I got up, slowly walked down the aisle holding a plastic cup of coffee. I came to their row, smiled sweetly at my husband, and kissed him on the cheek. But at the same time… I “misjudged” the movement of my hand.

— Oh… I’m so sorry — I whispered almost under my breath, as a hot drop of coffee landed right on her thigh.

The girl jumped up as if she’d been stung.
— Are you crazy?! — she shouted so loudly that people around us turned to look. — These are my new shorts!

Still smiling politely, I replied:
— Yes, I noticed the shorts. You’ve been showing them off so diligently all flight long that it was hard not to. Maybe now you can sit a bit more properly?

She huffed, took a pair of sweatpants from her bag, and marched off to the toilet to change.

My husband looked at me as if to say, “You’re impossible.” I sat down in my seat and, for the first time during the flight, calmly opened a magazine.