Bus Rider Ch. 01

I've owned a car since I was 14. Spent two years rebuilding it and had my own set of wheels by the time I turned 16. I've never been with out a vehicle since. I even lost my license for a couple of years, and still owned a car. I drove it more than I should have and luckily never got caught. So I've never really had much use for public transportation. At the beginning of this year I owed two cars and had the work truck. I gave my 92' Corsica to a charity group in Feb. I forget which one, I'll pull out the receipt come tax time and figure it out. Three weeks ago I gave my 1966 Plymouth Fury III to a museum. The car really was in too good a shape to be anything but a collectors piece. This left me with nothing but the work truck, one of the great benefits of my job.

Well last Tuesday that changed. I went out on a call and found that I had lost reverse gear and that 1st gear was fading fast. I finished the call and feathered the truck to a Chevy dealership. They looked it over and told me that I could just kiss my transmission goodbye. They promised to overnight a transmission and have it installed by Wednesday afternoon.

I walked home that day and found out how truly out of shape I am a mere 5 miles and I was puffing at the end of it. I slept well that night and the next day started out very nice. Got up late and kind of hung around the house. Played on the computer a little and watched some TV. About noon I called into the dealership and found that my truck would not be ready until the next day. Seems they had a problem getting the parts. Made me happy I still got the day off or so I thought.

Along about 3 pm I get a call and have to run out to fix a machine. That presented a bit of a problem since I had no vehicles. I called a taxi and had them come an get me. The taxi ride was nice but ended up costing me twenty dollars. I got to the location and fixed the machine no big deal. Now the fun part was getting home. I didn't really want to spend another twenty out of my own pocket to get home. So I decided to try public transportation. I hiked up to the nearest bus stop and waited. Presently a bus came along and I hopped in giving the machine a dollar.

I sat down and looked around. Now it's been over a decade since I've been on a bus and it was actually a rather enjoyable experience. Public transportation has come along way.

So I plopped on a seat and looked around. Lots of interesting people ride the bus. Several factory workers, nurses students and I think one bouncer. I sat there looking around and generally enjoying myself.

Well two stops later the ride changed for me. The bus pulled over and this truly interesting woman climbed on the bus. She stood about five and a half feet tall, lustrous dark hair and a very compact body. As she spoke to the driver I could hear her voice falling upon my ears like rain drops onto the water.

She sat down across the bus from me and a few feet towards my right. She grinned as she looked around the bus and her eyes stopped on me. It was almost like a jot of electricity passed between us. Her eyes stayed locked onto mine as the bus kept up its pace. I'm not sure how far we went the rest of the world dropped from my consciousness with what must have been an audible thud. At some point I was aware that the seat next to her was open and I moved to get closer to her. She watched me slip next to her, her eye's never leaving mine. I sat the next to her for a few minute just enjoying her presence before I spoke.

"Are you a fan of Friends?" I asked.

"Well, uh yes I am. Why do you ask?" was her startled reply

"How you doin?" I asked in my best Joey imitation.

Her eyes flew wide open and her small hand went to her mouth as this soft startled laugh flew from her lips. She glanced up and down me once appreciating my physique and a languid smile crept into her features.

"So where do you get off?" She asked with a perfectly straight face.

I t was my turn to chuckle as she sat there eyes dancing. I looked around and realized that I had absolutely no idea where the bus was. This was a part of town I hadn't been to before.

"I'm hoping to get off whenever you do." I said grinning at her.

"Well I plan to get off about right now." She replied looking me right in the eye.