Rode the post-rush-hour train yesterday morning, 4/14, as I was getting our taxes all buttoned-up.
It being Wednesday, aka Matinee Day, the 9:30 a.m. express was pretty full. I grabbed an aisle seat in the first car, next to a sleeping 20-something guy, and thumbed my bookmark to where I left off in The Iliad. (Never read it in high school. Never read it in college. Not sure why I’m reading it now, but it’s good primer for CLASH OF THE TITANS-3D.)
I mention this, because I still can’t figure out how the 20-something could sleep, or how I was expected to read, with the loud and chatty couple across from us.
Forced to eavesdrop, my matinee started early, as I soon witnessed some drama in this middle-aged couple. Couldn’t avoid hearing it, that is. Gossip about “Sherry” and “Denise” and so on.
Her phone rings: “Sorry, just sign for it, and leave the package there, I’ll talk to you tomorrow…I’m heading into the city with my daughter.”
(I found this odd…maybe the daughter was sitting nearby?)
A few minutes later, his phone rings: “Sorry, no, no, um, can’t do it. I’m not there today — I’m at Overlook Hospital with my father today. Oh yes. Will do. Okay, bye.”
Off the phone, he tells her: “My voicemail is full. Can you call and clear it, or have Sherry stop sending calls to my line?”
I’m intrigued. They work together, but have obviously worked up separate cover stories.
Each one is texting, and phoning, and checking their Facebook status as we head to the big city.
They never spoke quietly, or stopped talking the whole time. I wonder if they’re heading to lunch and a show, or maybe a picnic in Central Park.
Everything might be on the level, but their conversation and body language sure set a different scene.
I was glad to leave them behind, their true story still a mystery, and head to work.
-jerseyjim