the flying bridge

My mom likes to have every meal planned.  She agonizes over whether we should eat in or go out.  If we eat in, there always seems to be a massive amount of prepping starting in the morning, with a break from about 10 to 4, and then prepping again from 4:30 until the actual meal.  And the clean-up after always seems to be more complicated than it should be.  This is why I prefer to eat out. 

But eating out has its own set of challenges.  Before we even discuss time, we need to decide on place.  According to my mom,

    “The place we liked last time we were here is now closed on Wednesdays.”

    “June ate there last week and it was awful. “

    “They don’t take reservations and unless we eat at five we’ll be waiting for hours.” 

    “I hate their menu.  There’s nothing on it.”

    “Your father doesn’t like it there.”

    “It’s too stuffy.”

    “Their prices have gone way up and it’s not even that good.” 

    “It’s too far.”

    “I’m not driving over the bridge (as in the Bourne Bridge), are you crazy?”

    “That place is too dark.”

    “They closed last winter.”

    “There’s no handicap parking.”

It is truly amazing we can ever find any restaurant.  But miraculously we do.

My mom suggests The Flying Bridge.  It’s a nice restaurant, overlooking Falmouth Harbor, and a place we rarely go.  We decide to meet Valerie and Abbey there at 6:30; the restaurant is not far from my parent’s home.  We agree to leave at 6.  My mom is compulsive about time and worries about ever being late.  At 4:30, she says, “Okay, we should start getting ready.”  I’m already showered so getting ready will take under 15 minutes.  She then adds, “We’re leaving at 5:45, and that’s it; I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

We leave according to my mom’s plan, and arrive at the restaurant a half hour early.  There’s an hour's wait.   But the time goes by quickly.  Alexander and I go for a walk and I take a picture of him in his new gingham shirt.

alexander in front of my parents' home

alexander near the restaurant

When we return, my sister is talking to some high school friends of ours whom we haven’t seen in 40 years.  They have aged well, and actually look better than they did in high school.

We are seated by 7:15.  We get a great table outdoors, overlooking the water.  The food is excellent.  My father is animated, and glad to be with his family. Everyone is happy.

An hour’s wait is small payment for a great family dinner out.