An affluent man becomes displeased with being seated next to a corpulent woman in first class and begins to voice his complaints to the flight attendant.
The instant James Courtney spotted the woman seated beside him on the flight, he knew it was going to be a rough one. She was enormous! With her seated next him, how in the world was he going to travel in comfort?
The woman took a seat, jabbing at James with her elbow as she fastened her seat belt. “Watch it!” She turned to face James as he aggressively yelled at her.
She sobbed, “Oh, I’m so sorry. Excuse me.”
James mockingly asked, “Excuse you?” “Or excuse the 3,000 doughnuts you ate to get to that size?”
The woman gave him a startled gasp, and James noticed that she was rather young with a weak but sweet face. It made him snarl, “Lady, you need to book TWO seats when you travel!”
The woman’s eyes welled up with tears, but James was in the mood, especially after noticing how cheap and dated her clothes were and how worn out her shoes were.
He remarked, “I take it your entire money is spent on hot dogs and nachos? So you’re not able to afford two seats? “I’m sure all your fellow travelers will be very giving when you pass the hat the next time.”
The woman turned to face the window, and James saw the tears streaming down her cheeks in the reflection. He said, “Listen.” “I have a friend who runs a clinic down in Mexico, I’m sure he’d give you a liposuction mucho cheapo!”
Before James felt fully compensated for the pain of being pressed up against the soft mass of the young woman, sobs were resounding from her shoulders. He thus requested a Martini when the bartender arrived with the drinks cart.
Everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.
In his best James Bond voice, he said, “Shaken, not stirred,” and then added, “I don’t know what Moby Dick here will drink.”
The attractive attendant gave him a snide look while pressing her lips together tightly. Next, she spoke to the woman seated beside her. “Ma’am, would you like anything to drink?”
With a nod, the woman dabbed at her eyes. “Yes please, a diet Coke.”
James sneered. “Don’t you think it’s a bit late in the game for a diet Coke?” Though he was ignored by both the flight attendant and the woman, James experienced a slight pleasure upon realizing he had annoyed them both.
While the woman next to him sipped her diet Coke, he reclined and bit on an olive and sipped his Martini. With a shudder, he realized she would eventually need to use the restroom and would be squeezing by him.
Shortly after he finished his last drink, the flight attendant arrived carrying food. She placed a lovely tray in front of him and another one in front of the passenger next him.
“Are you sure that will be enough?” “Because it seems like it would take a village to feed this lady,” James questioned the flight attendant.
Disregarding him, the flight attendant continued serving the other first-class customers. “That was rude of her, wasn’t it?” James questioned the woman seated across from him, saying, “I think I’ll complain about her.”
However, the other traveler disregarded him as well, and James proceeded to enjoy the genuinely superb meal. When the flight attendant returned, he was finishing the last of his wine, and she was beaming.
“Excuse me,” she replied, “The captain is a huge fan, and he’d love to invite you up to the cockpit?”
After being startled, James noticed that the large woman sitting next to him was being spoken to by the flight attendant. She was flushing, nodding, and smiling. This implied that James needed to stand up and give her space.
After guiding the woman off of the aircraft, James resumed his seat. He assumed he would be forwarding a good deal of venomous emails concerning the first class service and circumstances on the company’s flights to the management.
When the captain’s voice came over the speakers, he was mentally crafting some great tirades. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said. One of us is a celebrity! You will recognize the voice if, like me, you are a ‘I Love Opera’ enthusiast.”
When a beautiful voice began singing a few bars of a well-known aria in the cabin, the other passengers began to applaud and make joyful comments to one another. The captain exclaimed, “That’s right!” “It’s the lovely Miss Allison Jones, and she’s flying with us to do a charity concert for world hunger!”
James winced as the entire aircraft broke into spontaneous applause. The flight attendant then approached. She said, “Listen up, buster,” in a harsh, chilly voice. “I don’t care how many millions you have, if you upset that girl again, I’m putting you in economy.”
James noticed the twinkle in the flight attendant’s eye as he opened his mouth to object. “I apologize,” he muttered.
“It’s not me you have to apologize to!” she responded.
After some time, Allison Jones, the large woman, reappeared, grinning and signing autographs for the other travelers. James shot to his feet to give her room to sit.
“Listen,” he continued, grinning his most endearing smile. “I’m sorry if I was a little rude, I had no idea who you were!”
James saw that Allison had the most stunning eyes when she turned to face him. It makes no difference who I am. Never, ever treat someone that way! You’re not sorry, either. If I wasn’t sort of famous, would you even be saying sorry? I mean, I can’t control my weight, but you can alter your mindset. Give up making judgments on others.”
James closed his mouth, fell back into his seat, and remained silent until their arrival in Portland.