Dinner was excellent, though my stomach felt a little unsettled. At least, I thought it must, for it kept making odd noises even though it didn’t feel bad. If anything, quite the opposite. I felt a sort of warm, satisfied fullness that I couldn’t remember having felt for quite some time.

But I was in for a shock when the I got the check. “Why was I charged $50 for…’Appetizer: Waitress’?”

“That’s how much it’ll cost to train a new one,” my waitress explained. She sighed. “A real pity, too. Cindy Lou was one of our best. But I’m sure you had your money’s worth.”

I didn’t understand, but there was that feeling of satisfaction that few other meals had ever brought me, and it wasn’t as if $50 was a large sum of money to me, with what I make in a year. If that was all it cost, then so be it. It was worth it.

I returned to my hotel, went to bed, and had very pleasant dreams involving my first waitress—the one who had disappeared.

It was good that I slept well, for the next morning I was in for a shock.