Etiquette class didn't prepare me for this.
I was having an animated conversation with a co-worker while at a party. We were discussing something about which we were both quite excited, and my friend started to spit a little as he spoke. Just a little, not really a big deal. Then it happened again, and this time the drop of spit flew out of his mouth and landed on my lower lip.
I didn't know what to do. The drop felt about the size of a medium-sized crumb and it kinda stuck there. Perhaps there were some actual crumb components because there did seem to be some substance to it. Anyways, I didn't know what to do. Did he know he had just done that? He certainly didn't acknowledge it. He kept looking steadily at me with unmarred excitement about our discussion. Should I call attention to the fact that he had done it, perhaps in a humorous sort of way? Maybe he wouldn't find it humorous. I could just calmly wipe it off my lip with a napkin, but that might draw attention to it and perhaps make him feel bad. What other options did I have?
I think a normal person would have just wiped it off their lip and said nothing. And if they didn't do that, they would have called out their buddy and laughed together about it.. and then wiped it off their lip. But not me. I just let it sit there. Rather than burst his apparent blissful ignorance, I pretended that nothing had happened. I tried to redirect some of my focus back to him while most of my attention was devoted to the fat spittle-blob hanging out on my lip, wondering if he had noticed it yet and was thinking how gross I was for slobbering like that and not wiping it off.
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