Eel and I had the the sorriest waitress last night.

I ordered a potato-and-cheddar soup along with my main course, though Eel did not. The main course came out, but I hadn't been served the soup. That was actually no problem for me, though. In fact, I generally prefer a convergence of meals. If one person gets a soup with their meal but the other a salad, I say "serve'em both at the same time" rather than the soup then the salad (or vice-versa). If one person is getting a soup, don't hold up the other person's meal and then make them watch as the first person downs the soup that the other didn't get. Let the person that finishes first be the one to look on as the other eats, because at least they are not going to be hungry while doing it.

But anyway, the waitress was so apologetic. I've had waiters keep me foodless for forty-five minutes and be less apologetic. I tried to assure her that it was okay, but she just felt so bad.

Unfortunately, she felt so bad that she rushed the soup and it came out cold. I almost didn't say anything because I knew it would just make her feel that much worse. I tried to flag her down a couple times, but couldn't. When she came over to tell me that they were taking the soup off our bill I asked if she would mind heating it up. She was, again, very sorry.

Unfortunately again, she was so sorry that she nuked my soup to lavaistic temperatures, far above and beyond what she would have liked.

I was sorry that she was sorry, but appreciative that she was enthusiastic.