Face Value at Work

Mother and I decided to have lunch at Metroclub. I figured we could hit three birds with one stone. We would pay our bill due on the 25th, have our lunch there, and finish our consumables for the quarter ending 31 July.

We entered the restaurant and a grey-haired man seated on one of the tables immediately smiled towards our direction.

"That's Francis from G__," Mother whispered, enlightening me on the stranger who had just given us a warm smile. He is one of Father's colleagues.

"OK," I said. "I'm sure he wouldn't have recognized me if I were alone."

While waiting for our orders to arrive, we decided to head for the powder room to freshen up. As we stood up to leave, another man approached us. I find out that he is the current President of Metroclub.

He greets Mother and relays how Father was the one who first brought him to Metroclub years ago for a meeting. He chats with Mother for a while and they exchange questions and stories.

When we return from the powder room, the waiter comes and offers us a container of cashew, compliments of the President.

Here is a picture of those complimentary cashew nuts. I was quite impressed with the nuts because I had never seen whole cashew nuts before. True enough, Father's friend comes by and says that the nuts are special, precisely because they are roasted whole making them more flavorful.

I tell Mother that if I had come in without her, these people wouldn't have known me from Adam, and I wouldn't have gotten to taste and see whole cashew nuts.

Wow! See? Having lunch with your Mother certainly has its perks.