Sam is autistic (自闭症患者). Thus, dining out can be tricky. Though he loves to eat, he dislikes the loud noise during restaurant dining. So he has a solution: overpower all noise with a much louder noise of his own. Faced with a possibility of dining alone all the time, I decided to work on dining skills at a trendy new spot early one Tuesday night.

To my delight, we arrived at an empty restaurant. So far, so good. Everything went well until two older and elegantly-dressed women entered. They were seated two tables away from us. I felt a sense of upcoming doom.

The women began to chat, paying little notice to us. Sam happily took this as his cue (暗示) to start talking and drown them out. I leaned into Sam and asked for a quiet voice, but unfortunately Sam had left that voice at home.

I glanced at the neighboring table, knowing we wouldn't go unnoticed much longer. I quickly used Plan B: eat quickly and leave. Sam, who normally inhales food, suddenly embraced the concept of leisurely dining and refused to rush — all while chattering away endlessly.

"SHUSH!" I said, a little annoyed. Sam responded by giggling loudly. "Be quiet!"

Now the two women were watching us. The older of the two women leaned over. "Here it comes!" I thought. She completely surprised me when she said, "Honey, stop shushing that boy. He has something important to say. I have friends that talk way more than he does, and they aren't nearly as interesting."

Then she asked Sam, "Now, boy, don't you listen to your mom. You talk as much as you want. I want to hear everything you have to say." Turning to me, she added, "You have a delightful boy. Relax and enjoy your dinner—and don't let him skip the chocolate cake. It's unmissable."

I will always remember those two lovely ladies. Their kindness meant the world to a stressed-out mom. Wherever they are, we're sending them lots of love and hopes for chocolate cake.