“Young lady, put your child on your lap,” a robust woman, probably in her late fifties, called out to me. I should add, Id bought my son his own seat on the coach and paid £65 for it.
That particular day, I was taking my son William over to his grannys house. William is quite big for his age, only five, but most folks mistake him for a pupil in primary school. Our family always treats him like one of the grown-ups. That’s why we purchase him a separate seat whenever we travel by bus; hes well-behaved, and frankly, he’s tall and heftyholding him on my lap would be uncomfortable for both of us and a bother to other travellers. If he did sit on my lap, his shoes could easily brush the clothes of people nearby. So its much better for everyone that he has his own seat.
On this day, William was sitting by the window, and I took the seat alongside him. We opted for the front seats to make it easier to hop off quickly at our stop, which was before most of the other passengers. Id already explained to the bus driver that I’d paid for both tickets, so he wouldnt assign Williams seat to someone else.
Once wed left the city limits, the coach stopped for a stout older lady. There were still seats available further back, so the driver paused to let her in. She heaved herself into the coachit really was that dramaticand the vehicle rocked noticeably. The other passengers just watched her in stunned silence as she squeezed in. When she finally managed to close the door behind her, you could hear the driver sigh. As we continued our journey, she pressed further into the cabin towards the seats.
“Girl, put your child on your lap,” she ordered again. I told her plainly that Id paid for Williams seat, and I wouldnt be placing him on my lap. The driver piped up, suggesting she take a seat further forward, since there were open spots available. The lady grumbled that someone ought to offer her a seatit would be easier for us to move, after all. She insisted that she was a regular on this route and always sat by the window.
I held firm, but as the coach picked up speed, the woman kept standing by us, refusing to move to the back. I felt a storm brewing inside but didnt want to make a scene in front of William. I started chatting with him quietly to distract myself. This seemed to annoy the woman even more, and snapping, she shouted, Move your child, let me sitare you deaf? Calmly, I replied that I wouldnt give up our seats. William was grown enough, and his ticket had been paid for just like everyone elses. We arrived earlier, so we picked our seats. There are no allocated seats, but wed taken those fair and square.
The driver kept his eyes on the road, clearly used to this sort of behaviour on his route. The other passengers initially ignored the confrontation. Some had earphones in; others were napping. But slowly, they started chiming in: Madam, theres an empty seattake it. Dont shout as though youre at home. She complained she couldnt move forward easily because of her size, but it was obvious to everyone she was just being demanding, aiming for our comfy window seat.
Things grew quite noisy on the bus. Then, something remarkable happened. The driver pulled over, stepped off his seat, came into the main cabin, hauled her bags outside, and politely escorted her from the coach. The woman didnt even have time to protest before he was back in his seat and driving off. The bus fell completely silent. All of us chipped in a little cash to cover the drivers lost fare. When we arrived, we handed him the money, and he was visibly pleased. He promised that hed never allow her on his bus again, as she was always quick to quarrel with everyone.
