This week has been a long week and it’s only Thursday! Jin just got a new job, which he started on Monday so I volunteered to work for him for the week at his previous employers’ (it’s one of the perks of being in the profession that we’re in).
Anyhoo, I took public transit into work today and I found myself following a young African American woman (mid 30’s at most) onto the train. We both silently boarded and scanned for open seats. Two rows of facing seats were open so I politely smiled at her and plunked down across from her. I had my headphones on and was listening to my newest download, Franz Ferdinand, You Could Have It So Much Better. I pulled out my book and settled into the 29-minute train ride.
Just then, the connecting doors to the next car opened and a young African American man entered. The woman across from me was hidden behind rows of other passengers and her back was facing the man as he strutted closer, but it was as if he was a lion on a hunt for prey, moving slowly towards her and then making the kill as he quickly grabbed the seat next to her (across from me).
From what I could hear, he started small talk with her. I heard snippets of their conversation, or rather, of the one-ended conversation led by Mr. Hungry Lion. He was bold and to-the-point, saying things like, “It was fate, you and me” and “I don’t usually come off this strong, but I couldn’t help myself”. All the while, the woman stared straight ahead towards me rolling her eyes occasionally. I couldn’t tell if she knew the man (not that all African Americans know each other!). She was trying hard not to encourage him, but she didn’t quite seem perturbed by his presence either.
The poor sap tried everything to make this woman laugh and on a few occasions, she did laugh out loud – most likely at his brazen yet unsuccessful attempts of wooing her. The woman and I exchanged smiles; I even stifled a laugh of my own when I heard him trying to convince her that he would treat her better than her current boyfriend. This poor woman who was apparently uncomfortable, yet seemingly entertained by her wanton suitor, clung to my gaze like a drowning cat scratching for dry land. Should I help her? Say something to the man? Or perhaps start a conversation with the woman to distract him from his heart’s Stream of Consciousness?
In the end, I decided to let things be. It was entertaining to hear his desperate yet persuasive pleas for a date. Apparently, the antennas of other nearby passengers had picked up on his satellite transmission of love and were now chuckling under their breaths. After failing to get her number, he settled for giving his number, which he scribbled on a torn piece of newspaper. She smiled and nodded at him politely as he handed her the number. She tucked it into her purse. No doubt, it would probably end up in the trash, or sit in the bottomless pit of her purse only to be retrieved months later. I sensed we were nearing his stop, or maybe he sensed the nearby eavesdroppers; he stood from his seat and bid his fair princess a final good-bye. She looked at him straight in the face for the first time and gave a final reminder that she was in a happy relationship with another man.
After he exited, the woman looked at me and began giggling like a little schoolgirl, probably half revolted and half flattered by the prospects of her unabashed suitor. I couldn’t help but smile back. I had forged a silent friendship with her after bearing witness to their playful game of cat and mouse. From the looks of her face, the chase had been fun.
Meanwhile, back in the land of Little People, here’s a video of our own little Lion as she cautiously examines her prey before chowing down on Green Beans:
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