She blared music, yelled at staff, and let her dog poop on the floor like the airport was her kingdom. Everyone was tired by the time we got to the gate, so I sat next to her with a smile and showed her the way.<\/p>\n
JFK was full. Holdups, long lines, and grumpy tourists. Like always. The voice then came. It\u2019s loud, sharp, and hard to skip.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I did say I wouldn\u2019t do that.\u201d I\u2019m not supposed to do that. It\u2019s okay if she cries.<\/p>\n
Everyone turned around. When she wasn\u2019t FaceTiming, a woman in a red coat stood near the Hudson News store with her phone held straight out in front of her. Like a car alarm, her words cut through the noise.<\/p>\n
It was right in the middle of the airport, behind her, and it looked like a little white ball. Under the bright airport lights, its diamond collar sparkled.<\/p>\n
An older guy with a tan cap walked up and said, \u201cExcuse me, miss.\u201d \u201cYour dog\u2026\u201d He pointed to where the mess was on the floor.<\/p>\n
She snapped, \u201cSome people are so damn rude!\u201d and then went back to her call. \u201cThis guy is looking at me like I just killed someone. \u201cGranny, mind your own business.\u201d<\/p>\n
People in the crowd let out gasps. A mom nearby said, \u201cOh my God,\u201d and held her child\u2019s eyes shut like it was a crime scene.<\/p>\n
Someone else on the road spoke up. \u201cMa\u2019am! Are you not going to clean that up?\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman walked straight ahead. Her hand went up in the air and she said, \u201cThey have people for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
It looked like people were trying to figure out what had just happened as they stood still.<\/p>\n
After that, I saw her again at TSA. She pushed people in line and threw her bag down in front of them like she owned the place.<\/p>\n
The agent told her, \u201cMa\u2019am, you need to wait your turn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have PreCheck,\u201d she yelled. \u201cAnd my dog gets anxious.\u201d<\/p>\n
The agent looked across the room and said, \u201cThat\u2019s not the PreCheck line.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019m going through anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind her, someone said, \u201cUnreal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then there was the shoe fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not taking them off,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to,\u201d the TSA worker told her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get along with TSA. \u201cThose are slides.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re boots, ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll sue.\u201d<\/p>\n
She finally took them off, but the whole time she was mumbling something. Nothing made her dog bark, not even a baby in a stroller or a guy with a cane. No breaks.<\/p>\n
She yelled again at the coffee stand. \u201cI told you to say almond milk.\u201d Are you hearing impaired?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d the barista said. \u201cWe only have oat or soy right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said almond!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can give you your money back,\u201d said another worker.<\/p>\n
\u201cForget about it.\u201d She yelled, \u201cYou people are impossible!\u201d and stormed off, taking her drink. Her phone\u2019s speakers played her music now; she still didn\u2019t have headphones on. It looked like she didn\u2019t mind that everyone could hear her music.<\/p>\n
I made it to Gate 22 in time for my trip to Rome. Of course, she was back again.<\/p>\n
FaceTime is still going. It\u2019s still not headphones. Still letting her dog bark at anything that moved. One chair had her legs crossed, another had her bag on it, and the third had the dog lying out on it.<\/p>\n
Someone across from her said, \u201cThis can\u2019t be real.\u201d A girl got up and moved to a different row of seats. \u201cIs she really on our flight?\u201d asked two older customers in a whisper. They seemed tense, like they hoped she was just passing through.<\/p>\n
A baby started to cry when the dog barked at them. They took the child from there and didn\u2019t say a word.<\/p>\n
No one sat next to her. Not a single person spoke. Not me.<\/p>\n
I went over and sat down next to her right away.<\/p>\n
She looked at me sideways and her eyes got narrow, as if I were another problem. I smiled. \u201cLong wait, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t answer. The dog growled at my shoe.<\/p>\n
I said, \u201cCute little guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said in a low voice, \u201cHe doesn\u2019t like strangers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI get it,\u201d I replied. \u201cAirports bring out the worst in everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
She picked up her call again. I sat back in my chair and looked around. We had people looking at us. Looking at her. Looking at me.<\/p>\n
They looked worn out. Feeling hopeful. Not sure.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t say anything. I was sure of what I was going to do.<\/p>\n
I sat there quietly, and the noise of the chaos hummed next to me. The woman was still yelling into her phone about a lost bracelet and how \u201cthey\u2019ll just have to send a new one.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could feel her voice in my ears like a fork scraping against glass. A plastic straw bag that someone had dropped was now being chewed on by the dog. Not a leash. Don\u2019t worry.<\/p>\n
I looked over and saw a couple sitting by the window. The man had his cane across his lap, and his wife held a boarding pass in both hands, making it look like a tiny bird.<\/p>\n
They heard the dog bark twice. Very loud, very sharp, and very quick. They jumped back. A woman said something in a whisper, and the man nodded. They slowly stood up, got their things, and walked away.<\/p>\n
That was it. I let out a breath through my nose and almost smiled.<\/p>\n
This woman made me think of a customer I used to help when I worked in customer service. She would throw backs on the bar and call out \u201cDo your job\u201d like it was a curse every time.<\/p>\n
The kind of person who thought other people would clean up after them when they made a mess in their life. It was against the rules for me to do anything but blink while she insisted on talking to a boss I didn\u2019t even like.<\/p>\n
My mom said, \u201cThe only way to deal with a bully is to smile and move smarter than they do.\u201d That was something I never forgot.<\/p>\n
I was also tired. The week and month had been long, and this gate, right now, seemed like the best place to listen to Mom.<\/p>\n
The woman next to me yelled into her phone once more. \u201cNo!\u201d Tell him I won\u2019t pay for that! He can go to court if he wants to fight about it. Here are some screenshots!\u201d<\/p>\n
It jumped off the chair and began to bark again. High-pitched and never-ending.<\/p>\n
When a gate worker came out to make an announcement, she saw what was going on and quickly went back inside.<\/p>\n
I got up.<\/p>\n
She gave me an angry sideways look. \u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled. \u201cJust stretching.\u201d<\/p>\n
She rolled her eyes and went back to her call.<\/p>\n
I moved away a few feet, stretched my arms, and then walked over to the edge of the gate and leaned against the window. It didn\u2019t take long for her to think I was gone. Just long enough for my plan to work.<\/p>\n
After that, I went back, sat down next to her again, and took out my phone without any fuss.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlying to Paris for fun?\u201d I asked as if we were old friends.<\/p>\n
She stopped talking in the middle of a sentence. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cParis,\u201d I said, pointing to the gate. \u201cAre you going for work or vacation?\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed. \u201cI\u2019m going to Rome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d I quickly looked at the gate monitor and saw that it still said \u201cROME \u2013 ON TIME\u201d in big letters. Then I tapped my screen like there was something new. \u201cThat\u2019s strange.\u201d The push warning just said that the Rome flight was moved to gate 14B. Now this gate is for Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n
She made a face. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
And I scrolled through my phone like I was making sure. \u201cYeah,\u201d I said. \u201cThey must have changed their minds at the last minute.\u201d You should move quickly. 14B is pretty far away.<\/p>\n
She looked at the screen. Then at me. Then she looked at her phone again. She didn\u2019t say anything about it. Not sure about it. She just said, \u201cUnbelievable,\u201d got up, and began putting things into her big bag. The dog made noise. Finally, she pulled on its leash and pulled it behind her.<\/p>\n
Her voice could be heard behind her as she stomped off. \u201cStupid airport. There is no one who knows what they are doing.<\/p>\n
No one stopped her. Not the person at the gate. Not the people who are tired. No one said anything as she walked away into the crowd, leaving only a quiet trail of curses and tapping hands behind her.<\/p>\n
I sat back down. Keep quiet. Do not bark. Don\u2019t scream. The sound of an airport gate is all you can hear. Behind me, the screen still read \u201cROME \u2013 ON TIME.\u201d She didn\u2019t come back.<\/p>\n
There was a quiet beat. After that, a soft laugh. Someone in the back laughed, which made someone else laugh. The sound soon rolled through the gate like a soft wave. It wasn\u2019t loud, just warm laughing, the kind that comes out when you\u2019re feeling better.<\/p>\n
A young woman smiled at me. A man across the aisle tipped a hat that couldn\u2019t be seen. The mom with the child, who was now happily playing with a toy truck, smiled big and said, \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Someone clapped from somewhere near the food stand. Once. Stopped. Then they clapped again. Some people joined in, not sure if they should, but the moment didn\u2019t need all of them to cheer. It only needed that quiet confirmation that something had changed.<\/p>\n
A girl next to the window said \u201cYay\u201d in a whisper and hugged her stuffed animal. They didn\u2019t look as stressed. When the gatekeeper went back to her post, she looked surprised and maybe even thankful.<\/p>\n
I looked at a few other people. JFK only sends one flight a day to Rome. Sorry about that.<\/p>\n
If you liked reading this story, you might also like this one: What did Kristen do after she took my dog? Charlie wasn\u2019t just a problem in the neighborhood. Our whole town talked about it for months afterward: it was fair justice with a twist of creative payback. Some might say it\u2019s small. I think it\u2019s important.<\/p>\n
This work is based on real people and events, but it has been made up for artistic reasons. To protect privacy and make the story better, names, characters, and circumstances have been changed. Any similarity to real people, living or dead, or real events is completely accidental and not on purpose by the author.<\/p>\n
The author and publisher don\u2019t promise that the events or people are true to life, and they\u2019re not responsible for any wrong ideas that come up. This story is given \u201cas is,\u201d and any ideas shown are the characters\u2019 alone and do not represent those of the author or publisher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
She blared music, yelled at staff, and let her dog poop on the floor like the airport was her kingdom. Everyone was tired by the time we got to the gate, so I sat next to her with a smile and showed her the way. JFK was full. Holdups, long lines, and grumpy tourists. Like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28490"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28491,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28490\/revisions\/28491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}