A while back I was invited to dinner at a close younger friend's house..
My wife didn't come
and I went alone..
My friend kept bragging so much about how delicious his wife's fried chicken is,
saying he'd made fried chicken and other dishes, so I should come over..
I went to his house..
and since I prefer a low table over a dining table,
the three of us — my friend, his wife, and me — sat at a low table..
ate, and had a drink together..
But..
while eating.. I'm not sure why I glanced over,
but I looked to the side and saw two ants crossing the floor..
oh, there are ants, I thought to myself
and grabbed one of the ants with my hand..
But there had been two ants..
after catching one, I went to catch the remaining one,
and that thing was quick, and scrambled away under the table..
So naturally I bent my head down under the table looking for the ant,
and huh~
the ant I was looking for wasn't there, but I could see my friend's wife's legs..
I was a bit flustered for a moment..
so I quickly raised my head and checked her reaction,
and thankfully(?) there was no particular reaction..
For reference, my friend's wife was wearing a long dress down to her calves..
and what I saw was her calves below the knee..
After I got home..
that memory kept popping up in my mind for days..
Replaying the situation..
this guy, the husband's older brother figure, stopped eating and stuck his head under the table(?)
looking below him.. it means..
there was plenty of room for it to seem inappropriate..
honestly I had absolutely no such intention..
and I was startled myself and quickly raised my head..
A while after that..
I had a drink with that younger friend..
as the alcohol slowly kicked in, that memory suddenly came back to mind..
So I brought it up carefully..
Actually, back then..
there were two ants at your place
I caught one, and the remaining one scurried under the table,
so I bent my head to catch it
and happened to see your wife's calves..
If your wife felt bad about it, please tell her that was a misunderstanding..
My friend burst out laughing..
said if his wife had noticed anything, she probably would've told him,
but there was nothing like that at all..
The reason he laughed so hard was..
he said it wasn't like me(?) at all to be so timid about something like that..
What I usually say all the time is
"why be so timid about something, man"..
"if there was no such intent, don't worry about it"..
that's roughly my usual style..
but here I was confessing that I'd seen his wife's calves, not even her thighs,
and apparently that struck him as hilarious..
That's when I realized
I'd always thought of myself as just a manly, straightforward guy..
but..
turns out..
I'm generous with that standard toward others
but strict with myself..
truly.. truly a manly guy indeed..
