They went on for a little while. And as the food trolley did its rounds, the woman accidentally kicked my husband’s seat when she rearranged herself for her meal.
“I’m so sorry!” she said loudly.
“You actually apologized?” her friend giggled.
“Yeah,” the woman said. “Because I don’t want to have a piece of hot salmon or goodness knows what landing on my feet.”
Alton gripped my hand and laughed.
That woman’s feet stayed off my husband’s seat for the rest of the flight.
“That was something,” Alton said, shaking his head, laughter dancing in his eyes.
“You really showed her.”
“I’m just tired of people thinking they can do whatever they want,” I replied. “Especially when it’s so clearly disrespectful.”
The remainder of the flight went by without incident. Every now and then, when I glanced back, the woman would glare at me, but I simply smiled and acted as if I didn’t see her.
As we started our descent, I watched her grab her bag and realize it was soaked.
Her face flushed deep red, and she gave me a look that could burn through metal.
I responded with a small, polite smile and then turned away.
“I’m going to shower first,” Alton said. “And then collapse into our bed.”
“I’m with you on that,” I agreed with him.
Once we landed and it was time to get off the plane, she shoved past us, grumbling to her friend. My husband and I didn’t rush—we took our time gathering our belongings and waited for the crowd to thin before heading to the exit.
As we stepped off the plane, a wave of satisfaction washed over me.
Sometimes, a bit of harmless payback is exactly what it takes to make your point.
As we walked through the terminal, the stress of the flight fading with each step, Alton slipped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close.
“You know, I haven’t seen petty Crystal in a while,” he said, a hint of laughter in his voice.
“Well, desperate times call for desperate measures,” I replied.
