the cater/waiter

The cater who waited enabled all her guests. She tirelessly waited for them to show up, time and time again, even if they would make a reservation, reschedule, reschedule again, and ultimately cancel. Frankly, this went on for decades and she continuously catered to their scattered inconsistencies. This fortified the waiter, evolving a poise of niceness and uber flexibility.
Secure in her perky roles, she hid the grief she might have felt for those who never showed. And commensurate to each and every time her guests did not show up was to equal degree the distance from her heart. Waiting became a skill and a virtue.
During all this time, however, there was one potential guest that she consistently neglected. A guest who was always ready to make a reservation and to show up. But the cater saved her tables for guests who could not, so this guest was forgotten and denied.
Now the cater/waiter could only mildly complain about her would-be guests. She saw nothing wrong with her waiting and the need to ‘do’ for others. Afterall, complaining gave her more to focus on and fix and her whole demeanor had adapted perfectly for this job. “My guests are so unreliable” she quipped. “What is wrong with them! I will just stay available for that magical moment when they finally keep their word.” And of course, they never did.
Then, on one gloomy day, alone in her empty restaurant, the cater/waiter thought about the one guest that had never been received. Typically, when he called, she would share “I am busy. Busy waiting. Sorry, no tables.” Well, that guest waited too, and for a very long time. Patiently waited for her readiness to receive his presence and his commitment to really, really show up.
But what a shock that would be because now the cater/waiter would be resolved of enabling and forced to receive and engage. Ready to try, the next time he called, the wavering waiter said with courage, “I have the perfect table for you, yes, right at 4:00. See you then!” And she received her very first guest, an elderly man. One who waited a lifetime to be included in some pitifully minimal way that could not measure up to the care he felt all those years. But he took what he could get with love.