10. Decision Time

Roy looked up from the menu at the rest of the party. There were eight of them which meant he probably had a bit more time than usual until everyone has made up their minds regarding their choice.

He glanced left at his wife. Helen was obviously going to go for one of the fish options, probably the sea bass.

Roy was cursed with an eclectic taste in food. He loved everything which made ordering food at restaurants quite the ordeal. Almost always he would change his mind once he ordered his food and would think throughout the meal about the four or five other dishes he did not order.

Not going to restaurants was not an option. Neither Roy nor Helen were great cooks and good food was very important to him. Needless to say that he loved his wife and two little boys more, but if he had to choose between never seeing his family again and never eating tasty food again it would not be an easy choice.

This was a problem he could not discuss with anyone. His brother died last year from brain cancer. Helen has type two diabetes. Larry, their seven year old boy, has worrying learning difficulties. Who is going to sympathize with Roy for having trouble choosing food in restaurants?

Roy did not feel guilty; he perfectly understood his situation. He just gave up on conveying his feelings to anyone else. At best he would be teased as a slow decision maker, at worst some people at the table would get annoyed with him for holding up everyone.

Roy realized he was wasting a lot of time thinking about his situation instead of actually deciding what to eat.

The minced spicy chicken dish looked interesting, but Roy already had chicken for lunch. The red curry chicken noodles also appealed to him and he considered having chicken twice in the same day; it is not like he has never done that before.

The beef medallions with foie grois jumped at him off the page. The problem was that, as always the case, the foie grois part would be the tastiest and smallest and even if the beef is good, it would always be overshadowed when served with foie grois. If Roy ever won the lottery the first thing he would do is go to the best restaurant in town and order five hundred grams of foie grois and toast. Until then it was like ordering a lap dance when what you really wanted is to screw.

Roy scanned the fish and seafood section with disinterest. He was not in the mood for that, thank God for small favors.

People around the table started folding their menus. Decision time. For a change, today it was actually an easy choice.

When the waiter arrived Roy was very pleased to order first.

“I’ll have the Curry chicken noodles.” Roy smiled and winked at Helen.

The waiter made a face.

“Sorry, we’re out of curry chicken tonight.”