"Are we being punked?"

Visiting public places with an infant is always an adventure.  One thing that I've noticed, in particular, is how different people react to a baby.  

.

Some people seem annoyed.  When Will was a baby, we were at a men's league hockey game.  I was on my own, as Bill was playing in the game.  I needed to keep getting up and down for various reasons-- going into the diaper bag, picking up a dropped toy, adjusting the baby seat.  A guy sitting behind me, yelled at me to sit down.  I was pretty proud of myself for turning around and telling the guy to go park his ass somewhere else.  The arena was practically deserted-- there were hundreds of empty seats all around and the tickets were without seat numbers.

Some people seem indifferent.  A few months ago, I was on a long line at Target.  Liam was hungry and screaming.  Will was tired and getting into all kinds of trouble.  We didn't have too many items and I was hoping someone might be nice enough to let us skip ahead in line.  No such luck.  Not even a sympathetic glance.

Some people seem delighted.  Before Peapod, when I would visit the grocery store, some people would take the time to smile and talk to the baby.  Sometimes this exchange would be quick and pleasant, but at other times it would get rather uncomfortable.  Some people-- complete strangers-- would hold the baby's hand or rub the baby's cheek.  Although I never said anything, this would always make me feel a little uneasy.  

However, none of these experiences quite prepared me for yesterday's encounter.

We had lunch at a local hibachi restaurant for Valentine's Day.  We arrived at around 2 pm and the restaurant was pretty empty.  We had purposely chosen a time after lunch, but before dinner.  After the food was prepared and while we were eating, one of the servers approached.  I was balancing Liam on my knee and she asked, in broken English, how old he was.  Then, without saying a word, she stretched out her arms to hold him.  I guess that I was completely caught off guard, because in retrospect, I don't think I would have handed him over.  But I did.  I handed my six month old to this complete stranger.  

He was smiling and content and she stood in front of me holding him.  It was a little awkward, but it seemed fine.  Then she turned her back to us and started walking away.  She started weaving in and out of the tables and heading towards the back of the restaurant.  I looked at Bill and the people dining across from us looked at me.   I let out a nervous laugh and asked Bill if he thought we were being 'punked'.  She kept going.  I was on the edge of my seat.  Should I get up?  Go get him?  They were now in the back of the restaurant and I wasn't sure if she was going to head through the doors into the kitchen.

Just then, she turned around and came back.  Flooded with relief, I grabbed the camera and took this picture.  As I snapped the photo, Bill said, "You're totally going to put this in your blog, right?"

Right.  

Now how about leaving a comment?  What would you have done?  

(You can just fill-in your name where the form says "Name/URL"... You don't need an account!)