Couple left ‘gobsmacked’ and ‘in tears’ after kind gesture by restaurant

Dawn and Paul have been together for decades.

A couple who went out for dinner to celebrate their 50 years together were left "gobsmacked" and "in tears" upon receiving the bill from the restaurant. Dawn and Paul Molineux, from Southport in Liverpool, met when they were just teenagers on a blind date. At the end of this month, the couple will have their 50th wedding anniversary and, just a few days ago, they decided to celebrate the milestone early by enjoying a meal at Hickory’s Smokehouse. According to the Liverpool Echo, when the pair arrived at Hickory’s, they were greeted by deputy manager, James Davies, who asked the couple about their anniversary and how they met. This led to Paul explaining to the deputy manager that he was diagnosed with terminal cancer back in January.

Paul Molineux/Facebook

The couple then enjoyed a beautiful meal with drinks but the best part of the day was yet to come. When Dawn and Paul went to get the bill, they discovered the meal had been paid for by the restaurant. Written on the receipt was a note wishing the pair a happy anniversary. Paul told the Echo:

“We went to Hickory’s in Southport for a 50th wedding anniversary meal. When you book the table they asked if it was something special, so we put down that it was our anniversary. “When they seated us, they had put down a sign celebrating our anniversary. Our waiter James asked us about our anniversary, and asked us when we began dating and about our life together. In the end we told him that I’ve got terminal cancer. “When he put the bill down, we opened it and it said happy anniversary, the bill is on us. It was an 80 quid bill too. “I just saw the look on my wife’s face from across the table and thought have they got this wrong. She more or less broke into tears. We were gobsmacked. We had to go and find the bloke. We said: 'You’re joking aren’t you?'”

What a fantastic gesture from Hickory’s Smokehouse. You can read the full story on the Liverpool Echo right here.

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