Guest and the good will

John Fernandes runs a bar and restaurant near my house.

He is a soft spoken good natured individual and his wife

is a great cook. I had heard that she prepared the

food which was served in their bar/restaurant. I had

never visited the bar but had tasted her christmas cake.

It is one of the best that I have  eaten. 

Recently a friend of mine was expected to visit me

and he had expressed his wish to taste the authentic

goan fish preparation. I went into John’s bar and

asked Pauline, John’s wife, if she is still cooking for

their customers. She said that due to her age and

physical disabilities she has stopped serving cooked

food, expressed her regrets and said that they now

served just some spiced nuts and other snacks

with drinks. I took my friend to another restaurant

which had been recommended by people who knew.

We had nothing to do in the evening and thought

of going out for a drink before dinner. We went

to John’s bar, I introduced my friend and asked for

a peg of whiskey. We were chatting over the drink

when Pauline silently brought a plate of fried fish

and placed it in front of us. I was surprised but

was happy to see that. My friend ate the fish and

said that it was even better than the one he had

tasted earlier in the afternoon. He enjoyed it

thoroughly and took another drink to go with it. 

John proudly introduced us to all his regular

customers, my friend enjoyed his fish and drink

and we spent a happy hour there. It was time to

leave and when the bill was produced I felt that

it was much less than expected. Since we had taken

the same fish in the other restaurant that afternoon

I knew the cost was considerable. Actually it costed

much more than the whiskey we had consumed.

I asked John if he included the fish in the bill ?  

“Fish ?” He exclaimed. “We bring good fish whenever

we find it in the market, spice it and keep it in the

fridge. It comes in handy when we feel like eating

or when we have unexpected guests. It was an

offering for a special guest. You don't have to

pay for it !”  

Drink was good, fish was very good but the feel

of goodwill was great !