"Nope."

Yesterday afternoon, Patrick and I decided to stop at a McDonald's for lunch. The drive-thru line was backed-up so we parked and chose to order inside. It was the same dilemma and customers were lined up at two separate open registers. I wasn't sure what I wanted to order, so I decided to go to the ladies room to wash my hands and think of what to order.

I walked into the bathroom, pulled the tab on the liquid soap dispenser and began to wash my hands. After I was done rinsing the lather away, I turned around and put my wet hands underneath the air dryer. It turned on automatically and I let the warm air current do it's job, blowing out and over my hands as I stood in front of a full length mirror that hung on the bathroom wall. I realized this was the first McDonald's I'd been to that had this type of mirror in the ladies room.

Placing a full length mirror in a fast food restaurant seemed like a bad marketing choice, I theorized, as I hypothesized that since women would have the opportunity to check out their bodies in the restaurant, they may possibly choose to eat less as a result. Wouldn't that equal less sales? Or maybe it would convince them to order the over-priced salad/wrap option?

My ridiculously too deep thought was interrupted by the silence the dryer left when it stopped. Then I turned around to open the door and walk out of the restroom. Before I got the door open, I felt my nose start to run. I let go of the door handle and walked over to one of the bathroom stalls and quickly grabbed some toilet paper, blew my nose, and tossed the trash in the toilet. I raised my foot up and pushed the flush handle down with my shoe. When I put my foot back on the ground and looked up, I noticed I wasn't alone.

A little brunette girl, probably around nine or ten years old, was standing in the bathroom, staring at me. I smiled at her and she smiled back at me. She slowly sauntered toward the sink and put her hands under the automatic water faucet and began washing. As I walked past her, I could see in my peripheral vision that she was still staring at me.

"Aren't you going to wash your hands!?!?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

It seemed like a strange question to ask until I realized that she probably assumed I had just used the toilet when she walked in on me flushing. I tried to think of the right answer to give her. Do I stop and wash my hands again to appease her? No, I'm ready to order now... The little girl was looking at me with big brown eyes, begging me to answer the question. My answer?

"Nope."

Her smile turned into a large frown and she looked at me like I just committed a felony. It was hilariously awkward. I didn't know what to do except walk away.