Shortly after we ordered our lunch yesterday, a young couple was seated directly across from us. I could only see the girl’s back, and that she was texting on her phone. The guy, in his American accent, expressed quite a few annoyances.

“It’s your relationship, you handle it however you want.”
“I can just write a check for however much I owe and I’ll take all my things tonight.”
“I don’t really care about the money right now, I just want to be able to enjoy the rest of the trip in this beautiful place.”

Give tissues to the guy

I gave a stack of tissues to Kenric and asked him to give it to the guy. Kenric asked if I was sure because he thought he should give it to the girl. Years ago, while waiting for a flight, the girl next to me was crying. The guy she was with, seated next to her, did nothing to console her. I offered her my pack of tissues. She took it and forced a smile through her tears. I wondered if she would have preferred tenderness from her man to kindness from a stranger. So, I insisted that Kenric should give the tissues to the guy.

Quite smoothly, Kenric set the tissues by the guy’s elbow and continued walking to the bathroom. The guy gave them to the girl, and she blew her nose into them and cried even more. Then, she ran to the restroom. The guy and I avoided eye contact. Kenric came back. I asked if I should go check on the girl. He said the girl was quite distraught at the sink; unisex bathrooms.

I asked if she was ok

She was crying over the sink. I asked if she was OK. She looked up and said “Yes”. She looked younger than I expected. I asked if she was traveling with just the guy and if she had someone else to turn to.

“He’s my cousin. He’s cool. We’re traveling with my boyfriend and it’s just a mess.”

She spoke with an European accent. More crying.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-four.” She’s older than I expected.

“You’re only twenty-four. You’ll have many more boyfriends, bu..”

“I know.”

Whaaaat? Attagirl! She’s very wise for her age.

“You’ll have other boyfriends but this may be the only time you and your cousin will be here together. So, make the best of it and try to enjoy yourself.”

“I will.”

I went into the stall, and she left. She was eating when I came back out. The waitress told them the restaurant was closed. It was 2:30 pm. The guy ordered dessert and coffee, and asked for the check. The girl said she wanted to pay for the meal. Her cousin told her to eat her food. She dug her purse for her wallet. “Just eat your food.”

Later, Kenric told me that the guy thanked him. Today, on our way out of town walking past the restaurant, I was half looking for the waitress although I don’t know if I really would have clarified to her that the guy was actually the girl’s cousin and not her jerky boyfriend as everyone in the restaurant must have thought.