A few years ago we went to a funeral. After the service we were all suppose to gather at a different location where the wake would take place. As with any funeral, everyone was dressed in black and it was a somber event. Small groups of people trickled down the side walk as we neared our location. The group I was in consisted of myself, my husband, an older lady and her husband. As we were waiting for the stop light to turn green, I noticed that the older lady was dressed very nicely. She was wearing a tailored black pants suit and a dramatic earring was dangling from one of her ears. I took the opportunity that presented itself and did my good deed for the day.

I politely got her attention to let her know that she was missing an earring and offered to help her look for it. I even started looking on the sidewalk, maybe it had fallen off while we were walking down the street. As I was looking, she gently tapped me on my shoulder and said, “I only wore one earring”. Her words caught me off guard so I looked to my dear husband for help but he could hardly contain his laughter. I have no idea what my facial expression could have looked like. I just remember thinking, Jenue you idiot. I kept wishing that I was small enough to crawl under the nearest rock where I would’ve stayed for the rest of the day. Since I had no magical powers to make myself that small, I had to think of something to say to this poor woman. “Oh” I said trying to be as causal as possible. “It’s a very lovely earring”.

I spent the rest of day trying to avoid from making eye contact with her. I was so embarrassed. My husband couldn’t help himself from teasing me about it on our way home. I should’ve been able to figure out, from her age, that maybe it was just a fashion statement. I hope she wasn’t offended. I honestly was just stupid that day. Now whenever my husband says, “Remember the earring?” I can’t help but laugh so hard that my face hurts.