The days were growing shorter and about a month had passed since Jane had been involved in what she preferred to call a sexual experiment with Jasmine. Oddly, they hadn't run into each other at the apartment building since and Jane had convinced herself that their lack of contact was a good thing. She had also convinced herself that she was more than mildly insulted by Jasmine's inference that she was a lesbian. She insisted that Jasmine plied her with alcohol and then took advantage of her in a weak moment. The very idea of her being a lesbian was ridiculous.
On top of that, work was hectic and Jane had little time for any social life or pleasurable pursuits. She was working a few hours of over time every day and was even going in for a few hours every Saturday. Hopefully the large backlog of work, that had come about as a result of her employer taking on a new and very demanding client, would soon be caught up and life would once again return to a leisurely, more comfortable pace. She was finished tweaking the marketing plan she'd created and was no longer discussing it on a daily basis with her co workers. On the one hand, she was glad that the onerous task of preparing the program was now finished. On the other hand, she did miss the of mantle of authority and importance that she wore while preparing it.
It was a Friday night and once again, she had worked late. Now, as she stepped out onto the street, the clock was nearing 8.00 p.m.. A light snow had started to fall and Jane began making her way along the busy street. The soft snow looked wonderfully serene as it drifted slowly to the ground, giving some sparkle to an otherwise dark and unfriendly street. Along with the beauty it imparted to those walking along the street, it also gave cause for concern. Jane shuddered as she realized that she had to walk all the way to the streetcar stop wearing high heels on a snow covered sidewalk.
It took all of ten minutes to make it to the stop and when Jane got there the public address system announced that they were experiencing hold-ups on virtually all routes because of a sudden increase in the number of transit users. Thousands of people who normally drove their cars around the city had opted to take public transit because they didn't want to drive on the slippery, snow covered streets.
Her streetcar had more than the usual number of transient people aboard. Transient riders were quite common on the city's public transit system after 7 o'clock at night. Most were street people and they rode the system all night long to avoid the freezing weather. Drivers tried to get rid of them to make way for legitimate commuters, but they typically met with little success. With few exceptions, hygiene was not one of these transients main concerns and as a result, they brought the smell of the dirtier quarters corners of the city with them.
A particularly gross man in his fifties, dressed in greasy jeans, a nylon jacket and a blue toque, sat across from Jane and leered overtly at her legs. He intentionally dropped his packet of cigarettes so that when he bent down to pick them up, he would be afforded an opportunity to leer up Jane's dress. She probably wouldn't have minded if he'd been a young, good looking professional. In fact, when she was younger, Jane would often wear a skirt with a flared hem on the streetcar and spread her legs slightly whenever there was a handsome guy sitting across from her. It gave her an odd feeling of power whenever a good looking, well groomed, professional man tried to see what treasure lay at the top of her shapely thighs.
Tonight however, Jane didn't appreciate having some dirty old wino looking up her dress and she instantly gave the filthy wretch a withering look. He smiled, almost apologetically, revealing a crooked row of yellow teeth. Then, seemingly no longer interested in trying to catch a glimpse of Jane's panties, he looked away.
The ride home took more than an hour and Jane was frazzled by the time she finally reached her stop. Riding the streetcar late at night had never been an enjoyable experience but this night had been particularly trying.
When she stepped off the streetcar she was shocked to see that the light snow flurries she'd witnessed when she started her journey home had turned into a small snow storm.
"Just what I need!" she thought, cursing silently under her breath. "I'm tired and hungry and sickened from riding with a horde of stinking, unwashed savages. Then, after being forced to endure that indignity, I have to walk up to my apartment in a snow storm. Some day I'm going to leave this disgusting shit hole of a city and move to a quiet little home in the countryside, hundreds of miles away from this garbage can full of uncivilized barbarians."
With that, she set out with all of the resolve she could muster. The sidewalk was greasy and the street lights were far too dim to allow safe navigation on such a nasty night. However, about ten minutes later, she breathed a sigh of relief as she turned up the front walk of her apartment building.
She never saw it coming! In less than a split second, one of her heels slid off the sidewalk and onto the snow covered lawn. Down she went with a muffled thud!
The fall left Jane temporarily dazed. She had landed hard and her head was still spinning. She had just struggled to her knees and was trying to get to her feet, when she felt someone's hands take hold of her arm.
"Jane, are you alright? My God that was a horrible fall! Can you move your arms and legs ok? Did you hurt your back?"
Jane held fast to the arm that was supporting her and looked up to see the concerned face of Jasmine. She looked genuinely worried, so Jane quickly tested her arms and legs to ensure that nothing was broken. She didn't feel any pain and everything that was supposed to move, did.
"I think I'm ok Jasmine. My heel just slid off the sidewalk. This darned snow took me and the rest of the city by surprise."
Jasmine was still quite concerned. "Let me help you into the building Jane. You have to come up to my apartment and have a glass of brandy to dull the pain and take the chill out of you. If you've hurt or broken something, it may not become apparent for hours and you shouldn't be alone until you're sure everything is ok. Thank goodness I was on my way to the laundry room and saw you take that horrible fall"
Jane chose not to argue. Jasmine was genuinely concerned and it wouldn't hurt to have a little company after the lousy day she'd experienced, even if it was the company of someone who had falsely accused her of being a lesbian. "That sounds like good advice Jasmine. I can't thank you enough."
With that, she took hold of Jasmine's arm and the two of them headed into the building. The floor was a little slick as they made their way through the lobby, but both were extra cautious and made it to the elevator without incident.
They hadn't seen each other in about a month. Jane had forgotten just how pretty Jasmine was and was quickly warmed by her cheerful, caring personality.
"Where have you been Jane. I've been keeping an eye out for you over the past month but haven't seen hide nor hair of you? I hope you're not angry with me for being so forward the last time we were together. Sometimes I tend to get too friendly too quickly with people who aren't into me as much as I'm into them. If I insulted you, I am truly sorry."
Just then the elevator doors opened and the two stepped out into the hallway. As they walked along the hall towards Jasmine's apartment, Jane began to rethink her earlier indictment of the comments Jasmine made on the night that they'd been intimate.
