Kosay Jabre

Why do restroom stalls in North America have such a large gap in the door?

When I worked at the Royal Bank of Canada, the men’s restroom on my floor had four stalls: three standard stalls and one large handicapped stall. For some reason, without thinking about it, I always use the disabled stall (I’m not disabled). I’m just more comfortable.

One day, I was in the disabled stall and the door to the outside bathroom was open.

I didn’t hear any footsteps. Rather, it is the squeezing of a wheelchair. “It’s not going to happen”, I thought. I came back. Maybe he just wanted to wash his hands?

He rolled his wheelchair and tried to open the stall door. I was too embarrassed to say anything, so I didn’t. He tried to open the door again.

“Anyone there?” I dug in and kept quiet. I will die of shame. I want to disappear. Maybe he thinks the stall is empty and locked? Maybe he thinks the stall is out of order?

“What is it?” One last attempt to open the door, and then it happened. In the gap in the door, we met.

A painful, awkward, embarrassing, infinitely long, silent second of eye contact.

She rolled over and left the bathroom without saying a word. But that eye contact says everything that needs to be said. Needless to say, I didn’t use the restroom again the entire summer I was there.