#52

She settled into her aisle seat and smiled at the man next to her. He smiled back. She reached for her buckle and realized the man was sitting on its end. She asked him kindly to reach it for her, and when he did she saw he had painted his nails with pink glitter.

“I love your glitter.” She told him.

He smiled and said thanks while wagging his fingers in the air. “I’m a nervous flyer, so anything to distract myself.”

As they sat back and waited for the rest of the passengers to board, she suddenly noticed a lapel pin stuck into the back of the headrest in front of her. The pin was the same navy blue color as the seat so she almost missed it. It said GOD in gold letters, the same font as the GAP.

“Woah.” She said, nudging the man next to her. “Did you see this?”

“That’s weird.” He said.

“There’s no way I’m going to look at that the whole flight.” She said while removing the pin. “I paid for extra leg room, not for proselytizing!” She laughed and dropped the pin into the seat back pocket, and it tumbled in next to the air sick bag and safety manual.

She looked proudly at her seat mate, assuming he would be nodding in agreement. He wasn’t nodding. He was sweating and gesturing the sign of the cross over himself, his glittery pink nails flashing wildly as they caught the overhead light.