So, I was in my local Starbucks last Friday to get my morning fix of caffeine. Side note: There are no good local coffee shops to get what I need, so I have to resort to the behemoth that is Starbucks for a somewhat decent cup of espresso.There were three other individuals ahead of me waiting to place their orders and few behind. The person directly in front of me was an older gentleman perhaps in his mid to late forties. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just us adults waiting for our chance to give our order, pay, and get our drinks. Typical.
In waltzes a woman about the same age as the gentleman in front of me who walks directly up to him. They hug and make idle chit-chat. My first thought is "Oh. It's his wife. I'll let it slide in that case."
But it plays out differently. The line progresses, the man eventually places his order for one drink and then goes to the "pick up" counter to retrieve it. The woman stays in line in front of me and the other individuals behind. She goes up to place her order... of course separate from the guy that she was chit chatting with. The revelation makes my blood begin to boil. This lady just "cut" in line. Are we back in grade school or something? I thought the "cut" was was only what kids or drunks in bars did. But here we were. A week day morning in a god forsaken Starbucks and I was "cut" in front of. The devil inside me told me to punch her in the back of the head, jump over the counter and grab an urn containing brewed coffee and dump it on her inconsiderate face.
But I let my civil side prevail and bit my lip. That was until I realized that this inconsiderate lady had placed her order and now was still standing idly in front of the register engrossed with the CDs that were on display. This act of idleness was preventing myself and the others in line from placing our orders and going on with the rest of our lives. That's when the devil inside bitch-slapped the civil side.
"Excuse me. Do you mind getting the hell out of the way???" I said with a contempt in my voice that made her turn around. To which she gave no verbal response, just a hurried scurry to the "pick up" counter.
The tension was evident as we waited for our drinks. Her drink came first and she quickly fled the Starbucks not making eye contact with me.
Yes, it may have been a dick way to react the way that I did. But I like to think that I made a difference in that lady's life. Hopefully she'll think and act differently the next time she walks into a Starbucks. Maybe not. Maybe I should have just punched her in the head.
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