Date Night

I was planning on making supper last night. But because yesterday was one of my roughest days yet, I wasn’t up to it. Mom and Ray both supported my decision. Our first thought was to eat leftovers because we have many good ones in the fridge. Then, Ray suggested he and I go out to eat instead. We didn’t want to go to a fancy place. I knew I definitely wasn’t into dressing up and making a big effort to look good. The most important thing was finding a nice place with good food. We ended up choosing Houston’s. It had been years since Ray had been there, and I hadn’t ever been there before.

Ray tried calling the restaurant on his way home to make reservations, but they didn’t take them. The hostess told him they weren’t busy at that time and usually don’t get real busy until 7:30 or so. He got home around 6:00. Since we are nearing the end of our pregnancy, we decided this would be a date night for us – probably our last for a while. So, before we left, I asked Mom to take a picture of us.


Fortunately, the ride to the restaurant was a short one. When we pulled in the parking lot, we discovered that they were super busy. It was only 6:30! So much for what that girl told Ray! When we got on the waiting list, we were told it would be 55 minutes to 1 hour. I didn’t mind because I wasn’t that hungry. But what I did mind is the limited seating for waiting! We ended up going back outside where we found a vacant bench. Sitting there was fine for about 10 minutes. After that, we decided it was too chilly. When we went back inside to get warm, Ray found a small spot on a bench to sit down. At first, there was only enough room for me. But when people started getting seated, a little more room became available so Ray could sit with me.

To my surprise, our nearly hour long wait didn’t seem like that long. We really enjoyed visiting. Our only interruptions were Baby Tse’s antics that would literally jolt me around! Ray ended up putting his hand on my tummy to feel the craziness and in attempt to calm our son down. For the most part, it worked! Our little guy liked the attention, constant contact, and massaging! And when he would kick or punch like a mad man, Ray would say, “Oh wow! Boy, what are you doing?!” We talked about how we’ve always read and been told that he would move less towards the end because his space is getting so limited. Obviously, Baby Tse refuses to let his space limitations stop him from what he wants to do! He’s a determined little fella!

Like everyone else, I exaggerate at times. I remember when I first started telling Ray about Baby Tse’s movements and how much power they packed. He was sympathetic, but I know he didn’t realize they were that bad. Then, at some point, he finally felt one of those crazy moves I’d been telling him about. From that point on, he knew that wasn’t something I exaggerated. So, while Ray and I visited, our son entertained us!

We were enjoying our visit so much that we were surprised when the waitress came to tell us our table was ready. As we paraded through the restaurant to our table, you should’ve seen some of the looks I got! A few adults who were seated smiled and gave me that “You poor girl. You look like you’re about to pop!” look! And then there were some adults who were walking down the aisle that smiled and stopped to let me pass. I think they feared whether or not they would fit walking next to me! We also passed a few kids who gave me a look that said, “Whoa!”, Joey Lawrence style! And I can’t forget how the hostess who walked us to our table stopped in front of the steps going to the upper level, looked right at me, and said, “Please watch your step”. I appreciated her pointing them out because if she didn’t, anything could’ve happened! But doesn’t she think some cute Chinese guy could possibly be a klutz too?! ;)

We were seated on the second level and had a great view of the restaurant. Ray ordered the Hawaiian Rib-eye, and I ordered a fish sandwich. The food was great and so was the service. And the company was even better! We have always enjoyed people watching so we did some of that. But we were focused on each other most of the night. Throughout the night, we talked about expected things like Ray’s work, Baby Tse, etc. We talked about many other things too. With us, especially in an environment without distractions, we are so relaxed and conversation flows so freely. We had a great time!

Towards the end of our meal, Baby Tse was not happy with the position I was in. I told Ray I needed to go to the restroom – to use it and to take a walk with the boy so he could get more comfortable. When the waitress came to take our plates, she asked us if we were interested in dessert. Even though we discussed earlier how great they looked, we decided against it. My sandwich was so good that I wanted to savor that taste for a while! Besides, I didn’t want to risk ruining my good taste with a dessert I may or may not like.

Ray asked if I’d like to go to Starbucks. That is an offer I rarely refuse! Ray ordered a coffee, and I ordered my usual hot chocolate. While he was paying, I told him I would be back, that I was going to the restroom. When I found it, I saw that it had an “out of order” sign on the door. I was disappointed, but not devastated because I didn’t have to go real bad. We first walked over to the leather couch, where we would usually prefer to sit. It was so uncomfortable for me. Ray could tell by looking at how awkward I was sitting. So, when he suggested we sit at a table, I didn’t argue. We continued with our people watching and good conversation. A little while later, I said, “I gotta go! I’m gonna go in the men’s bathroom! Think it’ll be gross?” Ray said, “I don’t know. Try it”. When I stood up, I realized just how bad I had to go! I waddled across the restaurant and around the corner to the men’s bathroom…only to find out there was an “out of order” sign on that door too! How the hell could that be?! I think that was those lazy Starbucks employees’ way of not having to clean the restrooms before they closed! When I told Ray, he wondered what the deal was too. My pregnant brain and my full bladder caused me to say, “Is that allowed? How can BOTH bathrooms be out of order?!” He said, “I don’t know. It is a violation of health code”. A few seconds later, he said, “Do we need to go now?” I smiled and said, “Um, well, I can give you about 3 minutes!” He smiled and said, “Let’s go now! I don’t want to get into an accident trying to get you to a bathroom!” Since we were pretty close to the house, I made it without a problem.

When we got home, Ray laid down on the couch. After I did my usual nightly stuff (checked my email, washed my face, brushed my teeth, etc), I saw that he had fallen asleep. Because his neck was hanging weird and looked uncomfortable, I woke him up right away. I told him I was going to bed and asked him if he was going to join me. He said, “I love our couch. I never get to lay on it anymore. I’m gonna stay here a while”. I knew exactly what he meant. I love our couch too. I think it is one of the best investments we’ve ever made. But since I got pregnant, I don’t find it as comfortable as I once did. As a matter of fact, nowadays, I can’t sit on it for more than about 10 minutes.

When I got up to go to the restroom about an hour after falling asleep, I saw Ray still laying on the couch sawing logs. Since he looked comfortable, I decided not to wake him. Besides, I figured he could get some continuous sleep there. Sharing a bed with me, especially in the last few months, is not easy. Even though he doesn’t fully wake up every time I get up, he does move a good bit and turn over a few times. I pretty much got up every hour, almost on the hour, to go to the restroom all through the night. I thought about waking Ray up and telling him to come to bed, but I decided to let him stay there.

Then, morning came. I went into the living room to tell Ray good morning. He said, “I slept here all night”. I said, “Yep, you sure did!” He asked me why I let him. I told him my reasons. He said, “Well, I didn’t mean to stay here all night long”. I said, “It’s okay as long as you got good rest”. He said, “I did. It’s just screwed up that I went out last night, had a fun date with my wife, and then slept on the couch!” We both laughed! :)

~T.T.