I swear on my life: Her spirit makes a 60-year-old man on crutches throw down a 20 on our table and say, “Have a round of margaritas on me.”
Last night, I went out for dinner with three of my girlfriends — Mychale, Jess and Charisse. Just as Charisse was lamenting about how her sister got the “funny gene” in the family and no one laughs at Charisse’s jokes, a man walks up to our table and says, “Whose birthday is it?”
It was mine. Sort of. (Like, a week or so ago.) I didn’t want a birthday dinner, or birthday presents. But I agreed to meet up at La Estacion, because let’s be honest: Anyone who turns down Mexican food in Waukesha clearly is … well, dead.
We arrived at the restaurant, and with presents in hand, three of the best girls ever proclaimed, “It’s Give a Friend a Present Day!”
“I insisted on no presents,” I said with a laugh.
“Well, here’s your gift, and here are our gifts!” they said as they played the present version of musical chairs. “This isn’t a birthday celebration, it’s Give a Friend a Present Day! We’ll open ours first.”
They dug into their bags, only to reveal old coffee mugs, used magazines and banana chips.
(Y’all see where this is going.) 🙂
I then opened mine. Inside, I found three adorable maternity shirts from a super cool mommy store — the only real present in the mix.
Which brings us to the man on crutches. He must have noticed all the presents flying around our table, because soon thereafter, he came on over and asked who the birthday girl was. All fingers pointed toward me.
“How old are you, 25?” he said, glancing my way.
“You’re sweet … 29,” I replied.
“Twenty-nine?? Oh sweetie, you have your whole life ahead of you!”
With that, he threw down a $20 bill and said, “Have a round of drinks on me,” as he headed out the door. (He didn’t even notice I was pregnant, which is a compliment worth three times the $20 bill.)
My point being: Things like this don’t happen when Charisse isn’t there. (Or Jess, or Mychale.) 🙂 These three have an energy to them that attracts everything good in this world — an energy that brings out the absolute best in strangers.
For today’s Friday’s Frame, I decided to share a photo of the ever-beautiful Charisse. 🙂 She was married just a few weeks back, and I had the honor of photographing her wedding. Congrats my friend — you look soooo stunning.
Check back soon for a full wedding post. 🙂 Have a great weekend, everyone.
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