Week 18: Intersection: Location, Location, Location
"I can't believe you're breaking up with me over the phone, while I'm at the airport," came a tearful female voice from behind me.
I hate to admit it, but one of my first thoughts was Should I live tweet this? I did have the more empathetic thoughts as well. I wondered if she'd be okay. If I should get her a tissue. If she wanted help beating up this piece of shit. But those thoughts came after the initial thought of Twitter fame. (BuzzFeed is always posting people's Twitters play-by-plays of these things.)
In the end, I decided not to give away this woman's secrets on social media. But I did listen to every word.
Let me set the scene a little. We were in the Orlando airport, waiting for a Southwest flight. I had just visited some old friends at Disney World, and was still on a "Happiest-Place-On-Earth" high. And I wasn't the only one. There were children excitedly reminding their parents of how awesome it was to meet Mickey Mouse.
Of course, there was some disappointed in the air. A child dressed in Gryffindor robes was whining a little about not having more time at Hogwarts.
Anyway, so this is what the poor woman's tearful outburst disrupted. Which is why my attention was immediately focused on her. This was bound to be much more interesting.
"I can't believe you, Greg," the woman said. This time she sounded more angry than upset. "I was just there. I saw you less than three hours ago. And you waited until I was at the airport to dump me? You're scum."
Get him, Girl I thought to myself.
"Whatever, Greg," again, she was angry. "I'm done."
YES!!! I silently cheered her on. I looked around. I couldn't be the only one hearing this, could I? My guess is that everyone waiting at this gate heard this, but was pretending not to.
Not me, however. I got up, pulled out my travel sized tissues from my carry on, and approached a red faced woman, who was clenching both her jaw and her fists.
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," I said to her. (Lied to her is more accurate.) "But I think you could use these," I offered the tissues. She took them, thanked me, and I sat in the seat next to her. "Do you want me to get you a water, or anything?"
"No," she removed a tissue from the pack and wiped her eyes. "Thank you."
The next question flew out of my mouth before I could stop it. Or before I could phrase it more appropriately. "What the hell happened?"
The woman looked at me with an expression of shock and amusement. "My boyfriend...um ex-boyfriend...thought it would be a good idea to break up with me over the phone, while I'm at the airport."
"Well, he sounds like a winner," I muttered, bitterly.
"Ha," I heard the sarcasm in her laugh. "He sure is."
"Please don't tell me you were getting on this plane to go see him?" I knew she wasn't. I heard her say that she saw him only a few hours ago. I just didn't want her to know how closely I was listening to her love life fall apart.
"No. Thankfully. I just finished a visit with him."
"A long distance relationship?"
"Yeah. It wasn't always. We were together for about 18 months, lived together in Baltimore for a year. He just moved down hear about 6 weeks ago. He moved for work. I was down hear looking..." her voice cracked. She took a few seconds to compose herself. "I was down her looking for a job, so I could move down here, too."
"Did he say why he broke up with you?"
"He said we drifted apart since he moved."
"Why didn't he do this before you came all the way down to Orlando?"
"Supposedly, he thought being with me would improve things. But it didn't."
"Why didn't he do it face to face? Or at least wait until you landed?"
She shook her head. "I don't know."
"You know what I think?" I asked.
"Hmm?"
"I think he did it this way because he didn't think you'd yell or make a scene. That you wouldn't let him have it because you're in public."
"That asshole!"
I shook my head. "Location, location, location."
She was quiet for a moment, then, "Should I call him back and give him hell," she asked with a mischievous grin.
I was about to tell her to go for it, that I had my evil eye ready for anyone that seemed bothered by her outburst of anger at her good-for-nothing ex-boyfriend. I was about to. But, two things happened that stopped me. First, there was the announcement that Zone A was boarding. The second, was that a very handsome man about the woman's age, started to walk by, and glanced in our direction. It was only a split second, but I could see the two of them made eye contact, and I saw a blush creep up from her neck and spread across her face.
Instead of encouraging the woman to call her ex, I said to her, "You know what one of my favorite things is about this airline? There are no assigned seats. So you can sit wherever or next to whoever," I tilted my head in the handsome man's direction, "you want."
The woman flashed that mischievous grin again.
I winked, and reminded her, "Location, location, location."