Standing Ground

Imagine this. You were at a relative’s open house when all the other guests you have never met poured in. The first group that arrived after yours did not bother to greet you at all, but you took it graciously by going over to where they sit and offered the greetings. Many more arrived later, so you tended to finish the food quickly and gave up the seats because you're done eating. Then you stood outside because there was no more seat inside. You tried to talk to some of the folks but they didn’t seem to want to have anything to do with you at all. You asked two open-ended questions and after two short answers, zero eye contact, and no return questions at all from the other end, you realized how accurately your first instinct was.

Outside, several guests were smoking all the time. Your company, comprised of the other two uncles of your niece (14, 11), and your niece (2), whose mother was somewhere inside and nowhere to be seen, was directly exposed to an obviously hazardous condition. It was raining further out, so you could not explore than option unless you wanted your host to think you were escaping or leaving without excusing yourself first. There was no sign of non-smoking area or anything and obviously no alternative place for smoking except for – outside – so there was nothing else you could do but standing in one corner. So you were just standing there taking turns to embrace your niece hoping for a miracle.

Finally you got to be inside again after a portion of the guest had left. Then you were waiting for some food to bring home as the host gesture. Much later you found out that it wasn’t as good since the food expired as soon as you reached home 2 hours later, but you know it was nobody’s fault. Then you excused yourself and called it a good day because hey, how bad could it be?