His seatmate quietly put his headphones back on.
Nobody answered.
The flight attendant returned a few minutes later.
"Can I get you anything else, ma'am?"
She offered me a fresh napkin.
I looked at it.
Then I looked at the man behind me, who was now angrily pulling on his shoes.
She offered me a fresh napkin.
"No, thank you," I said. "I think we're finished with the laundry."
The attendant's mouth twitched.
"Very good."
She continued down the aisle.
The teenage girl gave me a discreet thumbs-up.
"I think we're finished with the laundry."
I smiled and restarted my movie.
Captain Compost kept his shoes on for the rest of the flight.
Nobody complained about the air-conditioning again.
When we landed, I stood to retrieve my carry-on.
Captain Compost kept his shoes on for the rest of the flight.
