The commuter train was as full as it always was. Derek looked over the sea of humanity between him and the doors and sighed. His stop was still some twenty or even thirty minutes away but he knew from bitter experience that if he didn't try to get a bit closer he would miss his stop just from being unable to reach the doors before they closed and the train began moving again.
He stared blearily around him and decided he just didn't care. He knew the stop past his own delivered him to within a ten minute walk of his office. He shrugged to himself and settled on that as the easier option.
The people around him were typical of any major city; men dressed in suits, women dressed in suits, the occasional student in jeans and the odd mother with kids or seniors out for a day trip.
He was jostled suddenly out of his reverie and he turned to confront whoever it was. He was surprised when he looked across and saw no one close enough to touch him. He felt another movement and looked down. Now he really was surprised. Standing only as high as his chest was a small woman with jet black hair. From her struggles it was apparent that being as small as she was in an environment like this was difficult. She pulled hard toward her and her briefcase came free of whatever it was tangled with and she bumped against Derek with a jolt. She looked up and apologized profusely.
While she was speaking, Derek fell absolutely in love. She looked Vietnamese and had the sweetest looking face a human being could have. Her eyes were big and round like a deer's and her skin was a soft brown color. She was dressed in a tailored suit; the jacket and skirt were gray wool and the blouse had ruffles under her chin and was a bone white with royal blue accents.
"I am so sorry!" she said to him, her chin raised as high as she could get it just to meet Derek's eyes. "It is so crowded! I did not mean to bump you."
"That's okay," he said with as much gallantry as he could muster. "I'm big enough you might just bounce off."
The girl tittered quietly, putting her fingers to her bottom lip and averting her eyes from his. The train jerked hard then and her eyes went wide with alarm. She began to lose her balance and she looked around trying to find something to grab on to. Derek reached with his free hand and pulled her against him. The ride became smoother almost right away and he let her go. She looked up at him with a flush on her face and stammered a thank you.
"You probably couldn't fall down," he said. "There are too many people to fall against. But it's embarrassing just the same."
"Thank you once more," she said, looking down instead of at his face.
Derek realized the conversation was essentially over so, with regret, he looked once more out the windows. He could still feel her bumping him from time to time as the train moved along.
At the last stop before entering the business sector of the city, a surge of people entered the train making it even more crowded than before.
The girl at his side found herself being pushed mercilessly against Derek and she fought to put some space between them again. After a few minutes she gave up and looked up at him once more.
"I am sorry!" she said.
"It's okay," he said with more than a little sympathy. "It's always like this."
She smiled wanly and he saw her trying to see through the windows. She frowned in frustration and looked at Derek pleadingly.
"Can you tell me where we are?" She asked with concern.
"We're close to the city limits," he said. "Which stop do you need?"
"I want to go to Union Station," she said.
"Me too," he lied. "Don't worry. All these people will be getting off there too. We'll be able to get to the doors then."
She smiled in relief and then turned away from him again.
The crowd surged once more and she was thrust unceremoniously against him. She looked up apologetically and the crowd again jostled her against him.
"Don't worry about it," he said with a smile. "You can hold on to my jacket if it'll help."
