Tabatha Deans

AWKWARD COMMUTE…

AWKWARD COMMUTE

            The weather was unusually warm as I headed down the hill to the train station this morning. It felt like spring, and I felt a moment of spontaneous euphoria as it aroused memories of when I first arrived in Denver and was staying with my brother. My morning jogs along the canal near his house I miss.

            The first person I saw at the station was Mr. C, looking very much like the puppy dog who had just been kicked. He was visiting with another woman, and I think he tried to give me the cold shoulder, he wasn’t as chatty as usual. But he couldn’t hold out for long, and after a few minutes he came over to me.

            “I got some pictures from Christmas, you wanna see them?” He didn’t follow up with his usual chatter about when we would get together for lunch.

            “Sure.” I said. He pulled out a picture he had printed off of him at Christmas, as well as one he apparently took of me at the train station. “Wow,” I said, a little surprised but not too creeped out. I tried to hand them back but he refused.

            “No. Those are for you to keep.”

            “Oh, well, thanks.” He made small talk for another minute or two, until the Ice King came along. The King walked right up to me and smiled and started chatting. There’s some confusion with the new train schedule, so we traded banter as to which train would be coming and which would not. A third, new character, jumped into the conversation. I’m pretty sure the Ice King engages me in an attempt to save me from Mr. C, and Mr. C was throwing eye-daggers at the Ice King, and the third guy was oblivious to it all.

            We boarded the train, leaving Mr. C behind, and headed for the Yale station. No sign of the Italian, and when I exited the train Mr. J wasn’t waiting for me like he has been. No big surprise. I was a little relieved, and as I started walking up Yale I considered crossing the street so I wouldn’t have to pass by his territory, or at least be on the other side of the street. Nope. I wasn’t going to go out of my way because of him, so I turned up my tunes and headed up the hill. I saw him headed my way from two blocks away, his trench coat flapping in the wind as he walked. I braced myself and prepared to greet him.

            As we approached each other, I took my earphone out of one ear, looked right at him and smiled, and said “Good morning.”

            If looks could kill…He stared at me/through me, and said nothing as he walked past me. I couldn’t help but laugh as I finished walking to work. I can’t believe he could be so upset having only known me for about two hours…

January 20, 2012 - Posted by Tabatha Stewart | Uncategorized