find another seat, white man

Yesterday, Amado and I flew back from Chula Vista. I messed up and forgot to do the on-line check in thing and ended up being up the flunky #53 and 54 in the A boarding group. Rats. Southwest airline stopped letting families with small kids preboard, which really pissed me off, but that's another issue.

So, there we are, number 53 and 54. I'm trying to not get stressed about the fact that we are gonna get a crappy seat and also because I am having an allergy attack and not feeling like being fun mom. But fun mom is who is required on an airline ride.

So, imagine my surprise when we load onto the plane, and there are two empty seats in the first row! The first row! The one with the leg room! And the space for a cramped toddler to get on the floor and stretch out! The seat that can serve as a surface for running around play cars and mini fire trucks! The first row!

Well, the first row also has a large white man in it. I do not care. I will sit next to Big Foot if he is in the first row with two empty seats next to him.

"Are those seats taken?" I ask.
You would have thought I was trying to board the plane with a muddy dog and tried to sit him on this man's lap. "Well, I mean, not that I'm aware of, but you cant sit here with, with, him" he gestures at Amado.
"Yes I can" I say.
I know that what he was thinking was that it was an emergency exit row so a kid couldn't sit there. I didn't bother to say anything else, I just plopped us down.

Then, Amado, with his perfect timing, starts speaking loudly. In Spanish. This clearly makes the already awful reality this man is in, the horror of sitting next to us, all the more terrible.
He starts looking around for an escape route. I enjoy my son's company, even more than normal, because he is scaring this man away.

It takes about 60 seconds for him to get up and move to another seat.
Victory is ours.
I lean back and close my eyes - remember Im having an allergy attack and feel awful.

And then my sweet boy, who ran this man off, lays his little hands on my head and tells me, "esta bien, mami. tu puedes dormir. yo te voy a despertar cuando la senora viene con los pretzels y el jugo." A minute later, he taps me on the cheek, to confirm that he has it right, "mami - tu quieres jugo o cafe? yo creo que tambien tiene cafe".