I'm Better Than You!

When people wear their thoughts on their faces

Some people have such talkative faces that I can read their minds almost word for word.
Others with expressionless faces make me nervous because I never know what they're thinking behind the "frog face" I call it.

Today when we finished lunch at the diner, my hubby stopped in the bathroom and I went out to the parking lot to wait for him in the car.

A woman about my age with heavy makeup and two pounds gold and diamonds all over her body was right behind me. I opened the passenger door, turned to get in, and I happened to look at her face.

She glanced at my car and then me with an expression that told me what she was thinking: "Scratch my f****g car with that piece of junk and I'll sue your ass off."

Then as I put my foot in the car and sat down, her expression changed. Clearly she was thinking as she stared at my face for a second while touching the pea-size diamond on her finger: "She doesn't have makeup on and she looks better than me. She must use Botox. She's not married but she was with a man in the restaurant."

I closed the door and rolled the window down while she unlocked her BMW and sat in still looking at me. I could guess what she was thinking: "I'm better than you!"

That smug "I'm better than you" expression on her face did it! I said to her, "Ma'am, I really like my old Subaru, it's been faithfully taking me to places the past nineteen years. I don't wear makeup, never had Botox, and I only use almond oil as moisturizer. I'm happily married but I don't like to wear jewelry. You felt the need to feel sorry for me and look down on me because I don't own an expensive car and don't wear jewelry to show my status. Did I read your mind correctly? By the way, first expressions are usually wrong." I smiled at her.

The surprised expression on her face was priceless. She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it grasping for air. Finally she managed to croak out, "What... are you... are you a mind reader or something?"

"Did I guess correctly what you were thinking?" I asked.

"Well, um... you did. Word for word, except I wasn't thinking that you look nice, but I thought that your skin is fu***g gorgeous without makeup and you must have had a chemical peal or something. I was jealous, I admit."

My hubby got in the car so I said to the woman, "Have a nice day, ma'am."

We drove away but she might still be in that parking lot trying to figure it out what happened and who I was. She might be thinking that I'm really a mind reader and will never realize that she wears her judgment, jealousy, and smugness, on her face. 
 
Living in a mansion, driving the most expensive car, looking like a Christmas tree decorated with gold and diamonds, might make life more comfortable, but it doesn't make anyone better or worth more than others.

At the end, we all go out in a box leaving everything behind. What makes a difference is how people we connect will remember us. 

I'm pretty sure something like this happened to you a few times in your life. Tell me about it!

​~Erika M Szabo