We Time

Wednesday night is Date Night in our house. For this week's Mommy/Daddy adventure, we decided to stay in and lay low. There we are cuddling at ten after 6:00, when Hubby's phone rings. It's my Mother In Law reminding us we have dinner reservations at 6:30pm. News to me! We rush to get ready, and I wonder why we have a reservation at all, being we are going to eat at a local restaurant; one we eat at all the time, never with a reservation. I think this out loud, and am informed that my MIL *won* a free dinner for four. Hence the reservation.

We arrive at the restaurant and search high and low, seemingly in vain, for my In-Laws. Hubby calls MIL's cell, and she directs us to the very back of the restaurant. We walk back into a private room with a sign on the door that reads, "No Alcohol." Confusion sets in, as I ask, "What did she win this dinner FOR?"

We take our seats at a long table, where there is a blank name tag for us, as well as forms for us to fill out, name and address included. There is a giant TV with a video waiting to be played, and a table full of merchandise waiting to be passed around. The merchandise silently informs me that we are not there for time shares. Relief. My next thought is Pyramid Scam. Wonderful.

The pieces fall together, awareness of the obvious... all of which I have just described. Along with the knowledge that my MIL would sign pretty much anything if it came with a free (insert noun here). So the dinner she *won* was actually a free dinner that came with whatever it was she had signed us up for. Sigh. At this point, I can barely contain my laughter, because of how blind sided we were by this.

The man, who is in fact there to sell us something, inform us we will watch the video while we eat our free dinner. The best part of the evening however, was when we got our dinner salads. Hubby declined his, as always. The man asks him if he'd like something else, and Hubby again declines. After we've finished our salads, he leans in and asks me if that was all we were being served. Seeing a golden opportunity, I respond, "Yes. Honey, he asked you if you wanted something else." It took everything in me to not burst out in laughter. I knew he was starving, and he knew we had almost two hours before we would be released. Not only were we tricked into attending some scam show, but the free dinner he was promised, was nowhere to be found. Oh laugh out loud, indeed.

Fifteen minutes later the main dish was served and we both had a good laugh. He spent the rest of our evening trying to repay me for my little joke... Putting garnish in my water, mixing squash into my mashed potatoes, splashing me with the droplets from his straw. It actually turned out to be a decent evening. We entertained each other with inside jokes, and got a free meal which was very fancy, delicious, and definitely topped anything we would have thrown together at home. Afterwards, we left the room and went into the bar, where my FIL, a self proclaimed cynic, and general nay-sayer, spent the next hour talking in great detail about what a huge scam it all was. He was tricked into it too. Which to us, made it all worth it. Haha.

It was far from a typical date night, but sometimes that's the best kind!