Value meal

I was the only one at the train station till she walked past me and sat down a couple of seats up. It was another hundred degree day and my mind was on the air conditioned train. She asked me what time it was and I told her, and then she asked when the next train was coming. After I answered she pulled a calculator out of her purse. The kind that companies put their logos on and give away for free. She pushed a few buttons on it as she said something I couldn’t hear.

We sat there. I thought the conversation was over and I thought of air conditioning again. Then she blurted out how these kids had been really obnoxious on the train the other day. I responded with polite amusement. This went on for a little bit with me learning that she had moved here from Cincinnati. Another blurb about the “sexy” Cincinnati zoo because of all the breeding they do there. Another blurb about her mother moving here for work. She likes making mix CDs with her burner. Eventually the train arrived and we got on at different doors.

I thought that was the last of it. I saw her at the other end of the car and sat down. I decided to leave room for her to sit down. I don’t know why exactly, and she took the chance and set next to me. It was the one thing I’d done to keep the conversation going. Those awkward, loud attempts to start a conversation came out again. Rocky Horror. The Time Warp. Remixes. Halloween. The Exorcist. She got off after two stops to go to work at the hospital on Walnut Hill. The obligatory “I enjoyed talking to you” and she was off.

This is what really threw me though. As she was getting off she stopped at the door and looked back at me. Half-smiled, half-giggled and turned her head so she could hide behind her short blonde hair. I smiled back. All of a sudden I felt like she had been more than just a single-serving friend to pass the time between exits.