As The Counter Turns

Some tidbits from yesterday...
Customer who just ordered and received a combo plate from me, when I asked which bread she wanted with her lunch, "no bread, thanks, that way I can go have ( she glances over her shoulder quickly before saying this, puts her hand up to hide her mouth then whispers) beer!" I think that sounds fabulous, I say. "I would head to Kulshan," mentioning a local and very popular watering hole. They don't serve food, so it's ok to bring your own.
The customer tells me that's where she's headed next. Happily she heads out with her lunch to go have her beer. The next person I serve has been standing patiently with the rest of the huge and hungry crowd, waiting. I recognize him as a regular, but I don't know his name. He's a really friendly guy, sort of slightly built and very youthful looking, but with a grown up mustache and bright blue eyes. I'm guessing he is probably actually around forty years old. Anyway, this guy is smiling because he's overheard the dialogue I'd just had with the beer-loving woman. He tells me that he loves that idea as well. So, we expand on this and both talk about how lovely it would be to be able to have a little beer or wine on our lunch breaks. I even say that I don't think it would be such a bad thing for us to be able to imbibe a little while we were actually working. He's smiling even bigger now, and completely agreeing with me. It's a great idea, he says. We're going back and forth about this fabulous idea of ours and how our country and workplaces should lighten up a bit, not be so uptight, etc. I finish packing up his food for him to take back to work, then I ask the magic question, eyes big and full of anticipation, "so...do YOU want bread with your lunch today?" I'm thinking that after our exchange, especially with his eagerness to implement this beer or wine while we work idea, that he may skip his bread and head to Kulshan himself. No, he'll take his bread today. Then, out of curiosity, as I hand him his food, I just have to inquire, "so, where Do you work???"
"I'm a mental health counselor in a locked down psychiatric facility."
Of course he is. We look at each other and burst into a knowing laughter.
I then start to think of how very similar our jobs are, but that's another story all together.