Ignorance Isn't Always Bliss

A while back Brian and I had lunch at a little Chinese restaurant that’s a couple of blocks from our work. We sat down and ordered our food. While we were waiting to eat, some women came in and sat down in the booth behind us. Whatever. We didn’t even really notice them. Until one of the women began to speak. I so wish she would have just kept her big, fat mouth shut, but alas, people who have big, fat mouths usually can’t keep them shut. I suppose that’s why they are referred to as big mouths. Right?

She begins to talk to her lunch mate. Apparently she had just returned from vacationing in Phoenix. She did all sorts of things while in Phoenix. She shopped in Phoenix, she was tan because of her trip to Phoenix. Now she’s so busy at home because of this visit to Phoenix she can barely get caught up. Phoenix, Phoenix, Phoenix. I was basically at a point (especially since I was 8 months or so pregnant at the time) that if I heard this woman say Phoenix one more time I might try and find some chopsticks and poke her buggy eyes out of her head.

In the meantime, Brian and I had begun to eat and a man who worked at the restaurant (I don’t believe he was a waiter) stopped by the women’s table and started talking with them. He asked if they had been helped and if they needed anything. They requested some tea. Of course, before he left their table to get some tea, the woman mentions how she went to Phoenix. I swallow my food with a gulp to contain my annoyance. She goes on and on and on talking to this guy about her damn trip. She finally shut up long enough for him to leave their table. He was very friendly, this man. He nodded and smiled and offered comments about her insipid trip that she wouldn’t shut up about.

He was away from the table a few minutes and had in fact stopped by other tables to greet the customers and make sure everyone was satisfied with their food and service, because there were other people in the restaurant at the time. While he was making the rounds, this woman, whom I abhor by now and who has Brian rolling his eyes every few minutes is again talking with her friend. Probably about Phoenix, but I have started to ignore her at this point. Until she states very loudly that she still hasn’t been served her tea yet. “Didn’t we ask for tea?” she asks her friend. Her friend nods. I actually think her friend might be a mute because she hasn’t spoken a word the entire time they had been sitting there. “Where is our tea, then?” She inquires. “I mean, seriously, doesn’t that man speak English? Should I have spoken to him slower? I don’t think he knows English because I am sitting here and we still haven’t received our tea. Are we ever going to get our tea? This is ridiculous.”

No, bitch, you know what’s ridiculous is your loud mouth. Shut up and let others enjoy their meal. If I would have known that such a horribly loud and horribly rude person was going to come in three minutes after we were seated I would have order to go! I would have said something like that except Brian hates when I do that so I just sat there biting my tongue trying my very best not to freak out.

I am so glad I didn’t explode in the restaurant because a few days later Brian and I were eating in the cafeteria at our work and we saw her! She works at the same place as we do. Can you imagine? I don’t know what she does but how uncomfortable would that be if I would have mouthed off to her at the restaurant and then had to see her every day at work. I know some of you are thinking that little fact shouldn’t matter. Just because I work with her isn’t necessarily a reason not to explode on someone, but I don’t think it’s that easy. I have no idea what she does or who she works for, but I know what I do and who I work for. I’m a peon in this big company and I don’t want to get fired because some big, fat, ugly lady is a bigot. But, every time I see her I want to punch her in the face. And I haven’t done so yet, but I’m going to make sure that everyone I know is informed of her behavior at the restaurant because at the very least they will look at her with a little bit of disgust when they see her. I suppose that will have to do for now. At least until I become some bigwig and I can fire her. Um, I’m not holding my breath.