When I went back to college for a master’s degree, I had no money so I worked at the undergraduate library. It was nicknamed the UGLI which was the right word—a glass and steel box set down in the middle of all the ivy-covered brick.
But it had one redeeming feature: You could meet everyone on campus in its big main lobby. I loved working at the front desk and seeing the world go by.
One morning, after stopping at the employees’ restroom in the basement, I was starting up the stairs to the lobby when a young man hurried up alongside me. “”Miss,” he said quietly, “Your skirt is up in back.”
“Thank you!” I said and reached around to discover—to my horror—that I had tucked my skirt into my pantyhose, my sheer-to-waist pantyhose which were now revealing me—sheer to waist!
Yanking my skirt back into place just before I reached the busy lobby, I realized I’d never seen the face of the helpful young man. I was glad. I hoped he hadn’t seen my face either, since he’d seen so much else.
But although I never saw his face, I’ve been grateful to him forever. Sometimes strangers should remain strangers, especially when they share a secret.