by Joseph A. Defetti

Created on: September 07, 2008   Last Updated: October 24, 2008

Rail Lines

This is how they met:

Hauling two suitcases and a portable electric typewriter, Pete Melfore hurried to catch the Elmwood Avenue bus early one Saturday morning in December after finishing his first semester at college. He planned to call a taxi to get him to the train station until a senior from Albany said that it would be a waste of money. He told Pete that for just 85 cents he could hop a city bus downtown and then grab a cab in front of the Statler Hotel. From there it would only be another $2.35 to the Central Rail Terminal instead of paying eight or nine bucks taking a taxi from the dorms.

"Even if you're going to the airport," he said, "the cab fare is a lot cheaper from the Statler."

The bus reached the corner, stopping for a female student also carrying luggage. The driver stepped down to assist her, and the delay enabled Pete to catch up. As she turned around, Pete felt a sudden pang tear into him, an uncontrolled burst of both dread and delight. He was excited because he recognized her instantly, yet paralyzed by knowing fear that might be incapable of saying anything.

She was the tall, golden-haired girl who was always late for psychology class. Two days a week, while a horde of indifferent students listened to a bearded assistant professor batter Freud, the front doors of the mass lecture hall would swing open and then crash behind her as she stepped inside. All eyes would be watching, the instructor pausing while she strolled up the steps of an aisle in search of an empty seat. Four-hundred-and-sixteen kids in that class, and all were anonymous except for her.

Pete was taken in by both her beauty and the nonchalant, almost defiant way she disrupted every class. He would arrive early and try to anticipate where she would sit, sliding his notebook over to save a seat if he could, but she never sat anywhere near him. After class she would disappear into the mass of fellow students or stay late to talk with the professor. Meanwhile, Pete would dash off to his next class on the other side of campus, often to skim over the assigned pages he failed to read the night before.

Once he overslept and was a few minutes late for class. As he approached the lecture hall doors it struck him that this might be his best opportunity to meet her. He waited outside, and several minutes later she arrived. Pete's heart jumped with anticipation, but what could he say? What pretense could he have for delaying her? She walked right past Pete without looking at

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>