Entry for August 03, 2007

Day 14 of The YES Experiment
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At lunchtime I was on my way out to the bakers when I ran into three of the girls from the office. "Off somewhere nice for lunch?" I said. "Yeah - the pub," said one of them.
Then she paused for a moment and, out of some politeness reflex that all we Brits have rhetorically asked - "Would you like to come?" And in that phrase there was a whole subtext that we in the UK have grown up to know and understand:
I have asked you if you want to come, but both you and I know - because we are British after all - that you will not. For we don't want you to come. I know I have asked you. We are three young lady lawyers and we do not want a man in his fifth decade impinging upon our talk of young gentlemen and music you cannot and will never understand, for you are beyond the age of understanding. So I am quite safe in asking you. Thus I will fulfil the social expectation - I will appear polite, and yet I know you will not invade the private space of my lunchtime. So say it - say no - and then we can end this charade.
I paused for a moment. "Yes," I said.
"I'm sorry. I thought you said Yes for a moment there."
"I did."
"Oh. Right.... Good."
So I went. It was nice. They spoke about things like "Bibo." and "Facebook" and something called T in the Park. I did not understand but I pretended I did.