When Nate’s grandparents want to celebrate their anniversary with a fancy dinner at a local restaurant, his grandmother goes in to choose which items she’d like from the table. But one thing leads to another when she knocks over a plate — causing her to be kicked out. But Nate plots his revenge.
It was supposed to be a simple visit — a grandmother checking on the quality of meals at a local restaurant for her upcoming 50th wedding anniversary dinner with her husband and their immediate family.
Yet, what unfolded for my grandmother was nothing short of disrespectful and heartbreaking.
My grandparents were set to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in a week. My grandmother wanted to have a grand family dinner, and wanting everything to be perfect, she decided to visit the restaurant alone to finalize the menu and taste a few dishes for the dinner, including a special request for meatloaf.
“Meatloaf?” my mother asked her. “Why would you want meatloaf for your fancy dinner?”
“Because it’s sentimental, Penny,” my grandmother said, smiling. “Your father and I had meatloaf on our first date, and it’s been one of the constant things in our marriage.”
“Meatloaf Mondays,” my mother chuckled. “It’s been there throughout my childhood.”
“Do you want me to come with you, Gran?” I asked her, because I wasn’t sure about my 72-year-old grandmother tackling the world by herself. As much as my grandmother prided herself on her good health, sometimes she needed help balancing herself.
“No, Nate,” she said. “I’ll be fine! And this way, during the dinner you can be surprised, too.”
On the day that my grandmother was ready to go on her sampling tour of the restaurant, I dropped her off and went back home to work.
“You tell the restaurant to call me when you’re ready, okay?” I said, closing the passenger door for her.
I went about my day, only to receive a call from my grandmother about two hours later. She was in tears and completely devastated.
I drove to the restaurant immediately.
It turned out that when she went into the restaurant and ordered the items that she wanted to try — the table, naturally, became quite full.
