Woman on shoulder and chest

About ten minutes into my flight to Charleston, South Caroline, the woman beside me falls asleep and flops into my seat. Her head lands on my shoulder and chest, where it comes to rest.

I have a decision to make:

Awaken her or let her sleep?

She would almost certainly want to be awakened. To wake up and find yourself asleep on a stranger’s shoulder and chest would be awkward and disconcerting, but to be awakened by a person only to find yourself resting on his shoulder and chest would probably also be awkward and disconcerting.

Maybe even more so.

So should I allow that process to happen naturally, or should I play a role?

Or maybe I should pretend to be asleep myself, then nudge her a bit so that when she awakens, she feels like she’s managed to extract herself from this awkward situation without me ever knowing.

I decide to awaken her.

To allow her to sleep on my shoulder and chest would imply that I was okay with the awkwardness of this situation, and given that she is a woman and I am a man, I’m also worried that she might think something untoward has taken place while she slept.

She was startled when I awakened her. Embarrassed, too, despite my protestations that you shouldn’t be embarrassed by things beyond your control, which is very much true, though sometimes I seem to be the only person in the world to embrace this concept.

Did I do the right thing?

Probably.

Except I’m not sure if there was a correct answer. The kindest thing to do would probably be to let her sleep, which I would’ve been happy to do, but sometimes circumstances do not allow for kindness.

Only appropriateness.