never assume (m)

Friday.  No baseball game today.  We have the whole day with Sam.  We wake up, work out and then head to the pool.  It's the best day thus far weather-wise...more sun than clouds, not much wind and 71 degrees.  We nap by the pool then go for a swim.  My husband does a cannonball in the pool, displacing most of the water which sends Sam into a fit of laughter.

We read all afternoon and nap a few more minutes just before dinner.  My husband lines up a recommendation from someone for a great steakhouse where they also sell seafood.

We get to the restaurant and the Tampa sports influence is prominent.  They have nice cozy booths with players' last names and numbers on gold plates (I think football...Sam recognized the names).

Sam and T order steak.  The prices are not outrageous....I've seen worse in Boston. A side dish, for example, goes for about $6.  Not bad, right?

I order a lobster tail, grilled.  The large size or the small size, madame? the waiter asks me.  Small, I say.  The price is not listed, but it says "market price" as do most restaurants.  The lobster comes and it looks huge.  I could never finish this in one sitting. I taste it....it's great.  Sam tastes some and likes it, too.  Then he notices the tail....we've never seen a lobster like this before.  The tail has a huge "fin" on the end and, come to think of it, the whole lobster has a blue tinge to it.  It also tastes different, like the ones in the Caribbean.  My husband asks the waiter where the lobster is from.  "Australia," the waiter says.  Sam smiles because we've just talked about Australia....he wants to go in August and was lobbying hard over dinner for permission to go there.

The bill comes.  Now bear in mind I married a frugal Yankee with the emotional range of A-B.  He looks at the bill and jumps out of his skin.  I've never seen him this worked up.

The lobster cost $108!   What, did we pay for the plane ticket for this lobster to come from Australia?  I feel sick to my stomach.  It reminded me of the time I lifted a box behind the bar in our home and a brand-new bottle of Galliano liquor from Italy...in the shape of a soldier....which cost a whopping $40 back in 1968...fell to the floor.

T asks, "Didn't you ask the price?"  I said "No, it said market price, but I just assumed it would be about $30!"  Just then,  I heard the voice of my first grade teacher, Sr. Mary of the Rosary in my head:  "When you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME".

Boy, did I feel like an ass.  I could have thrown up the whole meal right there and then.  Instead, I had them pack up the leftover lobster which I brought back to the hotel to eat again for lunch and dinner on Saturday.

I will never assume anything again.