Margarita surprise: A snake on the rocks in a Henrico restaurant

State of play: On April 16, Carletta Andrews and her husband were finishing their meal at Patron Mexican Restaurant in Sandston when "she felt something on her forehead," WRIC's Autumn Childress scooped.

• She looked down and saw a snake — an actual living and slithering reptile — in her drink. A baby snake, allegedly, but still. A snake.
• "It was moving. It started wrapping around my straw," she told the TV station about the straw-sized serpent.
• Staff tried to prod the reptile out of her drink with a stick, but ultimately a fearless fellow diner snatched it out and moved the snake outside.

How it happened: The restaurant confirmed the incident to WRIC and speculated that the creature wriggled its way into the eatery through the air conditioning unit.

• They also comped the meal, Andrews tells Axios. The manager said, "just go ahead and go."

What they're saying: "I left shaking. I was traumatized," Andrews told WRIC.

• Same, girl. Same.

Flashback: This is the second time in recent years that a diner has been traumatized by a snake in a Virginia restaurant.

• In 2017, a woman was bitten by a copperhead while waiting for a table at a LongHorn Steakhouse in Fredericksburg.

The bottom line: No where is safe from nature when nature wants to intervene. Diners should be vigilant at all times, especially in Virginia.