no tomato

A table of six sat down in my section and I had dollar signs in my eyes: four women over forty, a grandma and a daughter. I promptly delivered the menus and presented polished silverware. I spoke of the soup of the day and made sure they were aware of the breakfast specials. The time for drinks came and there was only one water; things were looking good. Three omelets, one sandwich, one salad and a hard boiled egg. Only one request: no tomato on the Avocado & Tomato Omelet. I entered the order and went on to help other tables. Passing by the expo window, Durell the chef beckoned me, “You want no tomato on the Avocado & Tomato Omelet?” “That’s right, no tomato.” Now the Avocado & Tomato Omelet is made by frying blended eggs with diced tomatoes, pouring on tomato sauce and placing avocado slices on top. Asking for no tomato could mean one of three things: no diced tomatoes, no tomato sauce, or no goddamn tomatoes at all. This woman had asked for no tomato. I assumed Durell interpreted that as no tomato of any kind, but when the order was up, there was deep red tomato sauce on an otherwise pristine yellow omelet. He took it to mean no diced tomatoes. The facts are that omelets are time sensitive and I want a good tip. I figured this woman wanted no tomato of any kind, but I wasn’t sure if she would be OK with just tomato sauce. To request a remake would mean delaying the order (decreasing my tip earnings) and pissing off Durell. So I put on my ‘pretend everything’s fine face’ and delivered the food. I stopped by several minutes later to assess the situation. “Is everything fine?” Smiles spanned the table until my eyes met the no-tomato-over-forty-year-olds. ‘You gave me tomato’ her face scowled, but she didn’t have the guts to complain. I just hoped it wasn’t her that was paying. Pre-bussing the table I confirmed my prediction when I noticed scrapes of tomato sauce on the sides of her plate. Fortunately for me, the woman who settled the bill was not the no-tomato woman and I received a 20% tip.