Armed with her East Aurora school district Second Chance March Madness Bracket winnings, something I may have had a hand in, my lovely wife took me out to Geneva’s California Pizza Kitchen for dinner yesterday. It seems to have become our favorite eating establishment.
And lo and behold, who was sitting in the adjoining series of two-diner booths but none other than crack Daily Herald reporter Sue Sarkauskus. When we invited her to sit with us she graciously declined, but I wasn’t the least bit offended because this introvert fully understands the rapturous glory of eating alone.
As the evening progressed, I noted that the young gentleman in the high chair directly across the aisle from Sue had managed to get her attention. In fact, he became so enamored of her that, much to the parents pleasant surprise and general glee, the two of them exchanged a series of funny furtive glances which swiftly put the young toddler in stitches.
Never letting an opportunity to blackmail someone pass unheeded, I texted Sue the following, “So, do I have to write a column about a crusty old ace reporter who makes little children laugh out loud in a restaurant?”
To which she immediately replied, “Then I’ll have to do a story on the crusty old opinion columnist who was downright affable to his waitress, how he made her laugh, and that he’s generally an all-around nice guy.”
The abject horror! Why, if word of that possibility ever got out it could ruin my hard-earned reputation, not to mention my fabled journalistic career. It was at that tragic point that I realized I’d been bested.
Round one goes to you Sue S., but trust me, it ain’t over!
