Your breath stinks. Wanna piece of gum?

So the other day on the metro I got irritated. Which is pretty easy when you are listening to other people’s conversations. Or when people think they are the only two people on the train and talk so loud you can’t concentrate on the Harry Potter book you are reading.

So there was this woman…professional…about 28ish with a man…about the same age, also professional…and possibly gay. They seem to be acting like they are close friends. They get on at Farragut North. They sit down directly behind me and they start talking. The women then tells her friend, in the rudest, most obnoxious way possible “Your breath stinks. Let me give you a piece of gum.”

I can tell that the guy is obviously insulted, embarrassed, angry, etc. and I’m not even facing him. He refuses the gum, stops talking to his friend and an awkward silence falls over them. Then the woman keeps asking what’s wrong, why he isn’t talking, how he has been awkward all evening, that he doesn’t care about how her day was, blah, blah, BLAH.

Then she asks him what he had for lunch that made his breath smell so bad. Insists on another piece of gum. He refuses again. Then back to her whining about him not talking to her. Then she asks if he had garlic for lunch!!

How can people be so unaware of their effect on other people…no…wait…their effect on their friends? Sometimes people can truly not anticipate other’s reactions to certain situations but I would not expect an upbeat response from anyone, not even my closest friend, to me telling them that I find their breath revolting and then dwell upon the subject and act as if what I said was nothing less than a common compliment. Did this woman really think her friend would not take offense to her comment? What did she expect? “Oh, my breath stinks? I didn’t know, thank you so much for offering me that stick of gum so that I can cover up the putrid smell my mouth is emitting.”

They got off at Union Station. I wish I knew if he ever took the piece of gum…or if she ever shut up. And I wonder if her insensitivity cast an air of awkwardness over their relationship that he no longer calls and she is left confused thinking “I wonder what’s the matter with him?”