For several minutes after our second exchange, I sat perfectly still, trying to decide whether another confrontation would accomplish anything. The man behind me had returned to his entertainment, apparently satisfied that he had silenced two unreasonable women. His foot remained stretched across the armrest. Occasionally his toes flexed, and each small movement reminded me that I was being forced to accommodate someone who could not be bothered to show even a minimum of consideration. I had dealt with difficult personalities in business meetings, but this particular display of stubbornness was remarkable.<\/p>\n
The woman beside me folded her magazine and placed it in the seat pocket. "I don't know how you're staying so calm," she whispered. "I would have lost my temper by now."<\/p>\n
"I've discovered that some people become more determined when they realize they've upset you."<\/p>\n
"So you're going to ignore him?"<\/p>\n
"For the moment."<\/p>\n
She examined my face with interest. "That sounded suspiciously like you have another idea."<\/p>\n
"Not yet," I admitted. "But I don't think arguing is going to improve anything."<\/p>\n
She leaned back, crossing her arms. "He's certainly made that clear."<\/p>\n
The cabin lights had been dimmed, leaving narrow bands of illumination above the aisle. Passengers slept with their heads tilted against windows or bent uncomfortably over travel pillows. Somewhere toward the front, a flight attendant was collecting empty cups. The low hum of the engines filled the spaces between occasional conversations. Under ordinary circumstances, I might have found the atmosphere almost peaceful. Instead, I was acutely aware of a stranger's foot positioned only inches from my arm.<\/p>\n
I had spent the previous five days attending meetings in another city. The trip had been demanding, particularly because I was preparing to assume a new regional leadership position. The next morning would bring an important introduction to colleagues I had not yet worked with directly. I knew there would be questions about priorities, expectations, and the management changes ahead. I had reviewed the relevant documents until the figures seemed to appear even when I closed my eyes. My only opportunity to recover from the trip would be the brief evening I had promised to spend with Megan.<\/p>\n
Perhaps that was why the man's behavior irritated me so deeply. He was taking an already uncomfortable situation and making it worse simply because he could. He seemed genuinely entertained by the fact that his wishes had prevailed over someone else's reasonable objection.<\/p>\n
The woman beside me watched me quietly for another moment before extending her hand. "Since we're apparently sharing an unfortunate experience, perhaps we should introduce ourselves. I'm Diane."<\/p>\n
I shook her hand. "Rebecca."<\/p>\n
"Nice to meet you, Rebecca. Though I wish the circumstances were more pleasant."<\/p>\n
I smiled. "At least you're making the flight more bearable."<\/p>\n
Diane had a pleasant, lively manner that contrasted sharply with the passenger behind us. She spoke in a low voice and had the quick expressions of someone who noticed more than she initially revealed. Within a few minutes, I learned that she enjoyed talking to strangers and possessed a particularly dry sense of humor. I did not learn anything extraordinary about her life, nor did I need to. Sharing an armrest and a mutual irritation had been enough to establish a temporary friendship.<\/p>\n
"Maybe he thinks having an expensive watch gives him ownership of the entire row," she observed.<\/p>\n
I glanced at the man's arm, which rested against the window behind us. His watch caught a faint reflection from the overhead reading light. It was undeniably expensive-looking. His shirt, too, suggested that he had begun the day with considerable attention to his appearance.<\/p>\n
"Interesting priorities," I murmured. "A beautiful watch, polished shoes, and absolutely no interest in wearing those shoes."<\/p>\n
Diane covered a smile with her hand. "The shoes might be the only innocent victims here."<\/p>\n
I laughed despite myself. The sound was brief, but it released some of the tension that had been building in my shoulders.<\/p>\n
Behind me, the man shifted. I immediately stiffened, expecting another unpleasant encounter. Instead, he adjusted his headphones and drew a small pillow against his neck. His eyes were half-closed. His expression had softened into the blank weariness of someone approaching sleep.<\/p>\n
Diane noticed the change as well. "Perhaps he'll finally move."<\/p>\n
We waited.<\/p>\n
His head tilted toward the window. His breathing became slower. The foot remained exactly where it was.<\/p>\n
"Apparently not," I said.<\/p>\n
"Remarkable dedication," Diane whispered.<\/p>\n
I looked at the foot again. His leg extended far enough forward that the toes rested comfortably against the end of my armrest. I could not imagine sleeping in that position, but he appeared perfectly content.<\/p>\n
For another twenty minutes, I tried to read messages I had downloaded before boarding. They concerned my upcoming meeting and the responsibilities I would assume as regional director. I reviewed the agenda, checked a few notes, and made mental reminders about the people I expected to meet. Yet I kept losing my place whenever the man's foot shifted.<\/p>\n
Eventually his breathing deepened into unmistakable sleep. A faint snore rose from behind my shoulder.<\/p>\n
Diane glanced backward. "He's out."<\/p>\n
"So it seems."<\/p>\n
"Maybe now you can move his foot aside."<\/p>\n
I considered it. I could have lifted his ankle and placed it back in his own space. But touching his bare skin was the last thing I wanted to do, and waking him might simply restart our earlier argument.<\/p>\n
"Something tells me he'd put it straight back," I said.<\/p>\n
"You're probably right."<\/p>\n
She reached for her magazine again, but I remained staring at the foot.<\/p>\n
There was something almost absurd about the scene. Here was a grown man who had refused three reasonable requests, now sleeping peacefully while the people around him adjusted their behavior to accommodate his disregard for them. The irony was so obvious that I felt a reluctant smile beginning at the corners of my mouth.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered the gift in my bag.<\/p>\n
The thought arrived so unexpectedly that I nearly dismissed it. Megan's little beauty kit was tucked beneath the seat ahead of me, wrapped carefully among my belongings. I pictured the bright bottles arranged in their plastic packaging. I remembered the imitation gemstones on the toy rings, enormous and glittering, designed to satisfy an eight-year-old girl's enthusiastic sense of style.<\/p>\n
I looked at the sleeping man's foot again.<\/p>\n
For a moment, the idea seemed too ridiculous to entertain. It was petty, childish, and certainly not what anyone would describe as a mature response to discourtesy. I knew that. Yet the more I considered it, the harder it became to suppress my smile.<\/p>\n
Diane noticed immediately.<\/p>\n
"What?" she whispered.<\/p>\n
"Nothing."<\/p>\n
"Rebecca, that's not a nothing expression."<\/p>\n
I shook my head. "I've just thought of something rather foolish."<\/p>\n
Her magazine disappeared into the seat pocket again. "How foolish?"<\/p>\n
I leaned toward her and lowered my voice, explaining that I had a child's beauty kit in my carry-on and that its contents might produce an unforgettable change in the appearance of the bare foot occupying my armrest.<\/p>\n
Diane stared at me for several seconds.<\/p>\n
Then she bent forward, covering her mouth with both hands as silent laughter shook her shoulders.<\/p>\n
"You can't possibly be serious," she whispered.<\/p>\n
"I'm considering it."<\/p>\n
"You're going to decorate his foot?"<\/p>\n
"Only the part he's been so determined to share with me."<\/p>\n
She glanced over my shoulder, checked that he was still asleep, and looked back at me with a mixture of disbelief and delight.<\/p>\n
"Rebecca," she said softly, "I think this flight just became considerably more interesting."<\/p>\n
I knew there was still time to abandon the idea. I could call a flight attendant, move to another seat if one were available, or simply endure the remaining journey. Those were sensible options.<\/p>\n
Instead, I bent down toward my carry-on bag.<\/p>\n
And reached for the zipper.<\/p>\n
For several minutes after our second exchange, I sat perfectly still, trying to decide whether another confrontation would accomplish anything. The man behind me had returned to his entertainment, apparently … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama-sory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7438"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7450,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7438\/revisions\/7450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}