When a Stranger Says Something and You Pretend You Don't Hear

I'm a horrible person.

The other day after a rather harrowing trip to Target in search for classy but appropriate appetizer ideas and nice fall colored napkins for a small party, I was in no mood to talk. Kept changing my mind on the appetizers and the napkins looked like a first grader designed them. After more than an hour in that store, I walked out to find darkness, rain and cold. Of course I could only remember the general direction of my car, not the specific area. So I made my mad dash in hopes of miraculously landing in front of my car when a guy behind me exclaimed loudly,

"Wow! If it was any colder it'd be snowing!"

Was he talking to me? Because he said it like he was waiting for a response. Only clearly I did not look like a conversational person running beeline through a packed parking lot cursing that my car couldn't locate me rather than the other way around. There didn't seem to be anyone around me he could have been talking to. And he was kinda close behind me. I glanced in my peripheral and found no one to take the blame for the very awkward and heavy silence following his non-returned comment.

Alas, I found my car. As I opened the door I took a sneak peak at the stranger still quite close behind, and yup, sure enough he was talking to me. He huddled up in his coat and soaking beard and ignored me right back. And now I'm that mean person who is too self absorbed to take a moment to chat with a stranger.

But come on...talking about the weather? How cliche.