Saturday night Craig and I decided to go out for dinner. We weren’t really up for anything fancy, just something familiar and cheap.
We went to Pei Wei in Plano. Craig’s never been to Pei Wei. Yes, I know, you’re thinking, how can anyone live between the years 2005 and 2016 and never go to Pei Wei? Believe me, if there’s anyone who could exist in this world and not do the typical things most people would do these days, it would be Craig. I’ve kinda made it my mission in life to change that. But I digress.
It was 8:30 when we strolled into the almost empty Pei Wei. There were only about 3 tables occupied in the entire restaurant, which was perfect. It gave us time to really peruse the menu. However Craig, in his usual fashion, just gave me full liberty to order for him.
My particular meal started with their hot and sour soup. I love hot and sour soup in general, but theirs is one of my favorites. Within minutes of finding a comfortable booth for us to sit in, the waitress brought me my little cup of soup.
“That looks really good,” Craig said. “Wait they didn’t bring you those crispy wonton crackers?”
“I don’t think they give you those here,” I said. “At least I usually don’t receive them here when I order this.”
“I’m sure they have some,” he said. “Hold on.”
He got up and walked over to the kitchen pass, asking around to some of the cooks who didn’t really understand him.
“It’s ok, honey, don’t worry about it,” I called from the table. I didn’t want to create a fuss over something I was perfectly fine without.
But he waved me off and was persistent. Finally he caught up with the server who had just returned from delivering an order to a table. “Oh yeah, I can ask them to make a batch for you and I’ll bring it out to your table,” she said.
A couple minutes later, she brought to us a bowl of freshly made wonton strips, lightly fried to perfection. I looked at Craig across the table and I smiled at him, and he smiled back.
Yeah, I could’ve lived without them. They weren’t necessary to complete the dish. But they made my soup ten times more enjoyable.
A good, healthy relationship is like that bowl of crispy wonton strips. When your life is good and you take care of yourself and you’re happy, you’re not desperate to find a relationship. But when you do find someone, someone who doesn’t just add to your already fulfilled life, but compliments it in a way that no one else has up until that point, they become like that bowl of crispy wonton strips adding texture and flavor your life would’ve otherwise lacked.
In the simplest of terms, if you’ve never been loved by someone so much that they would go through the trouble of having a restaurant kitchen staff make something for you, I highly recommend dumping whoever you’re with and finding someone who will do that for you. Because it is the best feeling in the world.