Gas and Accountability

She was in the lane that turns right.

I was in the lane that goes straight.

I went straight, and she did too.

I honked loudly to warn her of our impending collision, while I braked.

I missed her by an inch.

We turned right into the gas station.

We pulled into the same line of pumps, her first and me behind.

I was, as you might expect, a little agitated. I don't like nearly smashing into people.

I pumped my gas, watching her. Curious to see what she would do next.

She stayed in her car for a long time.

Finally, she came out and walked over to the pump, totally ignoring me.

No eye contact, no acknowledgement of my existence at all.

No apology.

This made me mad.

"Madam? Madam! Aren't you going to say something?"

Nothing.

"Madam. Aren't you going to apologize?"

She turned on her heel, walked back to her car and drove to another pump, on the far side of the gas station.

Oh really.

I finished pumping my gas and drove over to her, parking in front of her car.

She did not look at me, but I walked right up to her and said "Madam, all you had to do was say that you were sorry. Is that so difficult?"

She looked up at me and said "What? Who are you? Why would I say I was sorry?"

I reminded her, needlessly, that she nearly caused our cars to crash. That she went straight when she was obligated to turn right. She protested her right-of-way with "I had to go to the gas station." Yes, I say, and you nearly ran me off the road to do it. She looked at me and saw that I was not backing down, that I was not impressed with her fake righteousness. I saw her reconsider her options. I was after all, blocking her car. Maybe I was a nut (don't answer that). 

I looked at her and lowered my tone to a calmer, but still serious, range. "All you had to do was say that you were sorry, instead of trying to pretend I didn't exist." She looked at me and said, with just the right amount of sarcasm "I am very sorry I did this."  

What a jerk. A first-class, holier-than-thou, I-should-have-crushed-you-when-I-had-the-chance, jerk. I decided to take the high road (finally), having made my point (to no one). I ignored the sarcasm and said, in my so-nice-it-probably-sounds-crazy voice, "Thank you."

I drove home, understanding that she didn't care and that I had wasted precious moments of my evening family time for nothing, but that I had held her accountable nonetheless.  

 

Comments

[navelgazer]

[this is good] backbone and decency are never for nothing. I don't know if I could have done that. it would be nice to find out. you inspire, the best sort of not-nothing.

[Debbie]

[this is good] You did what I always wish I had the gumption to do. No matter how grating her final reaction was, that had to be satisfying.
And, I also thought that, based on the title, "Gas and Accountability" was going to go in a comp-l-e-t-e-l-y different direction before I started reading. :)

[Little Odd Me]

I'm so glad you followed through. I have tried this before and only gotten to a similar point towhere she drove to the other side in your story. I end up leaving seething and feeling like I was twice-wronged.
I feel a tiny twinge of vicarious victory here. She'll certainly think twice before she pulls that stupid stunt again.

[Austin1234]

[this is good] Good for you! I hate it when people act this way. Typically its Republicans who act this way though, may be they're sore losers. But it does seems to be happening more and more; which is why I'm investing in a belt-fed weapon.

[JD]

And she probably blocks this all out with little pills she takes for "nerves" when she gets home. Just so she won't remember. Some folks are so self-absorbed, they can't even admit when they've done wrong. Sheesh! And this is more common than not, I'm afraid. At least YOU are okay.

[Lisa Pepin]

[this is good] You rock! This is exactly the sort of thing I always wish Ihad done after the fact.Sometimes I'msorely temptedto let the other driver hit me(in slow-moving traffic altercations, anyway) just to teach them a lesson.

[Steve Betz]

Holy crap. I should be appalled at the woman's behavior. Good for you to sticking to your guns and not letting her off the hook. No one wants to say, hey -- I was the bad driver, but sometimes it happens. Has responsibility totally disappeared?

Also, I can't help wondering if there's another blog-post somewhere describing a poor soul that got accosted at the gas-station by the crazy lady.

[Mark]

When guys do this to me, their next move is generallyto cover for it by driving crazy for a half block or so... driving really aggressively, giving out some tough-guy looks or whatever. Message:No, I'm notan idiot, I'm in a HUGE HURRY or AM A BAD-ASS. What I've started doing isgiving them a surprised smile,and sometimes I'll get repaid with kind of arueful shrug. Once a guy double-failed by pulling out RIGHT in front of me and then stalling his car, and after coming to ascreeching halt right in front of him, my friend and I sat up and applauded. We were in a convertible so we sort of half stood up leaning back against the headrests, and wereloudly applaudingand cheering this poor clown as he tried to start his car, kind of like when people applaudwaitresses when they drop something. Anyway, this kind of approachsignals recognition oftheundeniable truth that we all occasionally screw up,while also humiliating the fool - more fun and perhaps less dangerous than confronting them.

[HapaLove]

[this is good] WOW. Karma's gonna be a bi-otch when it comes back to her. It's only a matter of time until she gets into an accident with someone who's not as much of a defensive driver.

[karen]

of course you could do it! you are so much braver than me.

[karen]

I should have worked harder on a better title. I didn't mean to set that kind of expectation!

[karen]

Also, I can't help wondering if there's another blog-post somewhere describing a poor soul that got accosted at the gas-station by the crazy lady.
I thought about this too and I wouldn't be surprised one bit. The photos alone would be hilarious.

[karen]

I love the clapping, that is fantastic!

[karen]

Or maybe I'm her Karma?

[>ÜÜ<]

[this is good] i would have done the same thing, but with more cursing, and me ending up punching her in the face, or hosing her down with gasoline.. but. thats just me (=