Benjamin

You know when you remember the taste of a sandwich because it is SO good? That taste in turn, can remind you of a place, an experience and people. Well, I went out to eat the other day with a friend and it was a seafood place. They had a smoked trout sandwich on the menu. As we sat down, I had a flashback.

When I was a senior in college at Emory, I liked to bike down to a cafe from my house on Tuesdays. I had the whole day kind of mapped out as I started with a swim at the college pool and then would bike over. I had a class later in the afternoon but my morning workout kept me centered and happy. On one such Tuesday, I biked over to a cafe I liked to eat at - Cafe Diem and ordered a trout sandwich on a half-baguette. It came with a marvelous salad and I would get freshly squeezed orange juice with it. After my hour swim and bike ride over, I looked forward to having a good meal. Simple pleasures, eh? :)

Anyways, a waiter came over to take my order. He was tall, muscular and had short blond hair. Like me, he kept putting his somewhat rebellious hair behind his ears. He introduced himself. His name was Benjamin. He was very nice and we laughed about a few things. We had some things in common as he had originally gone to school to be a vet and I understood that. We talked about that for a while as the cook made my sandwich. He told me how he had quit vet school and wanted to be an actor. He had a sensitivity to his face and high cheekbones that I thought would probably translate beautifully on a camera since an actor's face is a canvas of emotion. I didn't say anything as he talked but just listened and was supportive.

A few minutes later, my sandwich was ready so he brought it over smiling and then left. I must admit that I was looking forward to this sandwich. I had eaten it before and it was so good! Plus I got my burst of protein that would keep me going all through classes in the afternoon. I leaned in and took a big bite.

As I was swallowing it down, I suddenly realized that I did not have my wallet on me! I was shocked but then realized I had biked over to the gym without grabbing my purse. I was horrified and embarassed. I did not know what to do.

Ben came over seeing my face and asked me if I needed anything. I told him the problem and I was really sorry as I had already eaten a bite. I told him I could bring it after class as I had a class in thirty minutes and it would take me fifteen minutes to get over. I realized my whole mapping out my day was not quite working out with this hiccup.

He listened to me and gave me a big smile and said, "No, that is alright. Go ahead and eat it. Just forget about it."

I insisted but he shook his head and said, "Enjoy it. I am glad you like it," and gave me a big smile, patting me on the shoulder. Then he went off to help someone.

I was surprised. I didn't know him and I was not enough of a regular for them to know me at the cafe that well. But I was hungry and I went ahead and ate it.

Later that day after my classes were over, I rushed home. A friend of mine called to ask me to go out to dinner and I asked if we could go to Cafe Diem. She said sure and drove us over.

Ben was not there but I told the waitress about what happened earlier and offered to pay for it. She said let me look and then came back and told me he had paid for it himself. I could not believe it. I felt bad since he had been telling me how he was saving up. I tried to give her the money but she said, "No. He wouldn't want that."

Then Ben showed up to pick up something. The waitress pointed over at me at the table with three girls. My friends were talking about some upcoming party. He came over and I thanked him and tried to get him to take it. He smiled big at me and said, "I'm happy to help. It's alright Jan." He smiled at me radiantly for a while. After a while, he could see me relax a bit and then slowly he walked away.

The girls at the table were buzzing. "Who's that guy, Jan?" I didn't say anything.

I thought about it later on the drive home and my friend said to me, "Jan, what's on your mind?" I told my friend about the incident and she nodded, saying it was a very nice thing to do and told me to "pass it on."

The next few weeks were very busy with school mid-terms. I had a lot going on. It was about a month later that I came back with some friends to the cafe. I asked about Ben but he had left, apparently moving to L.A. to pursue his acting career.

I have not been in touch since but I hope it all worked out for him well and he's happy. :)

I was at the store recently and a petite lady in front of me was putting out her items in front of the checkout counter. She had all these tiny items. I thought it must be for a very specific meal. She pulled out her wallet and then realized she did not have her card. She was horrified and kept searching and muttering in Spanish. I waited for a few minutes and then took my ATM card and swiped it for her. The checkout guy smiled at me and nodded and handed her the bag of groceries. She looked over at me and I smiled.

Slowly she walked away, looking a little confused but also relieved. I said, "Have a nice day," and left. As I walked out, I thought about Ben and I felt maybe I had done it right. :)