Condiments

Last night I was driving with my daughter and she asked if we could stop at Steak And Shake for one of their (allegedly) excellent milkshakes. I agreed to stop. I pulled into the drive-thru and ordered only the shake, and pulled up to the window. A little sticker on the glass read, "Salt and ketchup available upon request." So the kid opened the window, took my money, and gave me some change. In a few minutes, the kid returned with the milkshake. I asked him, "Hey, may I please have some salt and ketchup?" The kid handed me a few salt and ketchup packets. I asked, "May I have some more ketchup, please?" The kid reached under the counter and came out with about twenty packets and handed them over. He asked, "That OK?" I replied, "Yep, thanks!" and drove away. No burger. No fries. Just a milkshake. Cool practice, Steak And Shake. Now, I'm a bit slow on the deviousness uptake sometimes and it took me a while to consider that I should have pushed further, to see how far I could go. Could I have gotten a month or two worth of ketchup? Maybe. I will return to the drive-thru and request salt and ketchup without any food order at all.