Normally, I stand in line waiting to get to the barista without doing much talking. The line forms along the ice cream counter, which holds giant containers of different flavors. Beside that counter is a cabinet of fresh baked cookies. I don't usually pay attention to them as I wait to order our coffees but this time, the cookies were labeled "orange corriander". That sounded interesting. I took a saucer and put a cookie on it.
As we inched toward the clerk, the man in front of me saw the saucer and invited me to go ahead of him. "If that is all you are buying, go ahead. I have several lattes and my order will take a while." I assured him that I had other things to buy and I need not get ahead of him. Kidding, he said,"Oh, the cookie is just a ruse, eh?" I confessed to having a devious heart and we both laughed.
As we got to the front of the line, his daughter came up to him. "Dad, will you order me a coffee, too?" He stepped away from the counter to learn just what she wanted. At that moment, the barista asked me what I wanted since he had turned away. I ordered two ice cream cones, cake cones small, please. She dug into the first container and brought me cone #1 just as he ended the conversation with his daughter. When he saw me get served before him, he was amazed. I saw his amazement and said, "She asked me what I wanted."
I didn't go ahead of him in line, but there is no way you could have predicted that I would be served first. Life, events, social niceties and timing are tricky!
