Strangers in Passing

“I need to find a different fucking place to live,” Jack thought angrily to himself as he pushed through the busy crowd on the sidewalk, making his way to the bus stop and not caring about the annoyed looks he got from the people he worked his way past. “My roommates are assholes.”

One would think that moving from small-town North Carolina to San Francisco would have been enough of a shock to the system. But that transition was nothing for Jack, compared to learning to deal with his three roommates. It had been Carlo the night before who had kept Jack awake until four in the morning with his music and partying, causing Jack to oversleep, but it just as easily could have been one of his other two roommates. Since moving into his shared space three months earlier, Jack had learned that his roommates cared very little about the needs of their cohabitants.

Finally arriving at the bus stop, Jack found a space against the brick wall to wait. He knew the busses only ran every twenty minutes, which meant he would be fifteen minutes late for work today. Just to add to his bother, the woman to his right was smoking a cigarette, and paid no mind when he started coughing. Of course, she seemed lost in the music that was streaming through her iPod, but still…

“Excuse me,” a voice coming from his left startled Jack, and he looked up quickly to see a man in his fifties, obviously homeless, looking at him. “Do you think you could spare a quarter?” the man asked Jack, not meeting his eyes.

“No,” Jack replied determinedly. He’d lived in this city long enough to be annoyed with the constant influx of panhandlers. “I couldn’t spare a quarter.”

“Oh, okay,” the older man replied, seeming neither upset nor deterred. Jack watched as the man’s eyes moved over to the woman standing beside him, smoking a cigarette. “Excuse me, miss,” the man tried to get her attention, despite the fact that she seemed lost in the music she was listening to. As soon as she saw him motioning, though, she took her earphones out.

“Yes?” the woman replied, looking at the homeless man in front of her with openness.

“I don’t mean to bother you,” the man told her immediately. “But I was wondering if I could get a cigarette from you?”

“Sure. And you’re not bothering me,” the woman replied with a smile, and Jack – watching from the corner of his eyes – noticed that the smile she gave the man was genuine. After rummaging through her bag, she produced a cigarette. “Here you are,” she said with a grin. “Do you need a light, too?”

“Please,” the homeless man said, obviously taken by the woman’s demeanor. “Hey, do watch TV?’ he asked after he lit his cigarette and handed back the lighter.

“Some. Do you?”

“Sure,” the man took a deep drag from his cigarette. “Do you like ER?”

“Not so much.”

“CSI?”

“Yes,” the woman replied with another open smile. “I love any crime dramas. Do you like detective-style shows?”

“Yeah,” the man replied, obviously overjoyed that she was continuing the conversation with him. “You know, though, I think it’s because of my line of work. I’m a CIA agent, you see.”

“That must be a really interesting job,” the woman replied, her expression not changing at all. “Is that why you like crime shows?”

“Yes,” the man gave her a proud smile. “You know, they want me on TV, but I told them I’m too busy out here.”

“I’m sure,” the woman gave him a solemn nod. “It must be hard work to be a CIA agent.”

“It is,” the man replied. “But, you know, you could be on TV. No, really. Look how pretty you are. Do you know karate? Because if you do, I think I could introduce you to some directors in Hollywood…”

“That’s so nice of you,” the woman reached out and touched the man’s arm. “But, you know what? I think I’m too shy to be on television. But I do appreciate the offer. Oh, here’s my bus.”

Looking over his shoulder, the man pouted as he watched a bus approach. “Oh, of course,” he looked back at the woman, clearly cheered by her friendly smile. “Well, I hope we meet again.”

“I’m sure we will,” the woman’s voice was kind and soothing. “And even if we don’t, I’ll feel much better now knowing I have a CIA agent like you working on my side.”

Standing a little taller, the man walked to the bus with her. “:Yeah,” he replied. “You’re safe. I can promise that. I’ll make sure you’re always safe, because you’re so nice.”

“And you’re nice, too,” the woman gave him a big smile. “But I do have to run now. Not all of us get to be CIA agents and TV stars. Some of us have lowly secretary jobs. But I’ll be thinking about you.” With that, the woman winked and stepped onto the bus, waving at the man who was grinning happily and waving back.

Stepping up behind the woman, Jack wasn’t so sure what to think. Since he had moved to San Francisco, he had learned to hate the number of people begging on the streets. But he had also learned that there were two types of beggars – the lazy and the lost. The man he had so quickly shook off just then was obviously of the latter type, and he was impressed with how kindly this woman had dealt with him.

Jack was glad when he saw that the seat beside this woman was empty, and quickly filled it. While she wasn’t striking, she was definitely attractive. He liked that she had already put her headphones back on, once again oblivious to the outside world. He also liked that she looked so casual – little makeup, a simple outfit of jeans and a sweater, her hair pulled back in a wet ponytail as if she had stepped out of the shower just minutes before heading to the bus stop.

His admiration, however, seemed to be one-way. While he covertly glanced over at her, the woman seemed to be staring happily out the window, watching the passing buildings. For a moment, he was jealous. He wished he could be as easy-going and laid-back as the woman beside him Back in North Carolina, he had always assumed he was. But since he had arrived in California, Jack felt like he was slowly becoming a different person…

“This is my stop,” the woman took Jack by surprise, and he felt himself blushing. Moving his legs towards the isle, he let her pass. As she stepped off the bus, he couldn’t help but admire her figure.

“Whatever,” Jack suddenly thought to himself. “She’s just another woman you’ll never see again. No reason to dwell.”

Still, as the day progressed – Jack busy in his lowly newspaper job after being reamed out for being late, doing tasks that he had done as an intern in college – he found himself thinking about the woman he had seen earlier that morning.

“She just was so… confident,” Jack finally decided. She didn’t care what other people thought of her, nor of the man she had chosen to speak to. And she also didn’t need to look down on that man; she let him go forth in his delusions, knowing that saying anything contrary would do no good. Jack was sure that homeless man had spent the rest of the day thinking of the pretty brunette that had been so kind to him that morning.

“Just like I have,” Jack thought humorously to himself.

------

“Terry!”

“Nadine! Hi!” Theresa usually hated being called Terry, but she never minded it when her boss’s wife, Nadine, called her by that nickname. Something about Nadine always seemed so blissful, even the names she called others by. “Hold on one sec, Nadine. I just have to conference in to Derek and tell him to knock it off with the receptionist, because his wife is here.”

“Very funny,” Nadine smiled as she approached Theresa’s desk. “I would never worry about a prissy twenty-year-old with Derek. I’d be more concerned about his gorgeous personal assistant – IF I were that kind of wife.”

“Which you’re not,” Theresa reminded Nadine with a grin. “Which is why, after twenty years, Derek still only has eyes for you.”

As she did every time she came to her husband’s office, Nadine wondered how Theresa was still single. The beautiful, intelligent, witty young woman had been Derek’s assistant for four years now, and Nadine knew that if she ever decided to switch sides, Theresa would be the first woman she would approach.

Of course, Nadine was hopelessly in love with Derek, even at forty-five years old. And she knew that Theresa had only been a blessed addition to her marriage since she had started working with Derek – forcing him to go home early on anniversaries, blocking his schedule when their kids had sporting events or school plays, even ordering plane tickets for family vacations without his prior permission. Sometimes, Nadine wondered how she and Derek survived the first sixteen years of their marriage without Theresa.

“So,” Nadine took a seat on the edge of Theresa’s desk and smirked. “The last time I was here, you were about to go on a date with some handsome lawyer friend of Derek’s. And I hear he was quite smitten with you, from what my husband tells me…”

Rolling her eyes, Theresa waved her hand dismissively. “You know me better than that, Nade,” she told the woman across from her. “I am so not for the hundred-dollar-dinner, sitting and listening to business talk, totally unaware of the outside world type. Arthur just wasn’t me.”

“:Arthur?” Nadine’s eyes opened wide. “My husband set you up with a man named ARTHUR? What was he thinking?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Theresa smirked, resting her elbows on the desk and folding her hands under her chin. “Probably the same thing YOU were thinking when you set me up with a man named MOON.”

“He’s an artist,” Nadine’s eyebrows shot up. “He’s brilliant, and creative, and-”

“And he’s the most boring, egotistical, self-centered person I ever met,” Theresa grinned. “Of course, that was only true until I met Arthur. That man managed to beat all of the Guiness World Book records for assholes.”

Bursting out in laughter, Nadine brought her hand to her chest. “My God, Terry,” she shook her head. “I don’t know what to do with you sometimes…”

“That’s my charm,” Theresa grinned back, looking over to see that Derek was emerging from his office. “:But now is not the time to talk about my MANY great qualities. Your husband, here, has made reservations at your favorite restaurant, to celebrate your promotion.”

“Assistant Dean,” Derek chimed in, wrapping his arms around Nadine’s waist and pulling her to him. “I am so proud.”

“Thank you,” Nadine replied as she looked up into her husband’s eyes. “It really is exciting.”

“And don’t worry, Derek,” Theresa added with a huge smile. “I moved all your appointments. You have the next couple hours to celebrate the greatness that is Nadine. Enjoy yourselves.”

“We will,” Nadine smiled back at Theresa as she began to lead Derek out of the office.

“Yes, we will,” Derek confirmed. “Oh, hold on,” he told his wife, hurrying back to Theresa’s desk. “And Nadine’s favorite restaurant is…?” he looked pathetically at his assistant for help as he whispered.

“Sliding Door, on the Embarcadero,” Theresa whispered back.

Winking at Theresa, Derek turned back towards his wife. “Come on, honey,” he slid his arm around Nadine’s waist as he approached her. “We’re going out to celebrate your promotion at the Sliding Door.”

“Thank you darling,” Nadine replied to Derek with a grin. Looking over his shoulder, she smiled at Theresa. “Thank you,” she mouthed, not making a sound, and Theresa giggled to herself.

-----

“Home sweet home,” Theresa thought wryly to herself as she tossed her keys on her coffee table. While she loved living in San Francisco, the cost of living sometimes seemed outrageous – particularly when she thought about how much she was paying for the tiny apartment she was living in.

Walking into the kitchen, Theresa grabbed a beer from the fridge and brought it into the living room. Sinking down on the couch she took a big sip. Sighing, she looked around once more. Despite herself, she had to smile with how well she had done with such a small space. Everything in her apartment was cozy and homey – the paintings on the wallS from artist friends, framed pictures lining the bookshelves, books she loved tucked into every nook and cranny. Still….

“I’m lonely,” Theresa admitted to herself as she reached into her purse to pull out her cigarettes. Quitting smoking was going to be her New Year’s resolution, but it was only September now, so…

Reaching over after she lit her cigarette, Theresa hit the blinking light on her answering machine. From the digital display, she could tell she had three messages.

Four-twenty-six-pm: “Honey, it’s Mom. I thought you’d be home from work by now. Oh, wait… There’s a time difference, right? So it’s, what, seven-thirty? Well, I can’t see why you wouldn’t be home then…”

Sighing, Theresa wondered if her mother would EVER comprehend the time difference between New York and San Francisco. New York was three hours EARLIER, not later…

Six-oh-five-pm: “Hi Theresa. It’s Arthur. I just wanted to call again to say what a great time I had last week. I have a big case coming up – it means a lot of moolah for the old Arthurino, not to brag – but I thought maybe I could take you out. You know, to celebrate. Call me.”

Never, Theresa said to herself.

Six-fifteen-pm: “Hey, Ter-ter. It’s Gio. Sal and I are going out with some people on Friday, and we want you to come with. Sal has this yummy friend who he thinks would be perfect for you. So call me. Love ya!”

Laughing to herself, Theresa shook her head. Half the men Giovanni and Sal tried to set her up with were more interested in them than her. But she did appreciate how they always tried to include her in their outings.

Leaning back into the couch, Theresa took one last deep drag of her cigarette before putting it out in the ashtray on the end table. The truth was, normally Theresa was very content in her life. She loved her job – Derek was a great boss, she got paid well, and she was allowed to work her part-time school schedule into her work-week. She also loved her classes. She was doing law school at night, the four-year course, but that was fine with her. Theresa had always loved the law, politics and history in general. She also had a network of great friends who she could always rely on.

Finally, Theresa never had a shortage of available dates. She was not a kid anymore, but she was still young at twenty-six. She knew she was attractive, and ALL the people in her life were constantly setting her up. ‘Maybe that’s it,’ Theresa thought. ‘It’s been so long since I’ve been on a date with a guy I thought there was ANY chance for more with.’

But Theresa wasn’t the type of person who ever dwelled on the negative. Instead, she rose from the couch, grabbed the candles and a book off the coffee table, and headed towards the bathroom. A good soak in the tub would relax her some. And if the lack of male companionship she had been experiencing lately really started to get to her, the tub was the perfect place to take care of some of her frustrations by herself…

-----

I THINK THIS IS THE START OF MY NEXT STORY, BUT I NEED TO KNOW WHAT READERS THINK. I’VE HAD THE ‘THERESA’ CHARACTER IN MY HEAD FOR A WHILE, SO I DECIDED TO PERSUE IT. REVIEW,PLEASE!