This story is dedicated to Heather, the real life Heather. Although some details are true, the outcome isn't. However, that is how we would have liked it to end.
I left home after I graduated from college. I didn't like the way my parents treated my youngest sister which was the same way they had treated me; because I had no means to change that situation, I came to this city hoping to earn enough to take my sibling out of that environment. I had another goal in mind; maybe I'd meet the man of my dreams. Though I had had a few boyfriends while I was in school, none was the guy I would want to marry.
My name is Heather. I am twenty-two years old; I'm 5'8" and weigh135 pounds; I have brown hair and green eyes; I have a nice figure, but my best features are my breasts. Although I'm modest, I try to wear blouses and sweaters that accentuate them. I am heterosexual although I do like to look at good-looking, sexy women. Maybe I'm bi-curious.
Something happened on the way to finding Mr. Right. I ride the subway to work every day, but I never get a seat. The stop that I get on is far enough from the end of the line that the seats are always taken; I always have to stand hanging on to an overhead strap and swaying from side to side as the old train car shifts and rumbles down the tracks.
There aren't many people that ride the train, but there are enough that the seats are always taken. There is plenty of room to stand, and the car isn't crowded except on sale days when it seems that the whole city tries to get on this one train; I feel as if I'm being crushed, but I have seen pictures of the Japanese trains and how the people are forced into the cars. I am grateful that isn't the case here, and I don't sweat the crowded car once a week.
There is an older woman who rides the train every day, and who is usually seated across from where I stand. She must get on early in order to get a seat, and I wish I lived at the end of the line. The woman has a pretty face and a pleasant expression; she is slim, tall and has a nice figure. I try to figure out where she goes and what she does for a living. She appears to be in her late thirties or early forties - almost twice my age. I hope I don't have to continue riding this subway when I'm as old as she is.
One morning, she caught me looking at her, but she didn't smile. She is either stuck up or very shy as she quickly averted her eyes. Her clothes look as though they are rather expensive, so I guess she isn't a clerk or a sales person.
Occasionally, the woman would get up and give someone else her seat which is very nice of her. It makes me feel that she is a nice person. One morning the car was very crowded, and I had to stand right in front of her. She never looked up at me, but looked straight ahead. It occurred to me that she was staring at my breasts. Well, they were directly in front of her, so what else could she do?
As more people got on and the subway car became very crowded, I was forced to move even closer to her. I had one leg between hers and one outside her left leg. I was a bit embarrassed as we were both wearing dresses and out legs were bare. I could feel her skin, and therefore she must feel mine; just one of the situations one encounters riding the subway, so I wasn't upset. Actually, it felt quite nice to have skin-to-skin contact with another person. When my stop was next, I pulled my leg from between hers and prepared to fight my way to the doors. I may have imagined it, but it seemed that she was actually holding my leg with hers, and I had to pull a bit to free my leg. Again, I chalked it up to the press of the crowd.
The following day, Friday, was not a sale day, and the car wasn't crowded. I stood across from the woman whom I began calling 'brown eyes'; her eyes are brown with specks of hazel, I think. I haven't looked at them up close. Anyway, I was looking at her when suddenly she looked up and looked straight at my face β my eyes. I didn't look away, and we maintained eye contact for a long time. She didn't smile, and I didn't smile; we just kept eye contact. Finally, just before my stop, I blinked. I looked around, but when I looked back, she was still staring at my face. I pretended I didn't notice and got off at my stop.
I work for a downtown publisher as a copy editor. I read manuscripts all day long; most are dull and bore me, but some are interesting, and I hate to stop reading them, so I take them home in an old leather briefcase with the company logo on it and the name of the publisher in small gold letters across the top edge. I love to read and by reading manuscripts, I don't have to spend money on books.
On Monday, I boarded the train, and when I looked over at her, "brown eyes" was watching me; instead of standing across from her, I stood in front of her but didn't look at her. A few minutes later, I felt a tap on the briefcase and when I looked down, "brown eyes" was holding her hand out in the direction of the briefcase and patting her lap. Evidently, she was suggesting that she hold the briefcase for me. I laid it on her lap and she nodded.