Should I retire Lord Waffle from the coffee queue?
Funny'How do you spell Waffle?' the barista asked, holding a pen while six people waited behind us.
My friend Theo and I sometimes give each other ridiculous names when ordering coffee. It began when I called him Captain Cardigan on a quiet afternoon. The person serving us laughed, and we laughed. Now Theo expects a new title every time.
Yesterday he gave my name as Lord Waffle. I said, 'Just Alex is fine,' but he insisted on the title and began explaining its imaginary family history. The barista smiled, asked again which name to write, and finally wrote Alex. Theo said I had wasted a good chance to brighten someone's shift.
I helped start this. I still enjoy the names when it's just us. What I didn't enjoy was making someone at work take part while a queue formed. How do I ask Theo to keep our little aristocracy away from the counter without claiming I know what the barista thought?
