And You Are ... ?

It happened again.

“Hi, Dennis,” a woman said from the bar as we were leaving a restaurant on our date night last week.

“Oh, hey,” he said. “How are you doing?”

“Things are going really well,” she said. “How are things at the station?”

“Good,” he said. “We have a lot of new people in the sales department.”

Meanwhile, I stood in between them, ignored. Ignored! As they chatted, I nudged Hubs a little. Introduce me! my nudge clearly said. He didn’t respond to it. I nudged harder. What-is-wrong-with-you?! I poked out Helen Keller-style with my elbow. Introduce me! Nothing.

I waited for the woman to make eye contact, so that I could introduce myself. She didn’t. C’mon, work with me, people!

Finally, Hubs said his goodbyes and we left. The weather was chilly, but my demeanor as we walked to the car was far icier.

“Let’s window shop a little,” Hubs said, oblivious. I sighed loudly.

“What?” he said.

“I can’t believe you didn’t introduce me.”

“I couldn’t remember her name. She used to work in the sales department.”

“How many times have we been through this?” I steamed. “That’s when you’re supposed to say, ‘This is my wife, Lindsay,’ and let her introduce herself. How hard can it be?”

“Come on,” Hubs said lightly. “It’s our date night. Don’t be a jerk.”

“You’re lucky she wasn’t pretty!” I retorted. “Then there really would have been hell to pay!”

We both laughed despite ourselves and the moment was over. But what the hell? We’ve gotten into this situation dozens of times since we started dating. Hubs doesn’t remember the person’s name, so he awkwardly acts like I don’t exist until they’re finished talking. I don’t want to knock him too badly, because he’s an amazing guy and generally great in social situations. I’m just wondering … does your husband or boyfriend do this kind of thing, too? What is with men?