At one point, as passengers began preparing to disembark, he leaned forward to retrieve an item from the floor.
He glanced toward me.
For a brief moment, our eyes met.
His face had taken on a noticeably red appearance.
Perhaps he was embarrassed by the attention. Perhaps the cabin was warm. There was no way to know with certainty.
But the timing made the change difficult to overlook.
The man who had earlier asked what I intended to do about his refusal now appeared eager to put the entire encounter behind him.
I did not say anything.
There was no need.
I had not set out to embarrass him in front of strangers. I had simply wanted to use my armrest without someone else’s bare foot resting on it.
The embarrassment, if that was what he felt, came from the situation he had chosen to create.
He had been given several opportunities to resolve the matter quietly.
