Episode 6: Dessert, Cash Only, and Finding an ATM — 5,000 Core English Words

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Chapter six. Dessert, the bill, and a trip to the ATM.

The plates are empty, and the atmosphere at the table is warm and relaxing. Ryan and Emma do not want the evening to end yet, so they order something sweet. Then the bill arrives, and there is a small surprise.

Listen to how they order dessert and coffee, ask for the check, and solve a problem when a restaurant takes cash only.

Waiter: Did you save room for dessert? Can I show you the menu?

Emma: I shouldn't, but yes, please.

Waiter: Tonight we have a warm apple pie, a chocolate chip cake, and a plate of tropical fruit with ice cream.

Ryan: What's in the apple pie?

Waiter: It consists of three layers. A base of butter, flour and crushed biscuit, then apples with a mild spice, and cream on top. The preparation takes all afternoon. We serve it warm, with ice cream or without.

Emma: That sounds enormous. Ryan, do you want to share one?

Ryan: Absolutely. One apple pie and two spoons, please.

Waiter: And would you like coffee or tea with that?

Emma: I'd love a coffee. A medium one, with milk. Do you have sugar?

Waiter: It's right there on the table, in the little tin.

Ryan: I'll just have mineral water, please. If I drink coffee now, I'll be awake the entire night.

Waiter: Coming right up.

Emma: You don't drink coffee in the evening?

Ryan: I find it too bitter. I have to stir in sugar until it can't dissolve any more, and at that point it isn't coffee. It's candy.

Emma: I'm surprised. I thought office people lived on coffee.

Ryan: We do, but only until noon.

Waiter: Here you are. One apple pie. Be careful, the plate has some heat in it. Take your time.

Emma: Oh, wow. Take a bite. The taste is so rich.

Ryan: That is solid work. You don't even have to chew it. I've never had a pie like this. Ever.

Emma: I once tried to make one. I had flour and sugar powder on every cupboard in the kitchen, and the pie itself was a complete loss.

Ryan: My refrigerator has nothing in it but water, so I can't laugh at you. I've lived in my apartment for eight months, and I still don't cook there much.

Ryan: Excuse me. Could we have the check, please?

Waiter: Of course. Here you go. I should point out one thing, and I'm sorry about this. Our card machine stopped working an hour ago, so tonight we can only take cash.

Ryan: Oh. I don't think I have enough cash on me. Emma?

Emma: I have a few coins and a ten. I never carry cash. Nobody does.

Waiter: It's no problem at all. There's an ATM right next door, just outside the front door on your left. Someone goes there every ten minutes tonight.

Ryan: Okay. I'll run over there and grab some cash. Is it all right if she waits here?

Waiter: Absolutely. Take your time, sir. If you don't come back, she can wash dishes at the sink.

Emma: I've done it before, and I'm cheaper than you think.

Ryan: I'll be back in two minutes. Don't let her near the kitchen.

Ryan walks out into the cool night air and finds the machine. He puts in his card and reads the screen.

Please enter your PIN. Then: select a transaction. Ryan chooses to withdraw cash from his checking account.

The screen asks, how much would you like? He selects eighty dollars. Then one more message appears: this ATM will charge an extra fee of three dollars. Do you wish to continue? It is not free, but he presses yes.

Please take your card. Please take your cash. Would you like a receipt? He presses no, and walks back to the restaurant.

Ryan: I'm back. Did you miss me?

Emma: Completely. How much is my half?

Ryan: Nothing. I'd like to pay for this.

Emma: No, let's split it. It's only fair if we pay equal parts. The math is easy.

Ryan: You can get the next one. That's the point. Then there has to be a next one.

Emma: That is a very clever plan. All right. But I'll leave the tip. How much should we leave?

Ryan: Twenty percent is normal here. He was really helpful, and the drinks were free.

Emma: Then let's be generous. He worked hard tonight. I can borrow five from you and pay you back, with interest.

Waiter: Was everything all right?

Ryan: Everything was great. Here you go. Keep the change.

Waiter: Thank you so much. That's very kind. I hope we see you both again.

Emma: You will. We spend freely when the pie is this good.

Emma: Can I ask you something? Why is this restaurant so good, and still so unknown? I've lived here for three months and I've never heard of it.

Ryan: I asked the waiter the same thing at the bar. It's a partnership between two brothers. One was a poor student who cooked cheaply for his friends. The other one studied the economy. They saved for a long time and opened this place on a very small budget.

Emma: That's believable. You can feel the labor in it. Someone decorated every corner by hand.

Ryan: They don't pay for advertising. They just encourage people to tell a friend. And they reserve one table every night for people who walk in.

Emma: A million restaurants could learn from that. Maybe a billion.

Ryan: I've repeatedly told Simon about it, but he only wants burgers. He says a place without a television is for tourists.

Emma: He is wrong about many things. But he was right about one.

Ryan: What's that?

Emma: That I should come tonight. I combine two activities in my life, teaching and theater, and I have no time for swimming, or friends, or anything else. I needed this.

Ryan: Me too. Wait. Is that ice cream on my shirt?

Emma: It is. It has been there for ten minutes. I didn't want to say.

That is the end of chapter six. They shared an apple pie, found an ATM, and paid the bill in cash.

Keep these with you: "Could we have the check, please?" "Do you take cards?" "Let's split it." "Keep the change."

In the next chapter, they walk to the parking garage. Ryan cannot remember where he left his car, and he has something he wants to say.

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