A Strange Wedding Guest

I’m so excited. I just left my fiancé after a wonderful weekend visit. He dropped me off at the train station to catch the next train home where I have been working and saving money for our wedding for the last 8 months. Now, there is only one more month to the wedding. I am so excited, I can hardly contain myself, yet hunger has caught my attention this bright, sunny morning. This lovely train station has been remodeled to resemble the original train station from the 1800s. Now though, there are several places to eat. I set my suitcase down next to a booth seat and walked a few feet to the counter and ordered a salad. When I come back to the booth, someone had slid my suitcase next to the booth behind the one where I had decided to sit. I picked up my suitcase and sat it on the seat next to me in the booth where I wanted to sit. Then two women appeared.

The dark-skinned one asked me if that was my suitcase and I said yes. And turned away. Then she and another lighter-skinned woman sat down across from me in the booth. I looked down at my food and tried to ignore them.

“Well, we’re we going today?” the dark one asked.

“Home.” I was not going to give them any details. Then she said, “Is that an engagement ring on your finger?”

“Yes, I said.”

“Nice, when’s the wedding?”

“Next month.”

“Will it be a big wedding, with lots of dancing and all?”

“Yes.”

I started to feel comfortable and began giving them the details of the wedding.

“I’ll have six bridesmaids and a maid of honor who will wear a yellow dress. The bridesmaids are wearing green dresses starting with an avocado green and ending with a lime green, that will be next to the yellow dress. I think it will be really pretty.” I smile, imagining the ribbon of green turning to a lighter green then lime, then yellow.

The lighter one said, "Yes, that’s lovely, I can just picture it. Is it going to cost a lot of money?”

My mom is helping out with the costs.

The darker one said, “Your mom has lots of money, right?”

They were leaning across the booth table and getting closer to me. I was becoming uneasy with these strangers invading my personal space. I excused myself and said I have to go to the bathroom. They looked at me and said, “We do, too.”

Now this was becoming uncomfortable. I quickly walked to the ladies’ room and shoved my suitcase to the back of the stall and just stood there, looking out of the slit between the door and the bathroom stall wall. The two of them had followed me into the bathroom and were combing their hair looking in the mirror where they could see if my stall door would open. Then, another girl came to the bathroom. She had long blond hair.

The light one said,” Oh, you have such pretty hair but there is a knot or something in the back. Here let me help you. Put your purse up here on the counter. Now let’s get that know out of this pretty hair.”

The light one turned the girl so her back was to the mirror and started brushing the girl’s long silky blonde hair. In a flash, then the dark one opened the girl’s purse and grabbed her wallet and then they both ran out of the bathroom. The girl started screaming. She ran out of the bathroom. I then decided it was safe for me to leave the stall. I walked out to find the girl surrounded by a group of people, a security guard and the station manager. She turned and looked at me, then she said, “You know them I saw you talking and eating with them.”

I was mortified. I looked as confused as she did.

“No, no, no. I, they were trying to steal my suitcase and I went to hide in the bathroom.” I sounded like a 13-year-old, not a 22-year-old college graduate, about to become someone’s wife.

“I saw her they were talking.” The blonde insisted and sobbed heavily. “I have no money no ID, no nothing. What am I doing to do?”

The security guard got closer to me and looked at me like he was about to arrest me. “Who were those ladies?” he demanded to know.

“I don’t know. I was, trying to eat and they just barged in and sat down in the booth with me. I have no idea who they were. They tried to steal my suitcase. I was trying to get away from them.”

The guard turned toward the girl and said, “It looks like you were a mark for two slicksters. I need to make a report. What time does your train leave?”

“In 15 minutes! All I have is my ticket and some makeup.” She started crying uncontrollably.

He turned and looked me directly in the eyes and said, “You, you can’t leave yet. I have to check something.” He walked away towards the station manager’s office.

The station manager kept looking at me as if I had done something wrong. He was trying to comfort the blonde at the same time. Other people were pointing at me and nodding. I was getting nervous. I hadn’t done anything except protect myself. I guess I could have yelled watch out to the blonde, but then I didn’t do or say anything.

After about five minutes, the security guard returned.

“I saw them moving your suitcase on the surveillance tape. You are free to go.”

I had escaped going to jail for something I had nothing to do with, or did I. Why didn’t I yell out when the girl walked into the bathroom. They would have done to me what they did to her. I just was smart enough to hide in the stall. I wanted to do something. I thought about what I could do to make the blonde feel better. I felt responsible for what happened even though I had nothing to do with it.

“Hey, I’m really sorry you had to lose your wallet. Are you going to Cleveland?” I asked her.

“No, I’m going to Youngstown.” She uttered between sobs.

“If you will be in Cleveland in March, I am getting married then, and you could come to my wedding.”

“What?”

I sounded even dumber than she was to let some stranger brush her hair. The shock of the events were making me stupid. I wondered if or how I could get out of this ridiculous scenario.

“Excuse me, I have to use the restroom.”

As I walked towards the door, two ladies started to follow me.