The magic of a papa bear panini guy and his free four-cheese panini

..apart from a few things not going so well with work right now, along with a little tiff with the boyfriend, one of the reasons i'm having a bad day is because i kept waking up every half hour last night to make sure that i wake up in time to turn the slow cooker off. i had made a mushroom beef stew that i'd been looking forward to having for a while now, only to find out that they have these glorious four-cheese paninis that rarely make an appearance at the cafeteria today as well. it felt like i was torn between two lovers (come on, sing it with me: "...feeling like a fool"). ultimately, with everything else that's going on, this week feels like it just keeps getting worse and worse.

i went downstairs to the cafeteria with my co-worker heather so that she can get her lunch. she ended up getting the four-cheese panini, and told me i can have a few bites. we chatted up the panini guy, this burly papa-bear-ish native of the dominican republic, about our orders and our plans for the long weekend (yes, that's the way it is at the UN--strangers feel like long-lost cousins, and it's natural to ask how things are going). he was always fun to talk to.

while he was tending to heather's panini, he asked me if i wanted anything. i declined and said i already brought food, but that it would've been awesome to know that they had the four-cheese paninis beforehand. it was after paying for the meal and getting drinks at the water station that the panini guy intercepted us on the way out. he handed me something small wrapped in tin foil, and i just knew it was my four-cheese panini! i looked at him for confirmation, and he said, "i don't know when we'll have the four-cheese again. so you might as well get your fix now."

just like that, the day turned around for me. things at work are still so much worse than i'd like it to be. and the tiff with the boyfriend still hasn't been addressed. but for that moment, everything just seemed to wash away. with one generous act, it felt like i was blessed with the strength (literally) to tackle the day's dilemmas. 

pat enriquez, new york