Terry and I were thoroughly savoring our Sunday together. We were feeling giddy after a visit from our good friends while running errands, purchasing new chaise lounges, getting them assembled, and freshening up the back deck area. After a quick trip to Steinmart, we were aware that our breakfast was spent, and decided to stop and get a bite to eat… late lunch, early dinner, one of our favorite meals. We stopped by a local restaurant at Town and Country, but we found out they are closed on Sundays, so we headed to The Greene to enjoy a well-crafted meal at a cute little bistro called Joya, only to find out that they had permanently closed two days before. Perhaps we should have headed home and heated up some leftovers, but we decided to check one more place… Brio… to see if we could sit on their patio, people watch, and enjoy a bite to eat there. Success!! We had a very short wait as they cleared a patio table for us. We got settled in with a couple of glasses of wine, and some artichoke dip. We were basking in the afternoon sun and light breeze, enjoying the giggles from a table with a little boy, and the parents appreciating his antics, there were other couples, and several other families. It was peaceful and joyful and we were feeling mightily blessed.
We placed our order shortly after, received our salads, and then we waited and waited. We were chatting and the delightfulness of the day created more patience than is normal for us! And quite a bit of time went by. In the meantime, several groups had finished their meals and began leaving, and new people began filling the empty tables. Two women that had been seated inside came outside to occupy the table immediately next to ours.
And so it began.
They started the next 45 minutes bad-talking their alleged friends, analyzing the sexual relationships of their alleged friends, and the sexual activity of their alleged friends, explicitly bashing their ex-husbands, and the male population in general, complaining about their children, and the weight of their large-sized bodies, and their doctors office procedures. Their tone was angry, and unhappy, and I felt deep sadness for them. But I couldn’t stop listening. The more time that went by, the louder they became, and they actually seemed to be turning their chairs so they were even closer to us.
Typically, Brio is more than efficient with their fresh food served in a timely fashion. When a manager came by to check on us, we let her know that we’d been waiting for an unusually long amount of time. She was very upset and very sorry. Thankfully no one blamed the kitchen. They were just completely honest about the fact that the order had never been entered. We seriously weren’t upset about it. We understand things like that can happen, but Brio took care of our meal anyway, and we were appreciative of their customer service excellence. Almost immediately after that, food was delivered to our table.
And, still, the women were yammering on. And on. And on. Anything negative, unhappy, foul, sour, vulgar, rude that you can imagine was discussed. I was truly stunned that two full grown female human beings would sit in public using language reserved for no one. I would chuckle every once in awhile at the absurdity of their conversation, shaking my head in disbelief. I seriously felt like we were being punk-d. “Housewives of any county”. Where are the cameras??? It was that ridiculous!!
And then all of a sudden, the louder of the two, talking about how sweaty she had been last weekend (?)… said…
jesus f-ing christ… {without my written modification}…
my face got red, my heart thumped loudly, and my head felt light as the spirit inside me bristled…
and I simply turned to look at this person… no words… just a look…
the pattern was interrupted and she viciously turned her vile tongue toward me.
There was a series of inconsequential mumbles and comments from the two of them, defensiveness driving them, but their words couldn’t hurt me. And although there was no judgment made on our part, nothing said, they claimed quite loudly that judgment should be left to “the higher power”…
at which time, my husband quietly stated, “You mean, the one you just cursed.”
And they were stumped. Silent.
I can tolerate a lot to avoid confrontation, and I’m aware of a thing called “freedom of speech” which they were clearly exercising their rights to. We could have moved tables, we could have left, but for some reason, 2 closed restaurants and a lost dinner ticket had us right where we were suppose to be.
They can choose to talk about their friends in an ugly, hateful, profane way,
but they can not talk about my friend, my Lord, my Savior that way.
And, without a sound, I was happy to let them know it.
With one question, Terry was too.
…..
Whatever your method is, whatever God leads you to do or say… stand up for what is good, and right, and true.
And Live Well.
Loves Doves 