Alcohol helped

Went to the NT$290-per-hour all-you-can-drink place again. Yes, the waiter dropped one of my fried oysters. And yes, the cute black puppy put her tongue into my grilled squid, but encounters with interesting strangers, as always.

The light golden-haired man I mistook first for a somewhat sloppy middle-aged lady turned out to be a chatty gay. He drank fast and stuck to white wine. Good taste, I think. His female companion, lovely pretty little thing, as entitled as any beautiful young woman should be, had already thrown up several times in the restroom, was tipsy enough to ask for bananas. The waitress, good- naturedly, bought some for her, leaving all her duty behind. However, the princess said it did not help her hangover. Both of them have been here since 12 P.M.

Then came the supposed Prince Charming in the late afternoon, the third member of their group, the desired object for both? Yet he is married. An ordinary clean-cut guy, eager to leave for ramen. I reflected on my youth and surprisingly felt not too sentimental. Alcohol helped. So did age.

Brief note of the other two tables: a rich kid with his laptop, the owner of the aforementioned black puppy; A foreigner and a Taiwanese man, very earnest red wine drinkers.