Who dealt it?

The Wife and I carpool most of the time. We work just a few blocks apart and our schedules are usually in sync. So, it makes sense to ride together.

Friday afternoon, I left work, drove over to where she works, and called when I got there.

No answer.

Called her desk phone.

No answer.

So, I decided to get out of the car and enjoy the outside while I waited for her.

Called her cell phone, no answer, then left a message. This while I was standing on the sidewalk.

I waited about ten minutes, then she came out the door.

We walked over to the car, I unlocked, opened the door, and she got inside.

I walked around to the driver's side, opened the door, and sat down in the seat.

That's when I smelled it.

It was an unpleasant smell. Very unpleasant.

I looked over at her, thinking ... well, you remember the old SmartBeep commercial, right?



She was looking at me. Only, it wasn't a guilty look. It was more ... accusing.

"You couldn't wait?" she asked.

"Well, if I had known what was in store, I would have let the windows down and walked around the car a few times," I replied.

"What?" She didn't understand. She thought I had let one loose. And I thought her lunch from Country's Barbeque had reacted badly.

"Wasn't me," I said.

"Wasn't me," she said.

Was one of us lying?

Turns out, she said, there had been a problem with smells in the restrooms at her workplace.

I thought: "The restroom smells like sh*t? Well, duh!"

But, she was saying, a bad smell was coming in, perhaps from the city sewage system, and that may have been what we encountered.

At least, that's the story we're both sticking to.