Baggage

The unclicking and clicking of Maria Palmer’s pocket watch was starting to drive the train goers crazy, but no one had spoken a word to the young woman. Not a lot of people like talking to strangers on a slow Wednesday morning especially when most were rushing to work at the time. Maria, whose attire clashed with all the business suits, made the woman appear like she was on the wrong train at the wrong time. However, Ms. Palmer was exactly where she was supposed to be, and she was dreading it each time her green eyes landed on the watch.

The young woman placed the open pocket watch on her lap seeing the weight bunch up her rust red midi skirt. The silver looked good against the red, but again Maria was looking at the time. The hands showed that it was 6:45am, making a frown come across the peach complexion that barely showed a sign of her age. Maria knew she was going to arrive at her destination on time, but a part of her genuinely wanted to be late. She shut the watch again, leaning herself back against the cool surface of the glass window. The train carriage barely disturbed Ms. Palmer’s thoughts as it stopped to unload then received more passengers.

Maria listened to the announcer making a mental note of having three more stops before she was supposed to get off. Three more stops until she had to meet with her fiancé and start a whole new life. Ms. Palmer found herself pulling on her chestnut hair, trying to pull it off as if she were fixing her hat. Not likely anyone was worried about her; they had their own problems to deal with. She was the only one worried about her choices. To be with this man that loved her, who wanted her to move in with him, and completely forget about her past.

She quickly snatched up the pocket watch as it tried to move down her lap. The dirty floor of the train wasn’t a place for something so polished. Maria placed it back in her carry-on bag, brushing different textures of fabric that would surely protect the little trinket. She found her hand on the velvety front of her wallet as the train ran across the tracks smoothly. Ms. Palmer picked it up and looked through it checking to see if everything was there. Money for every occasion, photos of her family in matching colors, an old college ID with her hair curled and the reading glasses falling off her face, and a postcard from a past pen pal.

Maria gently took out the postcard not wanting to ruin the picture of the worn paper. She didn’t read what it said, already having it in her memory from studying the Spanish words for her college class. She was more focused on the image that decorated the paper. A cowboy on a horse staring out into a field of bluebonnets as ‘TEXAS! BEST WISHES!’ ran across the top. It made her feel lighter with a sprinkle of longing. Ms. Palmer had never been on her own or seen the world around her. College was paid for her by her parents and she lived under their roof until now. Which was the reason she jumped at the idea of moving in with her fiancé after he asked her to marry him.

The train sounded in pain as the metal wheels ran over the tracks for the next stop. Maria had to quickly move her bag as people filed in and out not even caring they stepped on her black flats that would surely showcase the markings. She sighed trying to keep herself small as business suits pressed against each side of her. It was barely a change to her. Her parents where always dressed like this and she could say the same thing about Earl. She could feel her nose turn up as she thought of him. Of course, she loved him, they were dating for four years ever since they met at her father’s holiday party.

Earl West was funny; he made her laugh from then on and her parents approved wholeheartedly. He was working with her father awhile back and he wanted his only girl well taking care of. Maria could agree that he did take care of her and apart of her felt free from the expectations. She was stabled, she was loved, she was unrestricted…so why did she feel so unhappy? Maria should be grateful that this man loved that she was an artist and wanted her to keep doing it. He talked to her like they were equals in every way, but she felt sick to her stomach thinking about this being the day she would move in with him.

Ms. Palmer’s eyes fell back to the postcard hoping that feeling of peace could come back to her. And surprisingly, it came back to her like a lingering smell in the air. She closed her eyes feeling the hot sun on her face and smiled thinking about a place that she wanted to be at. Maria had grown up in Salt Lake City where the weather was dry like Texas, but quite icy in the winter. The area influenced her greatly especially the festivals, but what if she lived somewhere else? Somewhere with average weather, where there was a challenge for her to face, where she could feel happy.

The announcer pulled her out of her thoughts as he said the next stop as the passengers pushed their way out. Reno. The place where Earl would be waiting for her. Maria felt sick in her stomach again. She placed the postcard back into her wallet, making sure it was buried deep into the sea of cloths as her hand hit the surface of the watch. She pulled it out, beginning to start the rhythm of opening and closing it again. The watch was a parting gift from her mother that belong to her grandfather. Maria never met him, but the pictures of him looking so stern with his only daughter made her understand him completely.

Ms. Palmer stopped opening the watch after seeing it read 8:04am which meant she had twenty-six minutes to think. She looked around at all the posters on the train seeing all the cheerful smiles of people she would never meet. The map of the train route was on there too, showing all the states it went through and the small stops along the way. Maria wondered how long it took this train to make it all the way from point A to B. Probably a lot longer than from Utah to Nevada. She had slept most of the journey, but it still felt like she hadn’t made much of an effort on leaving the past behind her.

Maria had to get married, she had to move so she was closer to Earl, and she had to leave her parents’ house to do it. So, why did it feel like she wasn’t moving forward? The train wiggled and jerked a lot more now as the wheels squeaked passing the old tracks. It felt like a roller coaster making the knots in her belly tighten as the ticking of the watch became clearer. Ms. Palmer knew she was moving, but was it the right direction?

“Reno Train.” The announcer said just as the train started slowing down to stop at the station.

Maria froze. How did time go by that fast? Wasn’t this supposed to be the busiest day to get on the train? Travelers started going out as Maria looked out the window on the other side of her seat. She could see him. Earl West in a clean-cut business suit and a smile that looked quite eager to greet her. Maria swallowed starting to get up, but the silver pocket watch slipped from her hand. It rolled down to the floor going away from the door, away from where she needed to go. Maria paused. Leave it behind and make it to the door, so her fiancé wasn’t waiting any longer or get it and miss her stop? In those few seconds, Maria could see the smile of Earl’s face look disheartened as he watched person after person leave the train. Maria had ducked down to get the watch hearing the doors close behind her.

She couldn’t look at his face as she held onto the watch as the light reflected off its smooth surface. Maria Palmer did love him, she did, however she couldn’t stay in the same pattern. She needed change. And lucky for her this train could lead her to multiple paths until she found the right one.