The Adventures of George - The Commuter Train Incident
I know this guy named George. I swear he has to be the luckiest guy I know. Let me tell you a little bit about him. He's pretty average, about 5 '7", dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, a few extra pounds that don't show much unless you happened to see him with his shirt off. We're not related (George is my last name, and it's his first name.) I don't know what he's packing in those jeans he likes to wear, but I swear that thing has a good luck charm on it. Let me give you an example...
********
George sat on the commuter train at 6:29 AM listening to the three women around him talking about how the train was suddenly and without any fanfare back on the regular route and time after a full year of construction delays. They were all happy, George included, but they all were complaining that there was no notice given and how some of them could have used the last two stations on the line instead of driving all the way to this one. As the conversation continued one of the women asked the group which department of the state government they worked for. As it turned out they all worked for different departments. One of them, Anya, got off two stops before George. He knew where her department building was, asked if she knew any of the people he did (she didn't, nor did he know any of the people in his department that she did) and they chatted amiably until the train arrived at her stop, where he wished her a good day as she got up to get off. The train then moved on, George got off at his stop, and the workday began.
The construction completed and the line fully open, George began using his regular stop at the end of the line again. He preferred it because there was a garage to park in, and at the end of the line there was practically nobody using that stop so he always got a seat, and always the seat he wanted, which was nearly in the back of the last car. He learned the day after his first conversation with Anya that she got on at the very next stop. He smiled at her when she got on and she returned it and then sat on the opposite side and one row behind him. After a few stops the guy in the last row that had gotten on at the stop after Anya's gave a loud and disgusting snort followed by a loud swallow.
Without batting an eyelash, Anya got up and moved up one row and sat on the aisle seat. George noticed and was thrilled because he thought that she was pretty and smelled nice. She was wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and black boots with low heels and George guessed that she was around 5' 3" without them. The newish looking jeans she wore fit her well, and the black leather jacket that she kept zipped up prevented him from seeing anything more than that she probably had B-cup breasts. Her dark auburn hair was very loosely curled and hung free just past her shoulders. Trim and petite, not a lot of makeup, and a fair complexion around her hazel eyes, Anya gave George a sidelong glance and waited until he caught it. George raised his eyebrow at her. She quickly darted her eyes towards the guy in the back and then back to George, gave them a roll, and waited for his reaction. George mimicked her. She gave him a sly little smile and turned back to her book. "Ok, " thought George, "so much for the fun part of the day."
That afternoon George finished up early and caught the 4:15 PM train instead of his normal 4:30 PM train. To his surprise, Anya got on at the stop where she departed in the morning. Eyes searching for a seat, she gave George a quick smile when she saw him and headed his way. The center of the car where George was sitting had seats that ran parallel with the aisle and the one next to him was the only one left empty in the car. Anya slid into it with a sigh.
"Boy it's crowded today!" she said as she arranged her coat and handbag. "It's nice to see a familiar face."
"Yeah, I hear ya. My stop was packed and the one between us was too. I'm George."
"Anya," she said, sticking out her hand. George gave what he hoped was an appropriate amount of pressure when shaking a woman's hand. "Ooo... strong hands. What do you do?"
"I'm sorry, did I squeeze too hard?"
"Oh, no, you didn't hurt me. You have a good grip. Better than some of the men I work with."
"Oh, good. I'm a software developer."
"Really? The hands sure don't give that away."
"Well, I used to work construction when I was younger, but this is steady and pays better. I live out in the sticks a bit, and there is always something outside that needs to be done, so I keep my hands busy."
"How far do you have to drive to get to the train station?"
"About 20 minutes, half of it back roads."
"My drive is about the same length, but mostly the city streets." Thus the conversation continued until she departed with a smile and a cheerful "See you in the morning!"
This went on for several months. George would get on at his stop, she would get on at hers, and they would chit-chat through the 45-minute ride to her stop. After a few weeks, and as the weather got colder, she would come onboard in the mornings and ask to sit on the inside seat next to him because the heat tended to reflect off of the walls. This became the norm even as it got warmer. Eventually they began to talk more about their personal lives. She was single after a nasty divorce. George was single but not for lack of trying. Each lived alone, though they were careful not to fully disclose exactly where. As cautious as George was, she eventually sussed out what town he technically lived in, proclaimed that it was a nice area, and that was that. George also learned that she was, like him, a couple of years from retirement and thus close to his age.
As the weather warmed, George was treated to her dresses getting progressively shorter and the appearance of her feet in sandals. This thrilled George to no end because he had a thing about feet, and he thought her toes in particular were absolutely lovely, even sexy. He made sure to compliment her pedicure and was rewarded with a smile. Commutes were beginning to be the best part of his day. As the days got warmer her dresses and skirts hit knee-length, and George was happy to see lightly tanned legs. One afternoon in late Spring, Anya struck up a different conversation with him.
"So... we both live alone..." she began.
"Yes..."
"Do you ever get lonely?" her voice gave hints of something, but he couldn't figure out what.
"Well, sometimes it's nice to meet friends for dinner. Cooking for one is fine, and I don't mind leftovers, but sometimes it's nice to have conversation during dinner. Would you be interested in joining me one evening?" This was a stretch for George, but after this many months, he figured he had at least a 50/50 chance.
"That would be nice," she said, "but that isn't what I was meaning."
"Okay..."
She paused for a moment, clearly pensive about continuing. "I feel like I can trust you. We've been talking to each other on this train twice a day for the last several months so it's not like you're a complete stranger."
He looked at her for a moment, smiled and said, "I think you'll understand this reference: I'm Sgt. Schultz." She rewarded him with a smile.
"Okay... um..." she glanced around the train. This particular day the train was strictly SRO and they were again in the middle of the car. People were standing throughout the car. It wasn't especially noisy, but you could clearly hear conversations from other parts of the train. After a moment she picked up her phone and began tapping at it. George politely did not look at her screen. After a few moments she tapped him on the arm and showed her screen to him. It read, "
I meant do you ever get lonely at night?