its only a tee shirt

Don’t get all hot and bothered chamba, Its only a tee shirt
Ricky just completely blew my mind. The French café couple are in san jose for a week, so I had my breakfast down in the center of our metropolis, by maxis. As I was leaving I saw ricky, son of and proprietor of maxi’s and ambled over to say hola. He greeted me warmly, as ever, and as he or someone had this year produced a tee shirt advertising his restaurant, of course I had determined to buy one, I decided now was the time and asked to buy one. What was the cost? I enquired. I had heard they were $10, but wanted to make sure as I get local discount when I eat there. His reply astonished me. For you its free. This is your home here. He went on at some length in the local form of English but this is the gist of what he said. When I first saw you I knew you belonged here. The way you walk, the way you conduct yourself, you fit in here. These tee shirts are not a business for me. Look around. I don’t have them on the wall, advertising to sell them. Its not a business. They are for special people. You have a home, and this is your other home. What is your size and I’ll get one for you. And he did. I almost cried. In past I had wondered if his effusive manner with me was perhaps just part of his business persona, glad handing his customers. Boy was I wrong. He sees me for who I am and its genuine. What a blessing.