I have a story to tell you. It’s about an event that changed my life for the better and I only hope that everyone gets to experience something like this in their life. A friend can be more than just a friend with a nudge in the right directions. It began one Monday morning…
Monday
I noticed her in the back of the bus after I stumbled onto it as I did most Monday mornings. She was a young brunette sitting at the rear of the bus on the opposite side. I thought to myself that she had to be in her late twenties. Her hair was up, and she was wearing jeans, a shirt with frilly sleeve ends, and tennis shoes. She had on light-colored glasses, and I could tell they were likely only necessary for reading since they didn’t seem the thickness required for all-day wear from my perspective. She didn’t appear to be a business professional, but maybe more of a techie. The kind where it’s not their appearance that matters as much as their innovative ideas and creativity.
She had her legs crossed and was reading a book she was holding upright on her knee. She didn’t notice me the first glance, but the second time I looked, we met eyes for a split second. As soon as I saw her eyes staring back at mine, I shot my glance in a different direction hoping she didn’t see me staring at her. She was looking directly at me, though. I resisted looking again but couldn’t help it. This time, she had a small smile on her face and her stare seemed to linger on longer than usual. I tell you, I instantly time warped back to my awkward teenage years and became that shy little girl when a boy said something nice to me. There I was in my business attire, trying to get to work and this girl was snatching my attention.
I spent the rest of my time on the bus considering why she was smiling at me and why I found her particularly appealing, especially considering I was not nor have ever been on the prowl for a female companion. Regardless, the bus stopped at the station before mine and she left. I watched her pack her stuff up, toss her backpack over her shoulder, and exit the door at the rear of the bus. She never stopped to look at me again, so I thought I might have been making the whole thing up in my head.
I didn’t have much downtime at work, so my thoughts of this young woman didn’t invade my mind until after I got home. My husband, Ben, was away on a business trip so I made a small meal for myself and made myself comfortable on the couch watching a Lifetime movie. Halfway through, my mind wandered to her. I questioned my interpretation of the series of events as they happened. Maybe she wasn’t looking at me. Then again, maybe she was flirting with me. I shrugged off the entire event and continued watching TV.
Tuesday
The thought of her was pretty much out of my mind by the time I got out of bed. I got in the shower and the rest of my morning went on as it always had. I locked up the house and proceeded towards the bus stop. That’s when her face popped back up in my head. I didn’t know what to expect from today’s bus ride, if she would even be there again. I had not noted her as a regular before today so, it was entirely possible she was just a flirty little thing that just happened to like what she saw that day.
As if I was not in control of myself, I caught myself watching everyone who got on at every stop. I work quite a distance from home so, there are several stops along the way. Yesterday, she was on the bus when I got on. Today, she didn’t get on until much later. I watched as she boarded the bus and looked around. She was wearing clothes that closely matched the style of those she wore the day before.
I wasn’t in the spot I was the day before, but I saw her look over that way and then again to somewhere else looking for a place to sit. I must have been staring at her because as soon as she sat, she resumed scanning the people on the bus and her eyes locked on mine when she saw me. We stared at each other for what felt like minutes before she smiled and reached into her backpack for her book. Something inside me told me to not look away.
She was then beginning to preoccupy my thoughts. If I also had a book, I would not have been able to read it. Instead, I had a conversation with myself to try and figure out what was happening. I don’t know why I was watching her as much as I did but, I felt a certain draw to her. She was alluring. She also seemed to be playing a game with me. The kind of game where she forces me to notice her, then plays hard to get. I did wonder why she was dancing through my head as she was. I consistently asked myself why I even looked.
I continued questioning my behavior and was snapped out of it when I was tapped on the shoulder. It seemed the bus stopped at my stop and one of the regulars pointed to the digital sign in the bus and told me the driver was about to close the doors. I thanked them and immediately started to depart the bus. As I did, I looked around for the mystery woman and realized she must have gotten off while my internal monologue was running amok.
She was on my mind all day that day and my work showed it. I tried to snap out of it, but her face stirred in my mind. Questions began piling up about the situation. I stopped working long enough to realize that she was either going to keep riding the same bus as me and we will have an encounter sooner than later or, she was just being flirty, and I’ll likely not see her again. I played both scenes in my head and noticed a unique physiological difference in response to each scenario. The former gave me goosebumps and the latter made me feel sad.
Wednesday
I left that morning the same as I had, only this time I was determined. I was going to decide what I was seeing and go with it or leave it alone. I wasn’t going to let her torture me any longer, though I must admit, it was making my life anything but mundane as I felt it had been lately. I did the same thing as I had prior. I got on and sat in a place where I could see most of the bus, or at least make her walk past me to get to a seat.
I boarded the bus and waited for her. Her stop came, and she was there, waiting. My heart skipped a beat, and I could feel the adrenaline flowing through me. She did the same as she had done the day before, except this time, she walked past me. Sunflower! She wore sunflower perfume and it hit me like Cupid’s arrow. This woman was driving me crazy. I didn’t understand how or why, but I was going to let it happen. I lazily sat back in my chair with my bag on my knees and casually scanned the crowd watching her from time to time. She didn’t pay strict attention to me, and her nose was stuck in the book she was reading. I was a little disappointed but waited to see if there was a way for me to initiate contact.
Nearing her stop, I noted she paid attention to where the bus was, and when her stop was to be next, she closed her book as if she had just remembered something. You know, the light came on over her head and she quickly jostled around in her backpack. She drew out a pen and a sheet of paper and began scribbling. She put the pen back in her bag, folded the sheet of paper, and waited for her stop.
When the bus stopped, she got up, put her backpack on her shoulder, and looked at me. She scanned the people on the bus before locking eyes with me and began moving in my direction. She put her arm down as she passed me and alerted me with her eyes to the paper she held in her hand as she continued walking. This was it, I thought, this is where she tells me to stop being a creeper and stop staring at her. I was wrong.
The note said, ‘You’re reading it right. I hope you like my perfume today.’
It’s like she knew she was dancing in my head all day. She could have said ‘liked’ as in, I won’t smell it again and think of her. But she said like, knowing full well I think of her when I’m not on this bus. I didn’t know where this was headed, but I was onboard for the ride. I think I committed myself to this thing, regardless of where the road took me. I recall thinking that if I found myself in bed with her one day, it wouldn’t shock me. I also recall wondering why I was imagining being in bed with her.