I Think You've Found the Right Love On the Wrong Train!

I Think You Found...

     "So that's how I got here," the girl in the blue corduroy jacket explained to the kind man with the suitcase who had let her sit next to him. She was meant to take the off-peak 7:15 train, but she ended up taking the peak 8:10 train, having waited on the wrong side of the station at the wrong time. That's what a broken watch and torn map will get you.

     He too had been fated with an unfortunate transport error. He took the train to Astoria when he had really meant to be headed for Ronkonkama. Oops. 

     "Well, that's pretty funny!" he grinned. "What an interesting turn of chance."

     "Chance?" she snorted. "This was just bad luck."

     "Oh, so I must be unwelcome company then, huh?" he pouted.

     She cringed, realizing how awful she must've sounded.

     "That's not what I—" she paused, taking note of the mischievous smirk that had glued itself to the stranger's lips. He had been teasing her, she realized. 

     "No worries, I understand," he repented to her with a dazzling smile. 

     Wow, she thought, I've never seen anybody smile like that. With such sparkle on his pearly whites and in his blue azure-struck eyes.

     "Christie, is it?" he asked, eyeing the tag on her bag. It wasn't really hers.

     "Huh?" she followed his gaze to find it planted on the name that was written in neat cursive.

     "Oh! No, that's my sister's name. We mixed up our bags this morning."

     "Oh, bad day, huh?"

     "Hm..."she turned her irises onto the view outside. "Not really. She packs better food, so it was actually pretty neat." His laughter forced her to turn her eyes back to him, and red to sneak up her cheeks, the warmth surprising her. 

     "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting that!" he gave an apologetic smile, still shining like Apollo. "I'm Eric."

     "Aaron?"

     "Eric. Trying to get back at me for jumping to conclusions about your name, huh?"

     "Uh, no! I just misheard you!" The fire on her face grew stronger.

     Without a word of warning, Eric held a hand up and brushed it across the girl's cheek and temple with such grace and care. She sat with such shock, still, still, still. His face was inches away from hers. She couldn't breathe, so her eyes just scattered, searching. Her heart just beat.

     Eric leaned back with such nonchalance that one would think nothing had happened. She was still stuck, though. Frozen like peas. 

     "Sorry, there was a ladybug on you. I didn't want to scare you, or hurt it. I must have given you quite a shock, though. Sorry."

     She released a gale of air and stared at him with the intensity of a child. "Not a problem. Thanks."

     "Not a problem," he echoed her. "And your name is...?"

     "Oh! That's right. It's Mary."

     He closed his eyes and let a smile tug at the corners of his lips, but did not entertain it all the way through.

     "Mary," he repeated. "Mary," as though the name was a bite of sweetness that he wanted to sample over and over again. It sounded like a sonata coming from him.

     "Yes, well, it's very nice to meet you, Mary-not-Christie."

     "Uh, yes, you, too, Aaron—uh, I mean Eric." She giggled nervously. "Sorry."

     Eric turned to Mary and buried his gaze deep into her soul. He opened his mouth to speak.

     "I have to get off at the next stop in order to transfer. "

     She thought he was going to say something sentimental. Then a realization smacked her.

     "I do too, I think!"

     The same lopsided smirk from before greeted her. Not a smile. Not a frown. Not a straight line. Just what it was.

     "Fine then. There's a great coffee shop down the road from the station," he implied. She didn't decline and the train stopped. Eric strolled out, his stride confident, but easy. Mary followed after him, close enough to him to grab the sleeve of his shirt—which she wanted to do, but didn't.  

     A thought danced  up.

     Maybe...it was chance, after all.