Take Me Out Tonight

Tom and I went on a date last Friday night. After dropping off the kids around 6pm (we just let them fend for themselves at a nearby park), we headed downtown to Northgate, a small district right next to TAMU that features a variety of restaurants, bars, and entertainment. We feel younger and hipper when our dates are in the Northgate district, as well as when they include two destinations, so we first enjoyed a drink at Dixie Chicken and then indulged in a second drink and dinner at Corner Bar.

We knew we were expected to pick up our kids by 9pm, so with that in mind we finished dinner and started back toward our car around 8:30pm. On the way to the car we walked past Potbelly's, and I decided that a chocolate malt was the called-for nightcap that evening.

After I ordered my malt, the Potbelly employee - a woman of college-student age - looked us up and down and said, "You guys look nice tonight - you heading out?"

Tom and I looked at each other and laughed, then turned back to the woman and explained, "We ARE out. No, we take that back. We WENT out."

She looked confused, for which we couldn't and didn't blame her, because really, who's wrapping up their evening at 8:30pm on a Friday? I provided what I thought was a solid reason for the early night, explaining, "We have to go pick up our kids."

She continued to look confused, at that point - I can only assume - because she was wondering why people with kids would spend the evening in Northgate in the first place. Because we're awesome, that's why. And while that's what I told her, I'm not sure she believed me.

And then we picked up our kids, who, in case you were about to call CPS on us, were NOT at the park.