The man put on headphones.
Dad fell asleep almost immediately, because apparently people who insist on arriving at airports four hours early can also sleep anywhere.
I read.
Eventually, the man took his headphones off.
He looked toward me. “Hey.”
I lowered my book.
“I’m sorry.”
That surprised me.
He looked genuinely uncomfortable.
“I shouldn’t have cut in front of you.”
I said nothing.
“And I definitely shouldn’t have called someone and bragged about it.”
“No.”
He nodded. “I thought you didn’t understand me.”
“I know.”
He winced.
“That sounds worse when I say it out loud.”
“It was worse when you said it out loud the first time.”
He gave a short, embarrassed laugh.
I looked at him.
Then I said, “The line wasn’t really the part that bothered me.”
He frowned. “What was?”
“You thought it was funny because you believed I couldn’t understand you.”
He looked down. “I didn’t think about it like that.”
