Did they think I was a lonely bag lady?

"It's already paid."  That's what the server at a Dim Sum restaurant said to me last night when I asked for my bill.  

Whaaaat!!??  Paid?  By whom? I asked her incredulously.  Why would a stranger pay for my dinner???  "Who paid it?" I asked.  "That woman over there," she said, as she pointed to a family seated at the other side of the restaurant.

I was dining on my own because B was at a meeting and I was waiting to pick him up.  I do this often at the same restaurant on Saturday nights, not far from where he meets regularly with his charity colleagues.  

I love Dim Sum and he doesn't, so it works out perfectly.  But why would this woman cover my tab?  Did they think I was a lonely, old bag lady sitting forlornly on my own on a Saturday night?  I may have looked like one, with no makeup and an old jacket.  (Maybe it wouldn't have happened, had I been wearing my mink?!)

Incredulous, I walked over to their table.  "Did you pay for my dinner"? I asked the woman.  "Yes, but I told them not to tell you who paid," she replied.  "I wanted it to be anonymous," she added.  "Are you a Secret Santa tonight?" I asked.  "I guess so!" she replied, laughing.

Their daughter said they try to do this every time they go out as a family.  Why they picked me, I have no clue?  Maybe because I was the only one dining on her own; every other table was full of Chinese families, which would have been expensive.  

We chatted for a while and I learned she was a 911 operator.  "My son-in-law is a firefighter, so I know what you deal with," I said.  "He tells me people call 911 because they have a sniffle."  "Oh ya, you wouldn't believe the kind of calls I get," she said.  "Can I have a hug?" her husband asked.  "Of course," I replied, whereupon she, their daughter and I enjoyed a group hug Christmas-style.

"I promise to pay it forward," I said as I left.  "That's what we hope," said the daughter as I walked away.  

I promised and I will.  What a beautiful start to the Christmas season of giving!