I’m waiting for an elevator with someone, an older guy, who works on my floor. It’s early. I’m tired.
An elevator shows up; doors open. I pause; he pauses. He waves me in; “after you”.
I get in, he gets in behind me. I’m quiet, but what I’m thinking is, it annoys me when there’s that little “you first!”/”no, you!” dance. I’m determined to make him go first when we get to our floor.
We arrive; doors open.
I pause, say “after you” with heavy emphasis on the “you” because it’s clearly his turn, right? I’m awash in the passive aggressive “take turns and don’t ever let anyone get ahead in the count” mindset.
He outwaits me. The silence stretches. With a tiny, barely visible (I hope) huff, I exit the elevator.
You win this time, donut-eating co-worker. THIS TIME.
