Schadenfreude on Christmas

The Chinese restaurant turned away
My friends when they went there on Christmas Day;
Back into the cold they had to flee,
And I'm sorry to say that it filled me with glee
When they tearfully told me how many an inn
Was closed, or booked, or feasting with kin.
They drove up and down those bleak retail strips
Looking for someplace for gobbles and sips.
Fast food wouldn't do. To-go's? Déclassé!
They craved warm gougères and a dry Chardonnay.
But nothing that fancy reared up from the blight
Of lifeless cafés and bars locked up tight.
After an hour of searching in vain
For a foodie boutique to ease their pain,
They gave up, went home for some cold cuts and beer,
Bathed their epicure wounds in second-rate cheer.
Perhaps if they'd asked me along on their quest
They'd have had better luck and wound up blessed
With a lavish spread, as I did the same day
At the Chinese restaurant that turned them away.