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GOLDSEA |
YOUR TRUE STORIES
[NOTE TO READERS: This page is closed to new input. You can post new true stories and continue discussions at the new improved Instant Polls & Comments area. --Ed.]
Infatuation with Waiter Leads to Learning Cantonese
y name is Jennifer, and I'm a 19 year old white female. A Chinese restaurant opened up near where I was living about 6 months ago. My mother and I decided to check it out. When we went there, the place was beautiful, and the waiters and hosts were very welcoming. I saw a very handsome waiter, and commented to my mother. She looked over and said, "Oh, yes he's very cute." That's what I love about my mother. She can check out cute guys with me and she isn't racist. She taught me to never limit myself to one race or religion.
Since it was so close to where I live, my mother and I frequently went there when neither one of us felt like cooking that night. Each time we would go there, I would see the handsome guy, and would watch him from afar. There weren't many waiters there and I knew he had to be working extremely long hours. Some nights I could see he was especially tired by the way he would lean against the glass parition as if it was holding him up.
One night, he was our waiter. I watched him work so hard to clean the tables, and I blushed to find myself sneeking a glance as he bent down to pick up a napkin. At the end of the night, I laid a $10.00 tip on the table for a meal that only costed us $18.00. This wasn't an unusual thing for me to do, because I believe in giving big tips and do it all the time.
It was, however, a big deal to him. We were walking up to the counter to pay for the meal, when I turned around to see him smiling from ear to ear and waving madly at me. I smiled shyly, and waved back. On another occasion, we had him as a waiter again. He had taken our order and was leaving the table when he looked back and stared at me funny. He came back to the table and said, "You come here before. I service you." I nodded. He said a little more to me, but I only smiled and nodded. To be honest, I couldn't understand him. He knew very little English, and the little he did know was spoken in a very thick accent which was hard to comprehend.
My mother and I continued to go there, and he would say every English phrase he knew to me. "Hello, how are you? Have a goodnight, Goodbye, See you again!" Even when he wasn't our waiter, he would come over to our table just to say hi. One time, I brought my Cantonese aunt with me. She was adopted by my grandmother at the age of 7. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember how to speak Cantonese. I asked him what his name was, and he said Emmett. I introduced everyone at the table, and I shook his hand. I tried talking more indepth to him, but he couldn't understand me.
I must be honest when I say I had never been attracted to a Chinese man before. But, then again, I haven't really known any. Emmett was very tall, and had feathered, black hair, and a beautiful grin. There is no better way to say this: he was beautiful. His personality was serene, gentle, happy, but with a hint of meloncholy at times. I'm a silversmith by trade, and the men I work with are loud, rough, and risque. After a hard day of work, seeing him was refreshing.
It became a game for us, when we would see each other. We would greet each other and then spend the next hour watching, smiling, and staring at each other. We knew we couldn't communicate, but we both had a silent understanding. We liked each other. It was apparent to every person in the restaurant. The hostess even reprimanded him for staring...LOL.
I guess he no longer works at that restaurant, as I never see him anymore. I look around at the other Chinese waiters, and several are very handsome and sweet individuals, but none of them compare to Emmett. He was a rare gem. I never met someone I felt so...at peace with.
I still go to the restaurant, and every time I walk through the door, I scan the room for Emmett, but he is never there. I have made friends with several waitresses there too. I tip them the way I tipped Emmett. Unfortunately, they don't speak much English either. They speak more, and we have been able to ask and answer questions about each other. Again, we have a silent understanding.
So guess what? I'm learning Cantonese. I figure if I can learn 2 languages, why not learn another? These people are my friends, my neighbors. There is a strong community of Chinese-Americans that I had never seen before. Maybe the amount of Asians has increased over the years, or perhaps I was just blind. I tend to think I was just blind. Even if I never see Emmett again, I thank him everyday for that. I speak English, because it's my mother-tongue and is the common language here. I learned Spanish because that is the second most common language here. I think it is time I learn Cantonese. In the future, I want to learn Mandarin as well.
~~Jennifer
Jennifer
sagerainwillow@yahoo.com
Wednesday, October 10, 2001 at 00:40:22 (PDT)
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