I hoped for the best as I boarded the plane and walked down the long narrow aisle to my seat, hoping the strangers I'd be sitting pretty close to for the next couple hours were decent.
Thankfully, I got really lucky on both my flights and sat next to really nice people who were pleasant and I was able to strike light conversations with.
Well, there was one. Bubbly and chatty by nature, I just hoped she'd make the time go by quicker with her constant chatter. We covered the basics, "Are you going home or on vacation?" "Personal or pleasure?" "Oh, what part of Florida?"
I learned a lot quickly. When, how, and why she lives in Florida. Why she doesn't like it, her kids and grand kids and on and on. I know what she does for a living, that her husband sitting across the aisle from us can't stay off his phone and it's a problem for her. He looks at it first thing in the morning and he slips it into his pocket as soon as he gets out of bed. I can tell he's mastered tuning her out and she laughs it off.
When she came up for breath, she asked if I had kids and where's my husband? "I don't have a husband, I've been single for over two decades." She sighed and gave me a look of pity. "Oh, you're divorced" and there's that look of pity, again.
Actually, I consider myself single not divorced. I may have gotten a divorce almost 23 years ago, but I'm a professional single. That was decades ago.
"Does their dad help?" Here we go... "Their dads are deceased" I shared. This comment scares people. One is a tragedy, but two is sketchy and I can see the emotions of confusion cross her face, she probably watches Dateline. There's her sad pity face, again. I answered her because she's asked a question, the answers do not define me.
Her expression is annoying me and her pity is ignorance. I should take a photo of her expression and show her, her judgment of me is causing me to assess her situation...
[In my mind I'm thinking] "Sharon (I don't remember her name, but she could be a Sharon), what I've learned is that you hate Florida. You were laid off and your husband had a dream to live where it's warm and you are not happy you left your children and grandchildren to live where you haven't liked it for six years. You want to move back, but he doesn't want to. You miss your kids and your grand kids and you had to threaten to go see them when he decided to go with you. He clearly calls the shots. Your husband who cannot stay off his phone and acts like he doesn't know you, slipped to the back of the plane to stretch his legs out in the empty seats the whole flight and hasn't really acknowledged you. While you're sweet and kind of ditsy, he is totally shady and you should probably check his phone. You may have a husband, but looks as if you've settled and you aren't really happy. You can laugh and chuckle at your husband's phone interest, but you must worry and that has to hurt every day. You have a husband, live in Florida, and life is settled and predictable. Your life is decided, isn't what you want and I feel sorry for you.
You see, Sharon, being single is a blank canvas. I live on my own terms and can color inside and outside the lines of my life and boldly embrace not knowing what comes next. I do what I want, when I want, and how I want. Being single is an unpredictable and wildly beautiful adventure."
