This isn't Awkward at All

I was in a garage/warehouse area yesterday at a place where I volunteer. I was quietly taking an inventory of some products in a room when a door opened and in walked a young lady, maybe a couple years older than me. She didn’t notice me. This wasn’t a large, expansive warehouse. It was a room the size of a home’s living room, and we were the only two in there, annnd I was the only one of the two who was privy to this information.

This lady was putting some things in a refrigerator with her back turned to me. About ten seconds passed, and she still hadn’t noticed the tall, noticeable guy 10 feet behind her. At this point I realized I had a few options: I could say hello (but it was far too long into the situation for that option), I could make a small noise that would hopefully make my presence known, or I could hope that she was so deep in thought that she wouldn’t even see me as she turned and left.

Time was passing, and I continued wasting precious seconds thinking about my least-creepy strategy, when my fate was sealed for me as I must've made a small noise with my foot scraping along the ground. This young lady (we’ll call her Gertrude*) casually turned around at the sound of the noise, only to see a nervous man not-so-casually staring at her. I was obviously focused on her because a potentially uncomfortable problem had been created, and my mind was racing to find a solution. My solution seemed to have been the idea that staring at Gertrude would make me seem much less unusual when I flashed a goofy grin and said “Hello!” I figured that normality could not be achieved at this point, so why try? She was trying not to laugh, which pleased me, since we both had an understanding of the awkwardness that had quickly saturated the air.

Fortunately, my quick thinking did save the day in the end when, after the formality of exchanging names, I remembered that someone I had met a few days earlier knew a Gertrude that worked where I volunteered. We were able to create some common ground, and had a brief, civilized conversation.

I usually desire to create awkward situations (and have great success), but when they are forced on me, I view it as a very special gift to brighten my day.



*Names have been changed to protect identity.