Page 4 of Decoded
Anna
“M
a’am, you're not allowed to use that.” The flight attendant snapped at me.
I glance down at the seat belt extender in my hands, puzzled. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know. It’s just that I have used them before.”
I speak in a hushed tone, a silent signal for him to quiet down. Spoiler alert. He doesn’t. Instead, Flight Attendant Dickhead rolls his eyes and huffs like the big bad wolf and I’m the stupid, fat pig trying to shove my butt into a seat clearly made for those without hips.
“Not on this airline you haven’t. Hey Sheila,” he hollers over the rows behind me, trying to gain the attention of the pretty flight attendant I’ve seen walking up and down the aisle. I feel my jaw drop and I wipe my face for any drool that’s leaked out as I notice she’s standing beside the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen in my life.
This gorgeous specimen must be the spawn of a burly lumberjack and a Greek goddess. There’s an effortless, rugged charm to him. His hair is mostly dark but is beginning to grayright above his ears and silver flecks seem to dance throughout it. It’s perfectly styled and slightly spiked on top, making it appear as though his hair defies gravity and grows towards the sun. His salt and pepper beard is trimmed neatly, close enough to his face that he probably doesn’t have to worry about food getting caught in it, but long enough to leave a delicious amount of beard burn between your thighs. I shift uncomfortably in my seat, both at the lack of room, the angry flight attendant, and now the moisture that has started to collect between my legs from dirty thoughts of the slightly silver stranger.
“Grab me a seat belt extender, will you? We need one up here in 8F.” Sheila walks towards the back and the silvering fox looks at me, the look of disgust in his eyes. I bury myself in my seat, embarrassed that the flight attendant is drawing attention to my predicament and slightly pissed off by the reaction of the handsome stranger.
This is not my first flight. I have had to use seat belt extenders before because heaven forbid them to make a standard sized seat belt that is built to protect those with curves. Typically, the flight attendants are discreet and kind. I don’t know if the purchase I made after checking out plus size travel tips is what set this one off, but clearly he’s not happy about the fact that he’s having to deal with me at all.
“Here you go,” Sheila dumps the seat belt extender in my hand and walks off. She wasn’t exactly kind, but at least she didn’t make a scene like Flight Attendant Dickhead.
As I buckle up with my airline approved extender this time, a man who appears to be in his late forties or maybe early fifties stops at my row. The man in the aisle seat nods at him and stands so the new, slender man can come take his seat between us.
“Just great, they sat me by a fatty,” he mutters under his breath, but still loud enough for me to hear. He makes a bit of ashow as he settles down, throwing elbows and ramming one into my side. Pretty sure that wasn’t an accident, but I keep my wince and comments to myself. That old bullshit nursery rhyme about sticks and stones pops into my brain. It’s completely wrong because words do fucking hurt, but I’ve learned it’s best to just try and keep quiet when dealing with assholes.
“Can you scoot over into your spot?” he huffs out at me.
“I…I am in my spot.” I stammer. He’s even louder than Flight Attendant Dickhead was being and I can feel my face flush in embarrassment.
Huffing loudly, the man hits the call button. “We’ll fix this,” he says glaring at me. I look down at my lap, willing my body to close in on itself and become smaller. Why couldn’t I have been born a damn turtle?
Flight Attendant Dickhead returns to our row and while my anxiety could be making things up in my head, I’m fairly certain he’s glaring at me for causing even more trouble. I swear I’m just trying to go see my friends and enjoy my weekend.
“How can I help you, sir?” He smiles at the man, a gracious act he certainly never bestowed upon me.
“This woman is obviously too large for her seat. She should have purchased two tickets. Now I’m stuck on this multi-hour flight having to be crammed and uncomfortable because her fat ass is spilling into my spot. Can she please be moved?”
My eyes blink rapidly so tears don’t fall at the man’s harsh words. I overhear the not-so-hushed whispers of the women sitting in the aisle behind me, and the unshed tears continue to build at their pity. “That poor girl. They just need to move her and get it over with. I’m sure she’d be much more comfortable sitting somewhere else.”
As much as I love my friends and look forward to this girls trip every year, I am beginning to regret this entire ordeal. Maybe it’s not too late to just head home.
I have been a big girl my entire life, and I've embraced my larger body. Sure, I have days where I don’t like who I see in the mirror, but as I get older those days are fewer and farther between. I am usually very confident in who I am, regardless of what society may have to say about that, but no amount of self-worth is keeping me from feeling the utter humiliation this entire fiasco has brought on.
“Sir, the flight is full, but we will do the best we can.” Flight Attendant Dickhead turns to me, “Ma’am, as soon as we close the doors, we can move you to a different seat, preferably one in an empty row if one is available. That way you won’t bother anyone else. You will have to take that extender with you.” He eyes the additional buckle at my waist with cold disapproval.
I’m so ready to just say fuck it and leap over the man beside me, hopefully smashing my fat ass right into his stupid face, then sprint for the door of the plane and head back home. Unfortunately, they just sealed the door, so instead I sink down in my too-small seat, completely mortified and miserable. Maybe we will crash before we make it to Vegas, and nobody will ever remember about the fat girl who was publicly humiliated on the plane.
I’m looking out the window watching the little vehicles zoom around the plane with suitcases when my daydreaming is interrupted. “Ma’am, there’s a seat available for you at 10A. You need to go ahead and move as quickly as possible so we can take off. Nobody wants to be delayed.” Flight Attendant Dickhead snips at me before briskly walking towards the back to join Sheila, no doubt gossiping about what a pain in their asses I’ve been.
As if moving seats on a full aircraft after everyone has been seated isn’t humiliating enough, I have to ask the two men to my left to get up so I can get out of the aisle, making the mad man huff and puff all over again. I may or may not have not-so-accidentally stepped on his foot. It may be petty, but just because I’m fat doesn’t mean I have to be the bigger person.
Slowly I complete the walk of shame to aisle 10 and when I want to do nothing but cry, I find myself biting my cheek to hold back a laugh when I realize I’m standing next to the gorgeous man whose face couldn’t hide his disgust earlier. This day really is after me, it seems.
His head is tilted back against the seat, and I can’t help but notice how beautifully peaceful he looks with his eyes closed and his earbuds in. I tap his shoulder and he quickly pauses his phone, looking annoyed, but when he catches my gaze, a soft smile graces his face.
“Hi there. Can I help you?” His voice is as rich as that chocolate cake the poor kid in Matilda had to eat in front of the entire school.
“Umm, I’ve been moved to sit in 10A. Do you mind stepping out so I can get through?”
He smiles fully at me now and damn, I’m pretty sure my panties just disintegrated. A dimple pops out on his left cheek and I kind of wanna lick it. Maybe I was imagining things and he wasn’t disgusted with me at all.
