When Oaklee walks into La Altena in Cleveland, Tennessee, she doesn’t head to a table. The 3-year-old scans the dining room looking for one person: her favorite server, Gabby.
Gabby does the same thing. The moment she spots Oaklee, she rushes over. The two embrace like family members who haven’t seen each other in months, even though it’s usually been less than a week.
This happens every time Oaklee visits the Mexican restaurant with her parents. The family now plans their meals around Gabby’s work schedule.
Jordan, Oaklee’s 30-year-old mother, started filming these reunions. She posted a compilation video to social media. It went viral.
Oaklee has been coming to the restaurant since she was an infant. She was fostered by Jordan and her husband starting at six months old, then later adopted. When she arrived, Oaklee had a feeding tube from malnourishment. Jordan thinks this background explains her daughter’s love of Mexican food.
The weekly visits became routine. So did Oaklee’s attachment to Gabby.
“We know Gabby’s work schedule, so we try to always go when she will be there – otherwise our daughter asks where Gabby is and gets upset if she isn’t there,” Jordan said.
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The restaurant staff all know about the relationship. “Everyone else that works there knows Oaklee is Gabby’s girl, and they immediately seat us in her section or go let Gabby know that we are there if our daughter hasn’t already run to find her herself,” Jordan said.
Jordan notices something else about the friendship. Gabby and Oaklee come from different backgrounds and don’t speak the same primary language, but Oaklee doesn’t care.
“I love seeing my daughter connect with someone of a different ethnicity like this,” Jordan said. “Gabby’s English isn’t great, but Oaklee doesn’t even notice that.”
For Jordan, the friendship carries a message. “It’s just a reminder that we are all human and God did not design us to treat each other differently because of where we come from or how we look,” she said.
Oaklee has her own way of describing Gabby. “Oaklee sees her as another grandma, or Abuela,” Jordan said.
