Where every eye doth dwell

The girl across from me was skinny, nervous; she had short hair but long bangs hiding her eyes.  She was digging around in her huge macramé purse.  She fished out a tiny MP3 player, put in the earplugs, and curled her body about the purse, huddling in a ball on the seat.  Behind the dark bangs, her eyes darted nervously.

I looked her over.  There were a half-dozen rings in her ear, two more in her nostril.  There was a small metal button pinned to the purse, painted solid lavender.  Likely a lesbian then, and obviously very shy.  Well, think of it as practice.

"First time on the train?" I asked pleasantly.  She took out the earplugs and I repeated the question.

"How did you know?"

"You looked tense."

"I, I'm worried we've passed 4th Street Station."

"We can't pass 4th Street Station."  Her eyes opened wide.  "It's the end of the line."  We talked for a while,  She was named Alessandra; she'd just graduated from art school last May and had been working since in as a retail clerk.  Where?

Where else?  There are 1000 shops in this city, at least, but Whoever is running my life has a comically narrow repertoire so of course, it was at the SportsShack.  I asked after Melissa; apparently she had quit a few month ago. My station approached so I stood up.  She stood up too; I walked towards the door, and she followed.  "You're going to 4th Street?"

She nodded.  "How far?"

"Only a few minutes."  The train slowed to a stop.  "Hey, it was really nice meeting you."  I shook her small soft hand and had stepped onto the platform before I realized what had happened: she liked me, that's why she had followed me to the door; she had wanted to talk with me, maybe even get off the train with me, go get some coffee, and I had been too thick to notice.

The train was already rumbling away, so there was nothing to be done that night.

But even I have to take this hint.  Tomorrow, I'm going to do what I should have done a year ago with Melissa: call SportsShack and ask to talk to the girl I'd met the night before.