Bus Stop Friend

Bus Stop Friend

It had started to rain. Vera was freezing and cursing to herself as she waited for the bus. She moved her heavy boots up and down trying to keep her feet warm. Suddenly, her umbrella blew inside out, swinging her around and knocking her against the person standing behind her.

 “I’m sorry” she said, trying to wrestle with the broken umbrella. The woman glared at her. It wasn’t the weather to be sociable. Then, to her surprise, the woman said,

“Can you manage?”  

Vera was doing a bit of a jig to bring the umbrella under control.

“I’m frozen stiff” the other woman said.  “My legs won’t get me on the bus when it does come along”.  

Vera laughed. “What a nice woman,” she though. “Different from the grumpy individuals usually at this bus stop.”

“Have you far to go?” Vera asked.

“Forest Park” the other woman replied, “It’s not far. I could walk, but not in this weather.”

 “I don’t blame you; it’s getting dark too. I get more nervous as I get older.”

“Me too. How far are you going”?

 “Up to the big Church” Vera said. “I didn’t see the time slipping away while I was shopping.”

The two women looked up the road. There was still no sign of a bus. 

Vera turned back to the other woman.  “Would you believe I’ve been standing here nearly thirty minutes. It’s a dreadful service”. She had detected a slight lilt in the woman’s accent. “That’s not a London accent. If I’m not mistaken, I hear a slight Irish lilt”. 

The woman smiled. “Yes, I’m from Clare, but spent most of my life here in the big smoke”. 

Vera smiled. “I’m from Ireland too, Dublin. My parents emigrated when we were all very young.” They were soon talking like old friends. Vera had forgotten how cold it was.  By nature, she was outgoing. She’d talk to her shadow, but since her husband died a few years ago, Vera hadn’t bothered making small talk with strangers. Today she was surprised at herself. It felt so comfortable talking to this woman. If a man hadn’t joined the queue and put his hand out, they could have missed the bus.

When they got on the bus, the women sat together on the long seat. The conductor was in front of them immediately. Vera took her fare out, but the other woman was scrambling in her bag to find her purse.

“I don’t believe this” she said. “I know I left it on top to have it ready when I got on the bus!” she said.

“I don’t have all day Madam” the conductor said and was about to move away. 

“I’ll get yours” Vera said, as she handed the money to the conductor. He rolled off another ticket, then walked further down the bus.  The other woman was still rummaging through her bag.

“Look, there’s probably a logical explanation. What was the last shop you were in?”

“I definitely left it on top of my bag. I know I did. You know the man who was at the bus stop. Did he get on the bus?”

Vera thought for a moment. “Now that you mention it, I don’t think he did. He must have put his hand out to stop the bus though”.

The other woman introduced herself. “I’m Alice by the way. I’ll give you my address and phone number”. Now her hand was in the bag again, looking for something to write on.

“Look, if it’s the fare you’re worried about, forget it. Maybe you should report it to the police when you get home.”

Vera put her hand on Alice’s before she got off the bus. “There’s some nasty people around, but mostly nice ones too, like you. I hope we meet again”. 

Alice tried to smile.

“I always go to Marks & Spencer’s for lunch on Saturdays, about 12.30. I hope I meet you again.” Alice scribbled her phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Vera.  The bus jerked to a stop, forcing Vera to grab a pole to steady herself. They both made faces. 

“The rain has stopped thank God.  Safe home” Vera said before stepping off the platform onto the path. Alice turned to wave as Vera disappeared down the road.

The following weekend, Vera went into town again. When she had finished shopping, she thought she would stop for a coffee before heading home. She looked around the café. There was no sign of Alice.

A few nights later, Margaret was on her way home from work and decided to buy fish and chips to share with her sister.  She had been hearing about the woman that Vera had met at the bus stop. It was going to be a blustery evening, but she could spend a few hours with her sister before it got worse. 

Vera hadn’t heard from her bus stop friend since.

“You could ring her to see how she got on with the police” Margaret suggested.

Margaret was delighted that her sister was coming out of her shell, at least that’s what she hoped. Of all the family, Vera was the liveliest and the funniest when she was in top gear. Margaret missed that. She could always rely on Vera to see the good in people, or the funny side of things. There were many times over the years, when Vera had dragged her out of a dark place. Life had been a struggle for Margaret until her relationship finally ended. She had put up with so much humiliations over the years, and never told a soul. Of all the family, Vera had been the one to keep her afloat. She wanted so much to see her back to her old self.

Sitting in the cafe the following Saturday, Vera saw Alice across the room. She picked up her tray and moved over to the empty chair beside her.

 “You’re not waiting for someone, are you?” Vera asked”.

 “I was hoping to see you” Alice smiled. Before long they were talking like they had known each other for years. 

“You were so kind to me on the bus Vera. It meant such a lot”. 

“It was nothing. Did you ring the police about what happened?” 

“Yes. They took my details and I thought no more of it. I had to stop my credit cards of course, which was a nuisance”. 

Vera nodded her head. 

“You know, I shouldn’t have been waiting for that bus. I drove my husband’s car into town. I’m not that good at parking. Well, when I came out the flaming car had been clamped. I didn’t know what to do”.

“Oh, what bad luck”

“Well, there’s a big fine to get the car un-clamped. I got myself a bit worked up. I ‘phoned my husband to tell him what had happened, and there was no reply. So, I left the car there, to get the bus home”.

“And that’s how we met!”

“Yes, lucky for me”.

“You know, the purse was found? The police brought it around to me. They said they were on the lookout for some scally that targets people at bus stops. It seems the same fella had been seen loitering in the Shopping Centre as well. They have to catch him in the act apparently”.

“Well, that something, isn’t it?”

“The money was gone, of course” Alice said. You get over that. It wasn’t a lot. I don’t tend to carry much cash on me these days.”

 “Just as well Alice. Did you get the car sorted?”

“Yes, I left all that up to Don, my husband. He’s a patient sort, thankfully. I won’t be asking to drive the car any time soon though” she said with a smile.

Vera was relieved for Alice but was glad it wasn’t her purse that was stolen on that day.  She had taken out money to buy a new suite of furniture. If her purse had been stolen, it would have been ‘goodbye’ to the money and the furniture. That was a lesson to learn, even at her age.

It became an ongoing friendship between Vera and Alice. Her sister Margaret often asked, “how is your bus stop friend?”

“You know Mags, since Tom died, and with the two girls living away from home, I’ve got myself into a bit of a rut really.”

Her sister smiled. “It takes time love” Margaret said.

Vera missed her daughters.  They came home when they could. She wouldn’t put any pressure on them to visit. They were young with busy lives. Margaret called a few times a week and sometimes included Vera in her own activities.  Her encouragement to try something new had fallen on deaf ears for a long while. Margaret hoped her sister’s new friend would give her confidence to spread her wings. Before long, through her bus stop friend, Vera met a valuable circle of friends. They went to see musicals up town from time to time. During that summer, she joined a walking group and heard some fascinating history of places around her. She enjoyed it so much, she asked Margaret to join up too.  

It took meeting her ‘bus stop friend’ for Vera to realise that life doesn’t stand still for anyone. She had often heard people talking about ‘the universe looking out for you’ if you’re receptive, and though it a load of baloney. “Maybe there is something in it after all” she thought. It was pure chance that she got talking to the woman at the bus stop. If her umbrella hadn’t blown inside out, Vera would have just stood there, fuming and freezing, until the bus finally came along. She would have arrived home feeling resentful and unhappy, and spent the evening talking in her head about her sad and awful her life was since her husband passed away. Vera smiled to herself. “Someone must be looking after me Up There” she though.  

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