in our attempt to escape a downpour on sunday afternoon, mike and i ducked into au bon pain. it's a soup/sandwich place (the french name makes it better...? who knows)

i finally located the bathroom at the back of the place after several questionable corridors. there was a handwritten sign on the large metal door of the bathroom: IF DOOR IS LOCKED, BATHROOM IS OCCUPIED.

i pushed the door, encountered resistance, and leaned against the opposite wall to wait. an older lady rounded the corner, obviously in search of a bathroom.

"is it occupied?" she demanded.
"i pushed the door and it was locked," i replied.
"did you KNOCK??"
"no," i admitted.

making a sound very much like "hmmmpphhhhhh" she rapped on the door. apparently she heard someone say something, because she came back to our little line, satisfied that she wasn't waiting in vain.

"i once waited a whole ten minutes in a line when there wasn't anyone in the room," she confided. "eventually i just walked up to the front of the line, pushed the door open and went in. the other ladies were just horrified."

at that point, the bathroom's occupant emerged. "there's no toilet paper," he announced.

"don't worry, honey, i'll get it," the lady told me and disappeared around the corner, presumably to find a manager. she returned a minute later with a handful of napkins. "got some for you."

who says new yorkers aren't friendly?