Um, that's not your cup.

Gina, being the environmentally conscious gal that she is, has a cup she bought from Starbucks about a year ago. It's a black travel mug, and it has seen better days. Its biggest offense is that it's missing its lid, so coffee spills quite a bit in her car, but dammit, she's not throwing anything away! She used to frequent a coffee shop in the Bay Area, a very Bay Area type of coffee shop whose employees most likely think Starbucks is the incarnation of all that is evil in the world, and upon suggestion of someone at that Bay Area coffee shop, Gina covered the "Starbucks" logo on the cup with a recipe for Pear Ginger Tarts (provided, I believe, by the offended Bay Area coffee shop).

Last night, we went to a Starbucks in Van Nuys. Gina strolled in with coffee cup in hand and ordered her soy caramel latte (sauce AND syrup, thanks). I ordered a tall decaf drip, as I have given up caffeinated coffee (except on weekends). As we waited for her coffee to be ready, we stood several feet away from the bar, chatting. The barista set her cup on the bar and pushed it towards a girl maybe a little younger than me, and then asked, "Did you want caramel on top?" The girl smiled and said yes, and Gina and I watched as the barista amended the drink in Gina's personal cup for some stranger. The barista put the caramel sauce on top, and the girl took the cup. She looked at the protective sleeve, and brought the BLACK STARBUCKS CUP MISSING A LID to the cream and sugar bar. Gina and I watched with an amused disbelief. We wanted to see how long it would take her to realize she had someone else's cup. She went to POUR SUGAR into the CARAMEL LATTE, and I finally said, "Um, that's not your cup."

She gave me a puzzled look, and for a moment, I thought she might not speak English.

"Look at it," I said. "That's not your cup."

She looked at it, confused. Then, as if we offended her, "Well, I'm sorry, that's the one she gave me."

I wanted to say, "So if I give you the keys to my cavalier and take the keys to your BMW, you'll take my car because those are the keys I gave you?"

Instead, we just walked away.