That Damned D Train…

Yesterday evening on the way to my grandmother’s place I was in a car of the D train that I would normally not ride in. It was an overly crowded ride and I was crushed up against the door. While the train was going over the Manhattan Bridge the college aged woman who was standing closest to me, and whose face was a mere five inches from my face sneezed, big time. She was polite enough to make an attempt to cover her mouth and nose, and made it all the way in her mind I’m sure, and in reality her only cupped her hand about two inches away from her mouth. The effect of her sneeze was that it bounced off of her hand and onto my face!!!

Eww. Eww. Eww.

While I do not yet have a full fledged case germphobia, I am most likely halfway there. The item of this experience that grossed me out the most was a piece of her sneeze that landed on the right side of my bottom lip. It landed on my bottom lip!

Thankfully I had my mouth closed and nothing went inside, and in the instant of her sneeze and the mucus or whatever it was that came out of her head landing lip I flinched back against the door, raised my arm over my face, wiped off my mouth into my shoulder, and said, “disgusting”.

That one word was said under my breath, and with her head being only five inches from mine definitely heard it. She turned to me and apologized with a very innocent, “I’m sorry.” Then proceeded to hold her head down out of what appeared to be shame or embarrassment.

In my head I knew the whole thing was an accident, yet I didn’t say another word; I did not clearly accept her apology with any verbal sound or physical motion. I just stood there with a sour puss on my face, desiring to be home, to be in my bathroom with my face in the sink and my hands scrubbing the sneeze off my face.

At Pacific Street some people got off the train, and the girl moved in more. She was now a few feet away, and kept her head down. I felt kind of bad, and the desire to belatedly accept her apology from a few minutes prior, and yet I couldn’t do that.

So this goes out to you Ms. Sneezer. I’m sorry for not accepting your apology yesterday, I now accept your apology, and I hope that you never sneeze on someone again just as much as I hope that I am never ever sneezed on again.

Regards,
Beehive