Slow Rail to Chicago

John walked down the street in the midday sun, his suitcase dragging behind him across the uneven footpath. The sound of the tiny wheels from his luggage skittered and echoed through the empty streets. The sun felt good on John's back and he remembered to take note to enjoy this warmth while he could. New Orleans in December still managed to imitate warmer seasons with no issues, his future destination however was sure to bring a cold change.

His current walking destination, the New Orleans Union Station stood not much further up ahead. His free hand reached into his messenger bag that hung from his left shoulder. He quickly found his boarding pass and itinerary, all ready for presenting once the time called.

As he approached the old building, he made his way through to the automatic double doors. The doors lead right into a large brown hall, with polished concrete floors. The open room was filled with rows of bolted down plastic seats taking up most of the available space. He scanned around and noticed various passengers waiting to begin boarding.

John noted that there was still a while until boarding was to commence. He saw a sign indicating the private waiting room for people staying in first class and sleeper carriages and made his way over. Showing his ticket to the man at the door, the attendant opened the door to let him through and pointed out the restroom and tea and coffee facilities.

John scanned the room for an empty spot to sit and noticed a row of empty chairs in one of the back corners. He made his way past some young families with children and older couples that seemed to make up the majority of people travelling by sleeper carriage.

He sat down in one of the chairs opposite a red headed woman, who was reading some kind of gossip magazine. Judging by the amount of luggage in front of her, she appeared to be travelling alone. She also appeared to be travelling light, just a single carry-on suit case. She looked up from the magazine and gave John a nice friendly smile as he took his seat, which he promptly returned.

Making sure not to stare too long, John's initial assessment of her was that she seemed to be an incredibly gorgeous being somewhere in her 40s. Her red hair was bright, but appeared to be hers.

John opened up his bag and pulled out the novel he was currently reading; a generic action novel where a man solves problems with his fists and all the women want to be with him.

John managed to get through a number of chapters before a voice came over the intercom calling priority boarding for Chicago. A destination he would reach at 7am the next morning. The first call was for those that were staying in sleeper carriages.

The families were the first to start moving, trying to be first in line to get on the train. John put his book away and got to his feet to join the queue that had formed in the main hall. He noticed the woman who had been sitting opposite him was now a of couple people behind him in line.

John handed his ticket to the inspector at the gate.

"Take the third carriage and then upstairs to your left. Yours is the second last sleeper roomette before the end. Enjoy your Trip!" the inspector said handing back the boarding pass.

"Thank you!" John Replied. He walked through the doors leading outside and onto the platform.

The large train stood in front of him on his right and he made his way to the third carriage.

John got to the entrance and lifted his bags up into the carriage before climbing up a few steps into the train. After walking past one roomette he took the stairs up to the upper level and made his way down the left side of the train past the other roomettes until he found his room.

His room equated to two seats facing each other and a door that would close off to the rest of the train. He noticed a little sign on the door bearing his name, indicating he had found the correct room. He loaded his bags into the tiny storage area before hopping in and closing the door behind him, leaving the blinds to the hallway open.

To his other side was a great big window that filled one whole side of the room. Looking out he could see passengers on the platform below walking past making their way to their seats further down the train.

Not long after he had gotten himself comfortable in his chair, he saw the woman again. She passed his room in the corridor and took up residence in the final room in the carriage. John smiled to himself as he got his book out and continued reading his book.

An announcement over the loud speaker came announcing their departure. John continued reading his book as the train started to move. Within an hour he was enjoying the view of lakes and swamps that passed by outside his window.

John finished his novel a few hours later. The sun out of the window was now starting to set. He took a few photos of the view on his phone and not long after another announcement came over the loud speaker system. It was time for dinner to be served in the dining cart. A few moments later the red headed woman from the room next door passed by his room again, walking towards the direction of the dining cart.

John could have sworn that she had momentarily looked back towards him and she walked by and given an almost imperceptible smile. He decided now would be a good time to use one of the communal bathrooms to go to the toilet and get cleaned up for dinner.

To get to the dining cart John had to pass through a carriage full of swiveling chairs that pointed out of the windows on either side. The windows on either side were wide open and reached up to the ceiling. The views from this carriage must be fantastic, looking out at the changing landscape. The next carriage was the dining cart.

Booth tables snaked along both sides of the train cart. Most of them seemed to be filled up with the families and couples he saw back at the train depot back in New Orleans. A female waiter dressed in white approached him and asked for his passenger details.

"Let's find you a table!" She said.

John followed her passing tables filled with people eating. Down the end of the carriage John noticed the red headed woman again; she was sitting alone a table facing away from them.

The Waitress approached her "Excuse me, Ma'am! You don't mind if this gentleman shares your table with you?"

The woman craned her neck to look back at who her dining partner would be.

"Oh, not at all!" she said.

She gave another nice warm smile.

"Please take a seat! I'll be right back with your menu."

"Oh, he can just use mine!" the red headed woman interjected.

John sat down in the booth seat opposite the woman and returned the friendly smile. She slid over the menu to him and john thanked her before he had a brief look through. Looking up he saw that she was eating the Chicken Masala. It looked pretty good but saw something else he wanted.

The waitress returned and asked if he knew what he wanted.

"Can I please get the Red Wine Braised Beef and a Stella Artois, please?"

"No worries, I'll be right back with your food" the waitress said

"Great choice" said the Redhead. John looked up and could now get a proper glimpse of the woman in front of him. Her red hair had a very light ginger tinge to it and made its way to her shoulders. Her eyes were a striking silver gray and face reminded John of being somewhere between Carrie Preston and Felicia Day. He could see a reserved maturity in her face with a side of youthful cheekiness.

"I'm Janet" The red head said extending her hand out across the table.

"John" He said as he shook her hand.

"First Overnight Amtrak?" she enquired

"It is actually" He responded "What about you?"

"I've taken this ride a few times I guess you could say." She gave a little bit of a sly grin after her comment.

"So what's in Chicago?" she pushed

"Home, actually. I took a little trip of the US and New Orleans was my final stop. I figured I would take the scenic route home."

Janet nodded as she listened

"What about you? Why is this trip something you have done a few times?"

"I live in Chicago, but I occasionally visit family in New Orleans. I like to take the Train back. It gives me time to just stop and just fall off the planet for a day. I tend to catch so many planes for work that everything is nonstop. This gives me a change to just disconnect." Janet answered

"I can see what you mean, I was able to just switch off and finish my book while I was in my room before dinner." John said

"Is there enough room for you in that tiny sleeper? I don't think I could survive a night in something that size." she asked

"Yeah, it is pretty cozy in there. Your room is bigger?"

"Oh yes, much bigger. There is plenty of space to stretch out in. Plus also I can't deal without my own shower or toilet."

John was surprised to hear about how roomy the larger sleeper room sounded.

"So what was the occasion for your trip? Were you travelling alone?" she added

"I just turned 25" John said "I figured I had never travelled by myself, let alone seen most of America so why not do both as a kind of birthday present to myself."

"You don't have anyone to travel with?" Janet asked

"Well I have friends I could have roped in to joining, but I feel this is more of an adventure."

"It can definitely be a better way of travelling" Janet added

After finishing the last bite of her meal she continued "It was nice to meet you John, thank you for keeping me company during dinner. I'll leave you to the rest of your meal."

She finished her drink, as she stood up from the booth seat she leant in and whispered in his ear.

"If you want to take a look at the difference in the rooms later just give a knock on my window later. I'll give you the grand tour. I'm in the last room, at the end of the corridor."

John said good-bye and watched her walk away down the carriage back towards the sleeper rooms. He noticed she had a slight sway to her hips as she walked and had trouble not noticing the brown leather boots she was wearing that made their way up to her knees. Above that he could see just a slight hint of white pale skin, until her skirt started a bit above the knee. She looked good, John thought to himself. In fact so far he thought she looked good from every angle he had seen of her.

By the time he finished his meal and paid for his drink, the sun had completely set and the passing landscape outside had been replaced by the occasional passing light.

John started making his way back in the direction of his sleeper room. He passed the carriage with the swivel chairs which were now empty and back into his carriage. He looked down the corridor towards his sleeper room and beyond that to Janet's. He felt nervous for a moment, but then that subsided.

He knocked gently on Janet's door, her blinds were shut but it looked like a light was on in the room. A few moments late the door to her room slid open and she stood in the door frame. She had gotten changed out of her dining clothes; she was no longer wearing her dress. But she still had her boots on. She was now in a black gown that tied at the waist and came down to half way up her thighs.

"Oh, I hope I'm not disturbing you." John said

"No! Of course not! Come in!" She responded

She stepped back into the room and created space for John to make his way into the clearly larger sleeper room. The room had a double bed made up against the right wall facing a giant window. Across from that was a little kitchenette sink and fridge as well as a swiveling chair under the window that faced the bed. There was a table mounted under the window between the bed and chair.

"So much more space than my room, I can see why you choose to travel this way!" John responded with some surprise at the improvements over his room.

"Oh you haven't even seen the best part! Look behind you, open that door" Janet said

John opened the door behind him that looked like it belonged to a giant capsule of some form. Inside was toilet with just enough room to sit and close the door. Above that the shower that would probably end up resulting in bumping elbows if you weren't too careful.

"Well I know what room to take if I go on another overnight Amtrak trip." John quipped

Janet laughed "It is just a little bit of luxury."

John noticed the glass of red wine in her hand as she took a sip.

"I'm not holding you up from anything am I? Interrupting your disconnect?" John asked curiously

"Oh, don't worry about that. Did you want a glass? I'd prefer not to have to finish the bottle myself."

"Sure!" John responded as he took a seat in the swivel couch opposite the bed.

Janet crouched down at compartment under the sink near the door and fetched another wine glass.

"You know one of my favorite parts of riding these trains at night, is sitting in the darkness of my sleeper with the lights turned off. Looking outside as the world goes by and basking in the moonlight. Of course, Wine always makes that better. You don't mind if I turn these main lights off? We will still have plenty of light to see."

John shook his head.

Janet turned the lights out and was suddenly silhouetted by the by the various instrument lights in the room.

Again she looked incredible even in low light he thought to himself.

She walked over to the window and sat down on the bed opposite john. She picked up the wine bottle that was resting on the table next to the window and poured out a glass before handing it to him.

"This is what it's all about." she said "Just switching off and unwinding. I can think of no better way to spend my downtime.

At my age it's also something you have to take when you can." She said as she looked across at Johns face half in darkness as if to try and workout his current thoughts.

She could discern what looked like half a cheeky grin on John's face. She tried to see what response she could rouse out of him by mentioning the subject of his age and so far it wasn't much.

"So, flatter an old gal." She started "How old would you say that I am? And I don't want to hear any of this "A Gentleman never asks" bullshit" she said with some laughter in her voice.

If the lights were on Janet would be able to see that this question had caused John to go a little red.

John paused a moment before responding.

"Well regardless of your age, you are a very attractive woman. Obviously, I'm not going to fill you with fake flattery by just low balling your age." he started

"Fill me with something" Janet thought to herself.

"Well, you are older than me...by a few years. You are older than 40, but honestly if you told me you were 40, I would believe you."

John could see Janet smiling at this response.

"I think, you are in your mid forties, but I'm not going to try and get more accurate than that." John finished

"I like you" Janet said "And not just because you know how to flatter a woman, you are also a cutie. I'm 49." she said

She raised her glass in front and waited for John to clink her glass with his before taking a sip.

"You do look very good." John assured her putting emphasis on the very

They both finished their glasses in comfortable silence looking toward each other in almost darkness taking in as much detail of each other as they could. It didn't take long for their eyes to adjust and they could see a lot more details of each other.

"Another Glass?" she asked him as she raised the bottle toward him.

After a positive response she leant over to fill his glass before filling hers. The turning and pivoting of her body as she poured the wine for both of them caused her gown to come loose slightly. He could see more of her pale skin reflecting in the moons light. For the first time he noticed what she was wearing underneath. A black bra strapped cut across the paleness of her skin almost like a censor bar, concealing what he now desired most.

His focus on her body continued downward, taking in what sliver of her stomach he was able to see. Janet fully aware of Johns focus with a glass of wine in her left hand took a sip and she peeled open her gown more with her right.

"Sometimes when I'm alone in my carriage, I like to sit in the chair you're in now. Turn it to face out the window and put my legs up against the window and lie back in my underwear." She said as if she was almost embarrassed by the confession.

"I can definitely understand the appeal" John remarked

"Sometimes when the train stops at a station in the middle of the night and I'm up near the window. I swear sometimes people can see me, but I know it's too dark.

I just love it so much!" Janet said with a tone of obvious glee in her voice.

"Bit of a reluctant exhibitionist?" John said

"Maybe this time I might just have a special spectator" Janet started "Unless you don't want to be left out."

John took a sip of his wine before putting it down on the table before standing out of his chair and taking off his shirt.

Janet could see the outline of his chest lit in the moon light and felt her body give a nod of approval. John turned to face out of the window into the darkness before extending a hand to Janet. She put her glass down and accepted John's hand, standing up off the bed. The Robe had now completely fallen open and John could see Janet's flat stomach and black matching underwear. The Paleness of the skin almost shone in the moonlight.

It was not ordinary lingerie she was wearing beneath her robe. John noticed she was wearing high end lingerie you pick out and spend some money on to make yourself not only look good but also feel good.

They definitely worked, John thought to himself about how she had no bad angles. Every form of her was a sight to behold.

Janet reached out for Johns hand beside her and grabbed hold of it before turning to face him and planting a kiss on his lips. It was only a short kiss after which she drew her face back to see if she could gauge his reaction. She could see his smile in the moonlight before he leant in, this time to kiss her.

The second kiss was much longer and deeper. John took his hands and placed them on her hips, pulling her even closer to him. She was a little bit shorter than him but he didn't have to lean over to compensate thanks to the long brown boots she was still wearing.

He pulled her robe off over her shoulders and she straightened her arms to allow for them to just fall to the floor. He stood back to take her all in, from top to bottom. How could he be so lucky?

He hated the term specimen, but what stood in front of him in only lingerie and boots silhouetted by the moon light against a moving backdrop was a sight he wanted to lock away forever. Something he could recall at any point in a moment. She placed her hands on his chest and slowly felt her way down to his waist. She quickly found his belt, unbuckled it and then popped open the buttons on his pants.

John kicked off his shoes and socks as she crouched herself down to lower his pants before throwing them on the building pile of clothes on the floor.

They once again embraced each other, kissing while sliding their hands all over each other. They explored new parts of their bodies. John started to kiss Janet's neck while spinning her to face out of the window. He continued leaving a trail of kisses down to her back stopping just before getting to her bra strap. Gently while using both hands, he undid the clip on her bra and kissed her neck from behind.

Janet let her bra fall to the floor as John kept kissing her from behind while placing his hand around her waist. Slowly he worked his hands up over her stomach. As he did this, Janet took a small sharp breath before exhaling.

She loved it, thinking about the build up to this moment and what moments lay ahead of her. John's hands continued up slowly with his pinky finger lingering slightly over her belly button. His fingers finally made it up to under her breasts. They had nicely filled her bra while it had been on, but once they came out they seemed to remain surprisingly full, barely showing her age. It made sense; her barely clothed body had looked fantastic. Her almost naked body did too.