The Awkward Distance

Have you ever been walking to school, the store, or anyplace really and there was someone behind you walking in the same direction? At some point, you have to go through a door, a gate, or some semipermeable barrier. Naturally you would hold the door open for that someone as an act of kindness; just to be polite. But what if the distance is awkward? The distance I am speaking of is the one where the person following too far behind or they just start to walk slower than before. This distance has always been a mystery and it never fails to embarrass me.

When the distance is awkward, you have to decide if you want to wait for the person or just leave them behind. In my case, it's never the same answer. When I hold the door open and wait for the person, they usually give me a look that expresses their being offended that I would pressure them to hurry up and come inside. Or they look at me as if I were some sort of stalking creep. Sometimes there is gratitude, but I seem to receive the negative side more than not.

When this method fails me, I leave the person behind. Why spend 3 seconds waiting for a complaint? But when I go on my way, leaving the someone behind, I get looks from spectators. They look at me as if to say, "Look at that stuffed up kid. Doesn't even have the courtesy to hold the door for someone." Oh gag and hang it all! What is a person to do?

One would think avoid the awkward distance, but no matter the meassures I take in avoiding such a place, I still seem to fall into the peril of the awkward.