Breakfast and Balls

The restaurant was on the 4th floor of the hotel with a balcony seating area overlooking two major attractions and a lovely park.

When we ate breakfast there the previous morning I had noticed no one was siting outside, even though it was a beautiful, mild temp'ed Spring morning. We were in a rush and didn't sit outside either though. Sometimes service can be spotty if you're seated somewhat out of sight (...and thus out of mind) so we opted for the main dining room and didn't ask if the balcony was 'off-limits' or closed or something.

But this morning some friends were coming to meet us for breakfast while we were in town, and there was no rush. Another beautiful Spring morning.
Once again the main dining room was just about full and the balcony tables were empty and abandoned looking. I asked the maitre d' if the balcony was off limits - "No, go ahead and sit out there if you like, I'll send the server over."

Great! I don't know what's up with the rest of you people, but in my world this is a convertible-top down, sit-outside kinda day.

The tables were four tops and we would have a total of 6 in our party so with the waitresses help I pulled two tables together. She quickly set it up for 6 - silverware, napkins, sugar, creamer and even set a carafe of coffee with mugs to go around.

The rest of the balcony with about 6 other tables stayed empty for about a minute ... and then it was like the floodgates opened. It was like that hive mentality thing - no one considered the balcony until they saw someone go there, then they had to do it too. The remaining 6 tables filled up quickly. And then the trouble started.

People kept asking me if they could sit at the other table I had pulled up ... glares, dirty looks ... one lady even *sat her buffet filled plate down on the table*!
"No, I'm sorry, we have four other people joining us ...".

My friends were a bit late, but they finally got there and we went inside to serve ourselves from the buffet. As I was walking back to the table, I saw this guy standing at our tables. He said or asked something of my son who was sitting there, and then he reached down and grabbed one of the empty coffee mugs that was sitting there waiting for my friend to get back to the table.
WTF?

He and I reached the door to the balcony at the same time and I said, pointing over my shoulder to my friends who were still at the buffet, "That mug is just about to be in use, it's for my friends who are just over there about to come back with their food ..."
He moved like he was going to go right past me (in other words, didn't make polite and stop to hear what I had to say ...) he said in a sarcastic tone, "Well, I guess I can get them another one ..." and kept walking -

I stepped in his way and said, "Or you can just put it right back on the table where you found it."

He finally stopped, and said, "I guess I can do that", stepped backwards, opened the door and put the mug back on the table. He then muttered some stuff under his breath that I'm almost positive included the word "Bitch".

I noted that there were plenty of mugs back at the buffet line by the coffee / tea station.

When he came back, more glaring and he said, "Just so you know, I asked" and jabbed a finger in my son's direction.

I said, "How nice of you."

I mean, 1) how would a kid know, and 2) it was the "I *guess* I can get them another one" reply when he was told the mug was, in fact, soon to be in use, that kills me.

Dick.

I heard some loud muttering to his Stepford Wife unit when he got back to his table.

The rest of breakfast passed wonderfully. Such a beautiful Spring day. With some balls thrown in.