is pretty cool. I love it when life works out that way!