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Suspicious Drink

The Mild Wife and I both look pretty young. That's not really something either of us can control, it's just a mixture of genetics and other people's perceptions. At the end of the day, it is what it is, and we roll with the punches. However, it does lead to some pretty amusing anecdotes.

In this particular case, the story starts with us having brunch at a restaurant. We'd never dined in this particular establishment, but it seemed like a decent choice, so we stopped in for some food. We had a little bit of time before we were going to meet up with others, so we figured it'd be a leisurely meal. That meant that we decided to indulge in some grown-up beverages (read: alcohol). You can probably see where this is going already.

Yup, the Mild Wife and I both got carded. We laughed and pulled out our ID's, like we always do. The funny thing, however, was what came next. Most of the time, the waiter looks at the picture, looks at one of us, laughs about how we look really young, and then things are back to normal. This time, however, the waiter, did a double take, and scrutinized the Mild Wife's ID while scanning her face. I'm fairly certain he thought it was a fake ID. I'm certain his gaze went from the card in his hands to the Mild Wife's face at least twice, possibly even three times. Like I said, this was not the usual interaction.

The Mild Wife laughed and said that I was even older than she was. This is factually true: I am a year older than the Mild Wife. I handed over my ID, as well, and he sort of conceded the point. He threw out a, "you guys look young" and then went off to get our drinks.

When we got our drinks, we happily went along with our meal. You know how a well-made drink doesn't necessarily taste like the alcohol they put in it? My Bloody Mary tasted like that. Vodka doesn't generally have a strong flavor, either, so I didn't think too much of it. It tasted fine, and I had food that needed my attention anyway.

However, at the end of the meal, a sneaking suspicion came upon me. I'd had a full drink, and I didn't feel anything. I'm not a lush nor do I get wasted after a single drink, but you can usually feel the effects of alcohol to a certain degree. I mean, if I have a beer, I know I had a beer. It doesn't matter if I wash it down with food or not, I can generally tell if there was alcohol involved. In this case, I didn't feel anything.

As we were walking out, I started to suspect that the waiter had tried to give me a mocktail (an alcohol-free version of the drink) or else had asked the bartender to put a very low amount of alcohol in the drink. The problem with this theory, however, is that it's impossible to prove. A perfectly made drink will taste almost identical to one without much liquor in it. I can't exactly weigh out the alcohol content of the beverage in question, especially after I have consumed some or all of it.

So, for now, I will just harbor a suspicion about this interaction. I have to say, it's the first and only time I've ever had that happen to me (as far as I know, the Mild Wife has never had that happen, either). Either way, I can't help but laugh about the whole experience. Who knew that a Bloody Mary could lead to this much intrigue?

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