Host: “Hello. How are you?”

Guest: “Cold!” (shakes it off)

Host: “I know! It’s so cold! Come on in and get warm. I wish somehow people could get inside without having to actually open the door (says through a laughing exhale). How many in your party?”

Guest: “Seven. You guys look busy. Do you have a table?”

Host: “Well, you have good timing. (smile) We have a table on the patio available. That’s where larger parties usually sit.”

The guest goes stiff
She lets her knees buckle in defeat, she peers out into the patio area with shrugged shoulders and clutches her scarf.

Guest: “You mean, OUTSIDE!?”

The guest says this with the expression of having just witnessed something horrible that the host was indecently mocking. Completely insulted. Totally terrified.

Host: “Oh, no…the patio is closed-in right now for the winter. All the windows are closed and we have a heater. Oh yeah, it’s warm out there.” (smile)

Guest: “OH! OK! I seriously thought you were going to try to seat us outside! And I’m like, I’M FREEZING! Can’t she tell?! Why would she DO that?”

Host: “Haha. Oh yeah, we’re going to keep you warm! I wouldn’t do that to ya!” (-external- smile)

The guest shakes it off one more time with a jerk as if a gnat just entered the picture and holds her expression as if she still believes her incredulity is actually what made the host change her mind and realize how absurd the idea was.

Alrighty now. So, lets look at the facts:

-It’s 27 degrees outside.

-When you came through the front door and mentioned how cold you were the host empathized with you and even made a comment about how she wishes the door didn’t have to open.

-When you peered into the patio area, what did you see? You saw about twenty people sitting in the patio area. And in seeing this, several things are easily discernible:

1. They are all eating.
2. No one is shivering, hunching or giving the impression they are cold, at all. They seem quite comfortable.
3. They have their coats draped beside them on the bench where they sit, or on the railing next to their table. This implies, they are so comfortable they don’t even need their coats.
4. This probably means the patio isn’t considered ‘outside’ on this particular day, due to the cold weather.
5. The windows and the doors on the patio are clearly closed to the outside, hence what seems to be a quite comfortable environment.
6. There are two huge, garage style doors in the center of the restaurant that divide the inside area from the patio area. One of these doors is on the main floor. The other door is in the bar area. Each of these huge doors is open, open to the patio so, the restaurant is one big room including the inside and the closed-in patio.
7. Everyone sitting inside looks quite comfortable. No one looks cold.
8. Since the two huge, garage style doors (that open to the patio) are both open, and no one looks cold inside, then the patio must not be cold. Otherwise, inside would be cold.
9. While it is possible, the chances are insanely slim that the only twenty people in the world who enjoy eating outside when it’s freezing and while doing so show absolutely no signs of discomfort (like, at all), just so happen to (all) be at this restaurant, in this town, on this night, at the exact same time. But that’s just too unlikely.

So, now that we have reviewed the facts. I wish I could give you a re-do on this. I know you can do better. It’s called discernment of empathy, process of reasoning and assessment. So much opportunity for you to think for yourself. So much. So, let’s start over because no, I did not just suggest that you sit outside.