Throw him under the bus

Last Saturday was our son's birthday. Deb scored some Admirals tickets (a local AHL Hockey team and a farm team for the Tampa Bay Lightning) and we went to get our hockey fix. It was a good game and the Admirals won. Despite the poor officiating.

We received good natured ribbing because Deb wore her Penguins shirt, Dearth had his Redwings jersey on and I had one of my Sabre shirts on. One comment came from a lady in front of us. With a puzzled look on her face "Just who are you guys cheering for?".

"The Admirals of course." I replied. "We only disagree on the NHL teams." I grinned.

When we left the Scope a man was chasing his little boy. The boy ran towards Dearth and he told him "Don't run towards him. We have higher standards than the Redwings.".

I laughed out loud for that comment. Dearth gave me a dirty look, but laughed good naturedly.

After the game we went to Friendly's for a bite to eat and dessert. Our waitress was young, pretty and had a voice that would put a megaphone to shame. She hurt my ears when she talked. Despite this, she was very attentive and an excellent waitress.

Shortly after ordering the wait staff came out singing their birthday cadence. They headed up our isle. Dearth got that "deer in the headlights" look and the entire entourage walked by us and to another table. We had a good laugh at that.

All three of us ordered a meal that included a sundae for dessert. Dearth wanted one of the specialty sundaes and the waitress told us that it would cost a little more.

This is where it happened. The set up was beautiful. Deb grabbed Dearth, by the scruff of the neck and the seat of his pants, and chucked him under the bus (metaphorically).

She said "I suppose we could splurge. Just this once. It's his birthday after all."

She did this with an absolutely straight face and with just a slight twinkle in her eye. The waitress looked like we had just handed her a $50 tip. "Really? Thanks for letting me know." There was a huge smile on her face. Dearth was slowly sinking in the booth. He looked like the witch in the Wizard of Oz. "I'm melting!"

I was reduced to tears. I have not laughed that hard in ages.

Five minutes later the entire staff shows up at the table led by the enthusiastic waitress. The cadence was loud. It was embarrassing (for Dearth) and to top it off they handed him a couple of balloons. I think they do this to erase any doubt of who all the fuss is over. If you ever want to see a teenager just melt away from embarrassment that is the way to do it. Especially when they are trying sooooo hard to be cool.

My sundae was half melted by the time I was able to eat. I was laughing that hard.

The waitress received a generous tip and we laughed all the way home.

Happy Birthday Dearth.