TrainWrite

A Known Stranger

by Jenna Mantis

The morning commuters of the 8:20 AM- 8:30 AM inbound trains from Coolidge Corner to Boston have become my acquaintances. We don’t speak to one another, we don’t know each other’s names, but I’ve come to know more about these strangers’ lives than I should admit. There’s the six-foot-something, taller-than-everyone-else-on-the-train man who works in the Copley area. There’s the girl with that fantastic Rebecca Minkoff bag that I can’t help but envy every morning. There’s that beautiful blonde man with the perfectly tailored suits and a dashing “I know I’m charming and hot” smile to match. There’s that Jewish couple whose High Holiday plans I’m often privy to thanks to a lack of voice control.

And then there are my “stranger crushes.” I don’t know them and they don’t know me, but when I see them about to board my train, or they stand almost close enough to touch in the packed T car, my morning cup of coffee becomes less of a necessity because my heart has had a jump-start for the day.

The first time I saw him hop on my T, I was instantly attracted, and thanks to his morning “I’m exhausted, but it would be rude to not make small-talk” conversation with an acquaintance, I got to know a lot about him in that short morning T ride. From then on out, I saw him on a weekly basis. Each morning that we shared a T, my heart would skip a beat but I could never muster up the courage to strike up a conversation. 

On a rainy Saturday spent downtown, I hopped on the T to head home when I saw him out of the corner of my eye, same train setting as always minus the business attire and morning crowds. My mind instantly made the connection and registered him as a familiar face, someone I “knew,” which led my mouth to impulsively begin to say “hey!” But before my mouth had time to fully form the words, a red light went off. I realized that he was in fact not a friend. He was a stranger.

I saw the flicker in his eye, too, the spark of recognition, but we both failed to act. I’ve dared myself to talk to him next time we share a T. KES has double dared me. I accept.

Jenna Mantis has other obsessions, including football and photography. Her story “The Hush and The Hum” appeared in the December 8, 2010 issue of TrainWrite.

Notes

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