Women…What are we to do?

Close to Christmas, a friend and I went to a restaurant/bar to welcome the festive season. We had been there for about an hour, seated peacefully, enjoying great conversation. All of a sudden, this not-so-lovely gentleman grabs a chair from an empty table two feet from ours and proceeds to sit at our table and places his beer down. He seemed not the least bit taken up by our blank faces and lost smiles. He did not say anything; he just sat and looked at us. We both pointed him to the empty table, from which he had come and he said we wanted to stay where he was. We are both really short, so we react fast (not sure why – Napoleon Complex?), but to our surprise, shock took the best of us and we remained calm. We informed him that we really did not want him at our table and he said if we insisted, he would not move. Sensing the shameless lack of corporation, I found a male waiter and asked him to take control of the situation. The waiter politely asked, and the man said, “I have had lots of beer (this is at 6:00pm) and can’t move. Do you want me to fall down? Besides, I don’t want anything from you women, so why bother me.” At hearing that, we knew he either had to be a part of our conversation (the staring part) or we had to move. But no, why should we have to move? At seeing at opportune moment, that is, the man lifting his beer to take a sip, I motioned as though to lift the table, the waiter saw it quick, and he lifted the table away. We moved a few feet away and left our uninvited guest seated, alone, in space. After taking in a few stares from anyone who was nosey enough to pay attention, which was everyone in the vicinity, he moved to the empty table.

Well, it is not rare for a stranger to join a not-full table in a restaurant or bar, but it’s usually in situations where there are no tables. Sometimes they ask and sometimes they don’t. When they don’t ask, they pull the chair a little away from the table, showing you that they are not looking to be a part of you, and will leave whenever the opportunity arises. You are uncomfortable for a few seconds, but get used to the little distance and you begin to ease…until your “guest’s” food/drink arrives and you find yourself sharing condiments. At that point, your conversation turns to the weather and maybe keeps deteriorating in quality until you leave or your “guest” leaves.