So we have a visiting relative in town, and the four of us went sightseeing around DC. We also had plans (but not reservations) to go get ramen in Chinatown.
We decided to go to Daikaya, a ramen bar I know. It's a tiny hole-in-the-wall sort of place.
We got there and asked for a table and were told it'd be 90 minutes. Then they told us we could leave our number and they would text us when our table was ready.
"Sure," I said.
We tried to go to their sister restaurant upstairs, but it didn't serve ramen.
We opted for a Thai place down the street. About 5 minutes after I placed my order for some choo-chee salmon a whole bunch of cops came screaming up outside our restaurant to go yank somebody out of the ramen place.
Really. I got a picture of it.
Just then the ramen place texted me to let me know they indeed now had a table for us.
I told them we had other plans. I wasn't expecting a human repose, but when they said "no problem", I couldn't help but ask what had just happened. They told me "Someone came running into the restaurant trying to escape the police."
Wow.
I told them thanks and asked if everyone was okay.
They were.
I'm glad it didn't end badly. And glad that whoever-that-was on the end of that text and I connected, ever so briefly over what could have been terrible.