When the food arrived, we went to wash our hands. I got back to the table and waited for her. She sat down and said, “I’m ready,” as she folded her hands.
I was caught off guard for a couple of seconds before I realized what she was doing. She is not a particularly religious person, but she knew that I liked to offer a prayer before eating, especially with friends.
The problem was that I had been in Utah for the past year, and I had been out on enough dates with members of the LDS church to realize that women and other members of the church generally frown upon praying out loud in restaurants. They are perfectly fine with offering a silent prayer before the meal, and I had acquiesced to that standard rather than continue to make others uncomfortable and ruin a shot at having a longer term relationship, which never really materialized anyway.
So it surprised me to have my friend come to the table and be ready to pray, and I should have taken her up on the offer. Unfortunately, I had gotten out of the habit and told her that I had already blessed the food. There is no reason why it can’t be blessed more than once, but my mind didn’t react with the clarity that it should have.
I am not sure what the proper conclusion is to draw from these incidences. All I know is that I am lucky to have a friend who is willing to follow my professed beliefs even when they aren’t hers and who remembers me as I once was and not wholly as I am.