With No Money, Comes No Parental Responsibility

(I’m on holiday and stop at a popular fast food restaurant for lunch. The dining room is pretty busy but I find a free table in an area with only a man and his five-year-old son. I sit down to eat as they get up to leave, but the father leaves his wallet behind. The wallet is clearly visible outside through the windows. I figure if they don’t come back I’ll hand it to staff when I leave. After a couple of minutes, they come back.)

Man: *picking up his wallet and looking inside* “You b****, you stole my money.”

Me: “Excuse me? I haven’t touched your wallet.”

Man: “Don’t lie, you little s***. I had $100 in here. Now it’s gone. Give me my money back.”

(His son pipes up.)

Son: “But Dad, you said I could only have some chips because you don’t have any money.”

Man: “Quiet, [Son]. Listen here, you b****. Give me my money back before I take it back.”

(By this point, a staff member has come to see what all the fuss is about. This employee has been cleaning tables outside the whole time the wallet was left on the table.)

Employee: “Sir, your wallet hasn’t been touched. I could see it the whole time. You need to leave.”

Man: “Listen here. Someone stole my money and I want it back.”

(He goes to grab my handbag when another customer steps in and restrains him, pulling him away.)

Customer: “[Man], you’ve been warned not to pull this stunt again.” *lets the man go* “Now, get out of here before you’re locked up.”

(The man ran out, leaving his son behind, who was now crying. It turned out the man had tried this in a few places and the other customer was a local off-duty cop. The cop called the station to get the boy’s mum’s information. I stayed with the boy until she came to get him. The staff got the boy a kids’ meal and threw in some extra toys. It turns out the father was a drug addict but the courts had given him access visits with the boy.)