Now that I am home I am starting to go though my journal and add detail that I didn’t have time to do as I was going along. Here is a little event I wanted to share with you.
A Breakfast Story
As we all know, when you leave one accommodation to go to another there is always a lag. I had been staying in Walthamstow for a few days before the workshop and now it was time to go to the apartment near the studio where the workshop will be. I had to be out of the room in Walthamstow by 1:00PM but we couldn’t get the keys for the other place till 3:30 so I had some time to kill while dragging my luggage around which is never any fun.
Since I was all packed, I left my bags in the room and went out for breakfast about 11:30 to eat a little something and waste time till 1:00 before catching a bus over to my new neighborhood for the workshop.
I found a place close by that was almost empty so I figured I could get fast service.
Other than three women who were sitting on the other side of the restaurant talking and chatting I was the only other customer in the place. Apparently two of the three had ordered breakfast and had already paid for it. You pay when you order at the counter. The cook was the one at the counter that had taken my breakfast order. When the kitchen put out the two women’s orders and mine at the same time the waitress assumed they all had ordered breakfast so brought out all three dishes that the kitchen had prepared. The third woman didn’t mention that she had not ordered breakfast and had not paid for it. Meanwhile I continued to sit there waiting and needing to get back to leave the apartment by 1:00.
Then a while later the cook looked out to the tables and apparently was wondering why I had not gotten my breakfast and it became obvious to him what had happened. The cook called over the waitress and asked her where my breakfast was, she explained what happened. He went back to the kitchen to make my breakfast again and I watched the waitress go over and mention to the girl she had not ordered breakfast, that it was not her breakfast and she had not paid for it. She grudgingly pulled some cash out of her pocket and paid for my meal she was eating.
Then the waitress came over to my table and I mentioned that I need to leave soon and that is when she explained what had happened and offered me a free Capuchino as an apology while the cook was finishing up my plate.
I thought to myself how completely rude that was of the woman. She knew she was eating my breakfast since I was the only other person in the restaurant. When the waitress came back with the Capuchino I told her she should make up a bill and give it to the woman as an apology to me for eating my breakfast. She laughed at the idea knowing that would be the fair thing to do.
Nevertheless, the breakfast finally came, I got a free Capuchino out of it on the house went back to collect my bags and left the lodgings with three minutes to spare. Except for leaving the room on time I was in no hurry anyway. I made it out to the bus and off I went.