You Will A-Dress Me As “Ma’am”

(My friend and I are both transgender. Every month, we go to the theater together, and we always eat at a certain fancy restaurant beforehand. We have a very sweet regular waitress who has addressed us as women from the start. One night, an elderly gentleman at a nearby table calls our waitress over.)

Elderly Man: “You realize that those two are men, right? Why are you calling them ‘ma’am’?”

Waitress: “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.”

Elderly Man: *louder* “They’re men in dresses! They may be queer, but you should still call them ‘sir.’”

Waitress: “They look like ladies to me, sir. And they’ve never told me otherwise.”

(Later:)

Waitress: “So, how is everything, ladies?”

Me: “It’s wonderful, and thank you for what you said to that man.”

Waitress: *blushing* “I don’t know what you’re talking about, ma’am.”

(We left a huge tip that night.)