Driven to Distraction by the Drive-Thru

On a cold, rainy morning in November, I had to drive to work instead of taking the bus because I had a doctor's appointment. There wasn't enough time to put on the percolator before I left home, and I really wanted a cup of hot coffee. I felt too lazy to run through the rain at the gas station. So I stopped at McDonald's. I haven't been to McDonald's since last spring, when I was on my way to St. Cloud KOA for a night of camping. My camping pals needed a stop for fries and fried cows.
So I wasn't really aware of how the drive-thru at the Apple Valley McDonald's worked. I handed the gal my dollar and change, and then without a word, she closed the window. I waited for her to hand me the coffee. And I waited, and waited. She wandered away from the register and someone behind me started honking. Finally I decided that she forgot the coffee, and I started to drive away.
As I was the easing the Echo out of the McDonald's driveway, I noticed a second drive-thru window on the side of the building, in my rear-view mirror. It dawned on me. I was waiting at the wrong window!
I swung back around, and I had to cut in front of an angry SUV driver to wedge myself in at the second window. The girl opened it, and finally I got my coffee. It only took 25 minutes to get a cup of coffee. I could have made coffee in the percolator in 15 minutes. How sad. My failed literacy of fast food customs irritated everyone around me and wasted time.
The lesson I learned is to avoid drive-thrus if you're not a regular user. It's just embarrassing for a automobile dining neophyte like myself to even attempt it.