Taylor's Pov
I clutched my suitcase tightly to my side as one of the trains rushed past hitting me with a wave of wind. A chill ran through my body as the cold air hit against the skin of my neck which had been left bare by my scarf. This winter had been especially chilly, with the snow covering the road rendering them undrivable. I was close to having to cancel my trip back home but by some stroke of luck managed to get a last-minute ticket for the morning train.
Even at the early hour the station was still crowded making it difficult to maintain my spot without having to move out of the way of rushing passengers. Caught up in the hazy tiredness of my mind I failed to notice a man speeding towards me not bothering to move out of the way as he hurried past me, his shoulder hitting mine causing me to stumble backwards. My back fell against a solid feeling surface as I quickly tried to steady myself.
"Hey man, watch it!" A voice boomed behind me bringing me to the mortifying realization that I had fallen against someone. "You alright ma'am?" The voice asked me, a hand appearing next to mine helping me to steady myself.
"Yes, thank you," I resumed my previous spot, pivoting my body to look at who I had fallen into. "Sorry for bumping into you, I didn't see him coming," I apologized, my eyes widening slightly as I took in the sight of the man in front of me.
He was very very tall which is a lot coming from me, he had a brown buzz cut and a matching beard. His eyes were what stood out the most. They were a light watercolor of the most dazzling greens and blues.
"You're all good," he assured me before turning his back to his phone. I nodded even though he was no longer looking at me, a part of me tempted to fall into him once more to see if he'll talk to me again.
Another train approached the platform slowing down to a stop before the doors were opened and people began filling out. Double checking my ticket, I concluded it was my train and began making my way through the small crowd stepping up onto the train once everyone had filed out. The train was significantly warmer than outside, and I could feel my body relax as it no longer had to fight to keep itself warm.
Picking a seat towards the end of the coach I settled into the window seat sliding my small suitcase under the seat. Smoothing down the skirt of my dress I pulled my book out of the satchel which was resting comfortably around my shoulder. Flipping the pages I stopped at the page I had slipped in the small paper list of groceries as a makeshift bookmark.
I pretended to pay attention to the words on the pages as people began filling the seats around me, my mind trailing back to the tall gentlemen who had stopped my fall. More people bored the train and almost as if my thoughts had summoned him. My eyes connected with the pair of watercolor eyes from earlier over the page of my book.
Like a child I immediately ducked my head back into my book pretending like I hadn't been staring. I scanned back over the same sentence I had read over five times now, the words still not registering in my mind as I let my mind wander.
"Fancy seeing you again," a voice asked from next to me. "Is this seat taken?"
Looking up I fought off a blush as I shook my head, scooting my satchel closer to me even though it was practically hugging my side. Giving me a smile of appreciation he sat down on the end seat sliding his backpack under the seat before leaning back with a small sigh.
"Can I ask what you're reading?" He asked, gesturing to the book laying in my hands.
"Oh it's just Hamlet," I lifted the book, allowing him to see the cover before returning it to my lap. "I'm having my students read it during break, so I figured I'd go through it again to make sure everything is still fresh in my mind when I have them write their essays," I explained, blushing when I realized I hadn't needed to explain it.
To my surprise however, he seemed intrigued by my slight tangent, his head tilting in curiosity. "I take it you're a teacher then?" He asked.
"Yeah, middle school English."
"Oh nice, I teach gym!" He said enthusiastically.
The conversation flowed soother than any other I had before. He asked me about my curriculum and students, we complained about overbearing parents and faculty, shared stories and everything in between.
By the time the train stopped my book had long been forgotten and my cheeks hurt from smiling. "Well, this is my stop," he sighed, reaching for his bag pulling the straps on. "It was nice talking with you Taylor," he flashed me one last smile before getting up and making his way down the aisle.
I watched him walk off the train and onto the platform until he was out of sight before settling back into my seat. My eyes trailed down to where he had been sitting, furrowing in confusion when I spotted a small paper on the seat. It was the grocery list I had been using as a bookmark but had misplaced sometime during talking. Unfolding it I read down the list letting out a small laugh when I noticed something scrawled across the bottom in a different colored ink.
The words 'call me' were written out in rushed handwriting with a phone number underneath. Pulling out my phone I quickly typed in the number sending him a quick text letting out a small breath of laughter when he responded immediately. Saving the number, I tucked my phone away finally picking my book back up to try and read a little before we got to the next stop.
After the train ride we talked over the phone for a few weeks before he invited me out for dinner and from there our relationship had bloomed. He had been living in a crappy apartment with a friend so after a few months I offered for him to move in with me and he transferred to the school where I worked.
There had been a vacancy for a gym teacher, and he passed his interview with flying colors. He had quickly become a fan favorite among the students who had shipped us the moment he stepped on campus not knowing we were already together due to us keeping our relationship under the raider. However, after we got engaged, we gave up being discreet and I wore my ring into work and immediately got bombarded by dozens of children.
We had both agreed we didn't want a long engagement and had a simple garden ceremony with friends and family where we got to reminisce on our fairytale-like meeting. A few short months after the wedding we found out I was pregnant with our first daughter Dorthea who was quickly followed by Robin.
I let out a small sigh, a smile tugging at my lips as I watched my husband chase our daughters around the yard, my hand rubbing over my belly. We had been taken by surprise with this pregnancy since we had been trying for a third for nearly two years after having Robin to no avail. It was only after we had both given up and decided two was enough that we found out I was pregnant this time with a boy.
"Ok, Daddy needs a minute or he's gonna pass out," he told the girls, getting groans and protests in response.
I scooted over in the bench swing as I watched him walk up the stairs towards me. "Hey honey," he smiled, leaning down to press a kiss against my lips.
"Is this seat taken?" My head snaps up a little too quickly as I stare at the man from earlier. "Is its?" He questions again.
A deep blush spread across my face as I realized I had been too lost in my daydreams to respond. "Yes, sorry it's open," I fumbled with my book as I pulled my satchel closer to my body.
"Thanks," he dropped into the seat, moving his backpack off his back.
I internally scolded myself realizing just how crazy I was for coming up with a love story in thirty seconds about a stranger. I pursed my lips watching as he placed his bag under the seat before rising back up his eyes meeting mine. "I'm Travis," he offered me a polite smile.
"Taylor."
