Please, mind the gap

A red curly strand of hair interrupted Christine´s line of vision. She blew a breath of air upwards to remove it, trying to shuffle as little as possible, not wanting to make physical contact with anyone or anything in this crowded space. The air smelt of bodily odor and a hint of pee. She could feel drops of sweat starting to pool in the nape of her neck. That´s what you get for sleeping in for too long and ending up taking the busiest train of the morning. She cursed at herself internally, swearing that it would not happen again. The robotic voice announced the station they were approaching, she could feel the train halting to a stop. She groaned, trying to muster up all the strength that she could to not bump into the next stranger. Her brain danced a little victory dance as she accomplished what she had wanted. 

While her mind was elsewhere the train started moving forward again, she couldn´t help but almost fall into the lap of the young woman sitting down beside her. Christine scolded herself. She profusely apologized to the woman. She just smiled at Christine, telling her it was no problem at all, and said ´ít happens to the best of us´´. The young woman gave a little smirk and kept scrolling on her phone. Something about her perked Christine´s curiosity. Everyone she knew, and the ones she didn´t know, at the same age, would have just given a grunt and ignored the whole thing. Christine admired the young woman´s blonde hair. Long enough to not make her look old, yet short enough to not make her look like twelve-year old. Christine kept studying her. She had gold statement-earrings, bigger than the ordinary sized ones you find at Claire’s, but not so big that they got in the way. A smaller, daintier hoop adorned her second lobe, and her third lobe decorated with a small, gold stud. At that exact moment the young woman put her hair behind her ear, revealing a small hoop in her cartilage as well. Her head turned upwards, and her eyes met Christine’s with such intensity that Christine couldn´t help but redden. Christine didn´t dare look at the young woman for the rest of the ride.

The monotone voice announced Christine´s stop over the intercom. She signaled for the people in front of her that this was her stop, without even uttering a word. They took their cue and did their best to shuffle out of the way to let her out. In the corner of her eye, she could tell that the blonde woman was also getting off. It didn´t look like she was used to this kind of public transport, the people around her not understanding she was about to get off. A beeping sound came from the doors, signaling they were about to close and continue on its way. Before Christine could think another thought, she said ´´Excuse me! ´´, a little louder than intended, and reached out a hand to help the blonde. A warm, feminine hand reached into Christine´s. In a natural manner, without an extra thought, Christine´s hand enclosed the other woman´s. Their hands letting go of each other a bit too soon for Christine´s liking.

A small ´´Thank you´´ sounded from the pink lips of the young, blonde woman. Her hand extended. It took Christine a second to comprehend what was going on, before her hand reached out as well. A light shake was given as the woman introduced herself as Luna. Although the shake was graceful, her grip was solid. Something told Christine that Luna had shaken a lot of hands. Maybe she was one of those important people, knowing a lot of celebrities, and people with power. Christine´s thoughts drifted off once again. Luna´s asking gaze was what snapped her back to reality. ´´Sorry, what´d you say? ´´Christine asked in a confused voice. Luna gave a small chuckle ´´I asked; and you? ´´ she said, repeating her question. Christine scratched the back of her head as she said her name, feeling dumb for not hearing what Luna said. A strand of blond hair loosened from behind Luna´s ear. Christine reached out to tuck it back. Their eyes met once again. The same intensity, the air buzzing around them. Luna thanked her, and re-did it. Christine noticed the ring on her finger. ´´You´re married´´ Christine blurted out. The red color immediately flushing to her cheeks, her eyes widening in horror, and shock that she actually said that. ´´Widowed actually´´ Luna answered short. There was no sadness in her voice. Christine took it as a sign that Luna had mourned her spouse. Without uttering another word, Luna bid her farewell. ´´See you around, Christine´´ she said, with a smile playing around her lips. Christine stood there, completely confused and thrilled at the events that had happened in the last thirty minutes or so. Both of them had smiles that refused to leave their faces for the rest of the day.

At the end of the day, Christine was on her way home. The 5 o´clock train rolled onto the platform. Christine searched the crowd, hoping every blonde was Luna. Christine gave up and put on her headphones to shut out the unbearable screams of the child that hadn´t gotten the candy it wanted. Christine couldn´t help but to feel somewhat disappointed that Luna wasn´t on the train. Although, Christine didn´t even know what the woman did for a living, therefore neither her work schedule. What Christine didn´t know, was that a pair of grey eyes, similar to the color of the moon, was studying her from a distance. Right then and there, Christine decided that tomorrow she wouldn´t be late for her train. She was going to get up early, maybe actually make an effort as to what she looked like, for a change. Maybe there was a certain blonde she wanted to impress. She cringed at herself. They had just met, barely! Christine mentally facepalmed at herself being so needy for attention, that she got infatuated with anyone who shook her hand.

Her train of thought didn´t get very far, before someone lightly tapped her shoulder. She assumed it was someone who was going to ask her to remove her purse from the seat next to her (yes, she was that asshole). Slowly looking up, a pair of grey eyes met her own. They stared at each other. Neither of them said anything while Christine removed her purse and put in her own lap. The grey eyes leveled with hers. Christine didn´t dare to open her mouth, afraid she would say something that would blow the whole thing. Instead, she decided the right thing was to start looking for another song to put on. While she was scrolling, she could feel a warm hand remove one of her earplugs, the buzz of the train getting instantly more adamant. She decided to continue keeping her mouth shut. She suddenly felt a light pressure on her shoulder, and hairs tickling her jaw. Christine´s heart stopped, and she held her breath, afraid if she let it out, the warmth she felt would leave her too, and disappear like a stranger in a crowd. 

Christine sat still in her spot, way past her stop. None of them moved. The same voice as before announced the train were approaching the station where the train would terminate. As one of the few people left on the train, there were no hassle getting off the train this time. The two women stepped out on the platform. Looked at each other. In the distance you could hear a voice say what seemed to be a fitting comment. Christine felt the distance between them, and immediately wanted to close it. 

´´Please, mind the gap´´.