Not what I asked for (but actually, better)

I went to The Pause again today. I needed something, though I wasn’t sure what.

Before finding a table, I stopped at the bar to order a shot of patience. Presence was tending bar, as usual.

“I’ll be at that table,” I told him, pointing to a secluded spot in the corner. He nodded.

A few minutes later a curvy, twinkly-eyed server set before me a bowl of soup.

“Oh, uh… I think there’s been a mistake. I ordered a shot of patience.”

“No mistake,” she smiled, “compliments of the chef.” I opened my mouth in protest, but she’d already turned around.

I watched her figure disappear into the kitchen, stared into my soup, and then, with a sigh, unfolded my napkin. A scrolled, ribbon-tied paper fell onto my lap:

Try a little tenderness, first. On the house.

Signed,

Kindness
Head Chef, The Pause