I hate when the waitress asks that dreaded question: “Are you still working on that?”

It’s the unspoken code for everyone else is done. The table's cleared, dessert’s been served, conversations have ended…and I’m still chewing. Half my meal remains untouched while everyone else is ready to move on.

No one really knows why I eat so slowly. Some joke it’s because I talk too much. I tried staying quiet once—still didn’t help. I was the last to finish again. Even my sweet husband, patient as e...