My husband related the following story at dinner last night.
This afternoon, I got on the elevator at the Marriott Marquis (Times Square); a young man was standing behind me. At the next stop, two women and a little girl burst into the elevator, and, spying the young man, started shouting at him: You weren't where you said you would be, and what are you doing in this elevator anyway? Where do you think you're going? The woman (now next to him & apparently his wife), continued to harangue the young man about the fact that he is never where he says he's going to be; she was interrupted by the other woman who seconded the first woman's accusations. That was enough for me. I turned to the young man, gesturing to the women, and said laughingly, Look, these women never hear what you say; I have deep experience in my own life with my own wife in this matter.
The women were in shocked at my words as I continued to console the young man. Very quickly (because the elevator was on its way down and I guess they feared I was soon to leave), my consolation became too much for the woman who was apparently the young man's wife; she took her black gloves and started swatting me on the arm; once the wife ceased slapping me with her gloves, the other woman, using her bare hands, pummeled my arm. The little girl standing between them looked so confused. Fortunately, in the middle of the pummeling, the elevator arrived at my floor and I made a fast getaway.
I guess that's what you get for coming to the defense of a stranger in New York City.
Odd encounter - and totally different in tone from the McCue cab driver exchange, for sure! But it rings true - it is usually thankless to take sides in a domestic dispute!
ReplyDeleteAt least the people were probably not New Yorkers if they were in a hotel elevator, although they may have felt that just being in NY gave them a license to act out.
Clearly this man is not as talented as my own father is at having perfect explanations for every "disappearance". I can't believe they started hitting you! Did the man himself say anything?
ReplyDeletepoetic justice, perhaps? what was the foreigner involving himself in a domestic dispute thinking? he is lucky he escaped with a few bruises, only. this is not exactly analagous, however, but it does remind me of when dad and his brother would get into a howl with each other. when they were first married, the wives would immmediately take the side of their husband. however, that happened once only, so the story goes. for at the first happenstance, both dad and his brother turned, as if on cue to their spouses, and told them to mind their own business and stay away from any dispute between the brothers, which, by the way, would last a few minutes only, then be forgotten, completely. so, perhaps, your husband got what he deserved. after all, '....where angels fear to tread.' and, let us face it, all of us fall into that category, from time to time.
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