We had two girls from Iran tonight come for dinner
They both looked familiar when they walked in
It was like looking in the mirror
But they were quieter
Sweeter
Mild mannered
They didn’t like the first table where I sat them so I let them pick their table
When it started to rain
At first they wanted to just wait it out
But it kept coming
I helped them move their appetizer inside
And their big bottle of still water
They smiled and laughed and stayed for probably two hours
They asked for more bread
I put the order in and returned with what they requested
They asked if they could get separate checks
Because it was slow from the rain, the team took the time to itemize it
When they finally checked out
45 minutes later
They were talking with the server about how she was 2% something
I waited til’ the opportune to ask what
They said
Persian
I replied
Oh I’m half Persian
They looked at me smiling
And there was a silence
“Do you speak Farsi?”
I said
Nooo
I grew up with the Irish German Catholic side of the family
The server laughed
Knowing in American fashion precisely what I met
They still looked at me like I was a piece of their home
In that instant, I didn’t feel the weight of what had just occurred but
Later
It resounded
Those sweet, kind women just survived a revolution
And are here in The United States
In New Orleans
Visiting
Wow
Those mild mannered
Femmes braved the total blackout
And survived
And are having dinner here
And splitting checks
And laughing and
Enjoying each other’s company
And then leaving us 5 star reviews
I hope they stumble upon this piece somewhere out there on the Internet
And I hope they fully realize that it was pretty meaningful to me to meet them too
Even though in the morning
I was all a jokester
Very American
And genuinely meaning it when I said as they left
“Have a nice night!”