Every Saturday Is Waffle Day: Random Act of Kindness

In Cancun we save our money by eating breakfast and lunch in our condo and only eat out for dinners. It was a normal dinner night out in Cancun that turned into a unique experience. We decided we wanted to eat at the Marriott hotel's restaurant Mikado.

We took the bus to the restaurant and before walking in we told our friends C* and T* that the meal is super good, big, and a little more spendy than other meals we had indulged in before but we also told them it was worth it! We walked into the restaurant and asked how long the wait would be. The hostess told us about 10 minutes. So we sat down next to a tall African American woman who was sitting all by herself. Rarely do you see someone go to dinner by themselves so since I am a frequent people watcher and like to make up stories to go along with what they are doing, I instantly thought that maybe she was meeting someone or maybe she got in a fight with her husband and said, "Screw you! I'm going to dinner myself!" She was seated.

After our ten minutes was up we were headed up to be seated too. We got to our Hibachi style table and realized the woman from before was seated there alone. I tried to leave one seat between me and her, but the waiter told me that I needed to sit right next to her because a reservation party was coming and they needed all the seats. I could tell the woman was a little bugged that we didn't even know each other and I had to share a small side of the table with her. I instantly felt that she wanted to just be alone and eat in peace.

Us four after ordering our drinks started chit chatting like normal. Matson told a funny story that my Dad experienced at Mikado with all their friends once. It is a funny story and the woman next to me overheard and was laughing aloud. Later when we ordered our friend T* went big and ordered calamari and was teasing Matson, who hates all seafood, that he was going to make Matson try it. She laughed again and commented about how Matson should try it.

We asked her what her name was and she responded by saying, "Erica but spelled the RIGHT way E-R-I-C-A!" We all started laughing and I said, "Well guess what? My name is Erica and it is spelled the right way too!" She started freaking out! We chatted about our shared name and funny ways we had heard of people spelling it. Right then, she started opening up to us about her family, job, life, and fiancée. She was hilarious! She told us that she was the General Manager at a big hotel in Atlanta for Marriott and that she was here to wine and dine big customers. She needed a little break so she left a big party and snuck over to Mikado for a peaceful dinner.

We enjoyed getting to know her and I think she enjoyed getting to know us. She liked that we attended Brigham Young University (BYU) and were from Provo. Due to her working for Marriott and having a personal relationship with THE Mr. Marriott, she knew all about BYU, Provo, and the Mormon religion. She was very kind and fun to talk to. At the end of our dinner right before the check, she said to the waiter and to us, "I would like to pay for their dinner, please bring it all on one check."

We were flabbergasted!

What's really funny is that the "reservation" that was suppose to come never came, which left it just her and us at dinner. What's also funny was when the waiter brought us the check she told us we were cheap dinner dates! We thought that was funny because before we were planning on this meal being one of our most expensive meals of the trip. Matson got filet, T* got calamari, and C* got a sushi roll and a hibachi meal! We were going big. Yet, she still told us were cheap dates! Probably due to the fact that we don't drink alcohol.

We kept thanking her over and over again, but she kept insisting and telling us how much she enjoyed her dinner. We hugged her and were on our way. We kept talking about how nuts it was that a complete stranger to us paid for our meal. She started as some weird lady at dinner by herself who wanted some peace and quiet and then we got to know her and she was the nicest woman ever (and not just because she paid for our meal).