The Woman at the Bar

So, I don’t know if I find this story funny, but it’s worth mentioning so here it is.

 I don’t usually take myself out to dinner. Every once in a while I’ll go and when I do, I usually sit at the bar. Bars, especially in Florida, are very sociable places and I find, also, that bar tenders there tend to take very good care of their lady customers who are by themselves. One night, I just had to go to Pop’s for dinner. It was just something i wanted to do. So, off I went.

 Pop’s was very crowded and hopping and I gladly took my seat at the bar. Unfortunately, I was surrounded that night by two non-stop smokers and it became clear that I couldn’t enjoy the food in that atmosphere. So, I picked up my plate and found a table. Pop’s sandwiches are very large and I only finished about half. I took my half eaten dinner back to the bar, intending to sit there while paying my bill. I set the food down also. Next to me was a woman with dark hair looking to be in her late forties or so. I noticed that she had on a navy blue skirt and jacket, something you don’t see that much any more (kind of a longer skirt version of a “dress for success” suit). So she was dressed for work.

 While waiting for my bill, we struck up the typical bar conversation of weather, the food at Pop’s and so on. She told me she had eaten “at work.” I found that  a bit strange as I don’t know that many people who eat dinner at their desk (well, lunch maybe, but... dinner??) I noticed, while we were talking, that she was eyeing my half eaten dinner. She asked me what the sandwich was. I told her it was mahi mahi. The bill then arrived, interrupting us. She expressed surprise that I wasn’t finishing my dinner. She looked at the sandwich, I guess I could say, hungrily. She seemed absolutely appalled that I could leave the half eaten sandwich (there was a bite in the remaining half, even). I told her that it, and the mostly uneaten french fries, was too much food for me. She asked if the sandwich was good. I said it was and then, half joking, asked if she’d care for a bite. She picked out a small piece of the fish. Then, still joking, I suggested she pull up a chair to my dinner. The bill arrived and I signed it, now standing by my chair. She then got up as well, and, to my surprised, sat in my chair and began eating my dinner. 

I was so startled by this behavior that I walked quickly out of the bar.  The next day, I went to look for my credit card and found that it was missing. When I got home, I called to the credit card company and was told that the card had been left at “a bar” and that someone had called and cancelled out the card for me.