"Is this seat taken?" I asked, stopping by the empty seat near the back of the bus. I didn't think it was but it couldn't hurt to ask. The guy who sat by the window looked up at me and barely nodded. This being New York, I took that as an OK, slid my carry-on bag into the overhead compartment and settled into the aisle seat next to him. He seemed like the type I could not trust with anything important so I assumed that he was safe. After all, it's the trustworthy looking types that fool you into complacency, right?
It was going to be a long ride to San Francisco but I was actually looking forward to it. Time wasn't an issue and money was so this was the only way it was going to happen. Besides, I haven't seen much of the country and I'll see a lot of it now, for sure.
Thinking that I have seen a lot of New York (and not wanting to see much more!), I dozed off almost immediately. I can't remember much of the dream I was having, but something woke me up to find 'Mr. Untrustworthy' with a paw on my breast.
"I'll give you two seconds to move your hand before I start screaming and beating your fucking head against the window." I said it loudly and noticed at least a dozen heads turn our way. I expected him to say something stupid like, 'Why? You asked me to', or something. But, he must have seen the murder in my eyes because he moved it right away without saying a word and I decided not to raise more of a fuss.
"Next stop, you either move or get off the bus," I said evenly. He just stared at me but I thought he got the message. Next stop, nobody got off the bus so there was no place to change seats to. I stood up and quietly said, "Get up."
He didn't even try to protest. He simply stood up and left the bus. The couple in front of me turned around and smiled, I smiled back, and took the window seat just vacated.
"That was a pretty gutsy thing to do," the man said while his wife(?) nodded.
"I've taken a few subways in my life. A bus is easier," I answered to both of them. "I guess that's why I'm headed out of New York!" That was a lie but they wouldn't know and it was what they wanted to hear, anyway.
"Well, I'm proud of you," she said. I got a good look at her and realized that she was very pretty. Short, lightly curled black hair framing a round, pleasant face, with generous lips and dimples. I broke away from staring at her, tried to appear nonchalant, and responded:
"Thanks," was all I could say and her husband cleared his throat.
"Oh! I'm sorry! My name is Nancy," as she reached over the back of the seat to shake my hand, "and, my husband's name is Bob."
Bob looked like he was about 45 years old but he was handsome with salt & pepper hair, a ruddy complexion that reminded me of the 'Marlboro Man', and a curious smile that seemed to look right through me. Actually, he did appear to see something in me...
"Hello," a deep voice that almost stunned me into stillness, "I'm pleased to meet you and I notice that you would agree with me about Nancy." He said this without the slightest bit of self-consciousness and with a very knowing manner. I couldn't even think of a lie to say. But, Nancy, bless her, responded for me.
"Bob! You know that's not nice!" and, to me, "Bob has a rather interesting 'gift' but doesn't know when to keep it wrapped." She smacked him in the shoulder but his eyes never left me. I thought I'd be able to stay silent but, damn it, he spoke again: "It's all right if you don't want to say it but it's fine if you do."
There was no way I could keep from answering. I felt it like a urge. "Yeah, Nancy is nice and I do agree with you. But, how could you know I would even say something like that? You don't know me. I might have 'gone ballistic' just hearing you say that. Oh, and by the way, my name is Kelly." I wanted to be mad, indignant, anything other than comfortable with this stranger's casual and personal over-familiarity. But, try as I might, I couldn't work up even a tiny bit of annoyance!
Nancy reached for my shoulder and, while gazing at Bob said, "He doesn't mean any harm. It's just a deeper form of communication and Bob's got it down. And, this time, I'm sort of glad he did." She and Bob exchanged a look and I could almost see them talking without saying a word. No, Nancy was talking and Bob was listening. Suddenly, Bob got up and went to the bathroom at the back of the bus. Nancy had to get up to let him out of the window seat, but she didn't return to her seat; instead, she motioned for me to sit in Bob's. I only hesitated a second, then slid out of my seat and into the one directly in front. She only had the hint of a smile on her face as she sat beside me.
"Thank you!" she whispered to me with a big smile. "I wasn't sure you'd move, although I think we both wanted you to."
"Sure, I wanted to, but what about Bob?"
"Don't worry about it. Bob will sit in your seat when he comes back, at least until you want to go back to it." She said the last part with such obvious regret I had to cover a snicker. We sat there and looked at each other and the nervous laughter erupted in both of us. A couple heads turned but nobody seemed to see anything too unusual and went back to their whatevers.
Nancy told me that she would tell me all the boring stuff later but wanted to tell me the 'good part' now, before she chickened out.
"Kelly, Bob and I are happily married. I mean, 'it's all good', you know what I mean? Part of the reason why it's good between us is because we keep no secrets and trust each other completely. So, what I'm going to say to you is fine with him. Can I ask you a very personal question?"
This couple seemed to like asking a lot of personal questions! I usually shy away from anybody who takes an unusual interest in my life and this couple sure filled the bill. But I saw nothing but sincerity in Nancy's face (even though I pictured plenty more in her face...), so I answered truthfully.
"Sure, it's OK if you ask the question but be aware that I may not want to answer something too personal."
Drawing together all of her courage with a sigh, Nancy spoke quickly and quietly, "I want to...spend some time getting to know you. I think I would like you a lot and my husband says its all right, if it's fine with you. You don't need to worry about anything: we'll see that you get to wherever you are going 'on time', and, if you don't want him around, we can..."
"Wait, just a minute," I interrupted. She was almost out of breath and I was getting a weird feeling about this 'question'. Actually, I liked the weird feeling but, on a bus trip, with a stranger and her husband? I needed to get to the 'punch line' before I started freaking.
