In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Isn’t Your Face Red.”
When was the last time you were embarrassed? How do you react to embarrassment?
I cannot recently recall a time of an embarrassing moment. However, I felt embarrassed for a young couple with a two-year-old daughter named Shelby.
I was enjoying an excellent salad at a local restaurant recently with my iPad in one hand and a fork in the other when a young couple sat in the booth ahead of me.
The young man and woman held the hands of their daughter, around the age of two or three. She was a cute little girl, with golden yellow hair in braided pigtails on each side of her head. At the ends of her braided pigtails, she had yellow and orange thin ribbons hanging below the ends of her braided pigtails.
She along with her parents smiled as they were seated in the booth ahead of me. She was a daddy’s girl as she sat next to him. She turns around, wave hello to me and I returned the wave and smiled. I asked her name and in a clear child tone, she said “Shelby.” My name is Shelby.
I said, I’m Marty. She said hello Mr. Marty.
The mother tells Shelby, “sit down and let the man, eat.” I wave towards the mother its ok, as I was leaving. As I turned off my iPad and began to gather my things. Shelby asks, How old are you, Mr. Marty. I tell her my age, and I ask, how old are you, Shelby.
Shelby holds up two fingers, and with a clear and distinctive voice says. I’m two years old. I smile and chuckle a little and before I turned to step away from the booth. I recognize she has captured the attention of several customers seated nearby.
Another couple was being seated across from Shelby table when she turned and noticed the two. The young lady with her young man, both nodded and waved to Shelby as they sat down. They were a large couple in their early twenties.
Shelby returned the wave with a hearty hello. The woman asked Shelby. What is your name?. Her response came as a complete shock.
With an inquisitive look on her face, Shelby, told the woman her name and asked, “are you pregnant?
I immediately turned out of my booth and began walking away. As I stood, I could see everyone had raised eyebrows and the look of shock and embarrassment for the parents of Shelby. Shelby sat silently waiting for an answer.
Shelby seeing me leave yelled, “goodbye Mr. Marty. I quickly turn and said “goodbye Shelby.” I guess the upside to this moment of shock is that no one laughed.
As I walked through the exit door, I could not determined who I was more embarrassed for, Shelby’s Parents or the young couple.
At least Shelby had an excuse. I’ve known adults to say the same thing to women who were not pregnant! http://judydykstrabrown.com/2015/08/04/fitting-in/
Judy, you can count me as one of those adults. I made the mistake many years ago with a co-worker. It took a many apologies over a period of years for her to forgive me.
We still laugh about it to this day.
Marty
It was a lady who owned a dress store who did it to my mother. Needless to say, my mother didn’t buy the dress!!!
The truth sometime stings. Great story.
Scott, I didn’t want to wait around for the truth. Lol!
You never know what children might say – and they often voice what others are thinking.
Oh so true!
Maybe, just maybe, this couple had just found out they were expecting and weren’t prepared to say anything…they didn’t want to lie, especially to a child (bad karma) but they hadn’t even told their parents yet…you just never know what’s really going on in a stranger’s life! (okay, likely not, but it’s an alternate ending!)
Oh yes, I wasn’t going to stay around. I hope all the adults involved overcame Shelby’s comments.
well down here in India we accept two years old to ask insane questions 🙂 no one cares ….
I think here a lot of parents would laugh and correct the child. LOL!!
I read this and kept expecting that YOU would be embarrassed somehow, what a unique take on a situation. And if the woman was large (I mean that dreaded ‘fat’ word that we all avoid using for some reason), I doubt the child’s remark was new to her. Larger (plump, big, round, chubby, chunky, fluffy..whatever euphanism is used) women (and probably men too have to develop a thick skin early on or we’d bleed to death from the slings and arrows of a skinny society. I would have gone around the corner (out of sight of the family and the couple) and laughed myself sick.
Hey Shyutgal, I thought of going back to see if there was a confrontation, but if someone would have laughed, there would have been some drama. Lol!
I wasn’t sure where you were going with tis story and I wasn’t expecting the “pregnant” remark but I think this is one of the most precious things about little ones, their pure, innocent honesty that comes from a place of simple observation. I remember a little girl who was with her mom asked me what my what cane was for (her mother was flaggerbasted). I saw it as an opportunity to help her understand how vision impaired people get around and we had the most delightful conversation.
There precious innocent question’s of children provide the greatest opportunity to educate and provide lessons of wisdom that can last a lifetime. 🙂
Amen to that