Eavesdropping on the M Path

I was on my way home. The worn-out leather seats in the next-to-last coach were comfortable enough to make me tilt my head back and close my eyes for the next three stops. On other occasions, I would not have. But it was all women; moms, schoolgirls, a couple of chit-chatting friends, a tired girl in scrubs (who seemed to have the same idea as me). There were enough of them and enough space among us to make me feel safe.

The monotonous breathy voice over the PA system announced the next stop. I opened my eyes, as if to pay better attention. Something about humans thinking we can listen with our eyes? I barely caught the name because, well, who does ever understand what the conductor says? There’s only been one occasion in my life when the voice was as clear as HD—and I’ve ridden a lot of trains.

Hugging my bag, I rested my head back on the glass. Two more stops.

“It’s my anniversary,” I heard someone say. That I did hear clearly. It was coming from the chit-chatting friends. I knew because they were sitting across from me.

“Oh my god, happy anniversary! How many years?” asked the other woman.

“Twenty seven years.” I wondered if they were French and were talking about her birthday, but I didn’t remember any of them looking that young. I opened my eyes to confirm. I was right.

They were talking about marriage. And while trying to explain how she’s been happily married for that long, one of the women preached on a life lesson that I was sure to eavesdrop on.

“Back in the day, when something broke in the house, you fixed it. Now, if something breaks, people don’t want to bother, they throw it away and replace it with a new one. Well, it’s the same way with relationships,” she said. I just sat there like a creep, with my eyes still closed, thinking, “Dammnn, she’s right.”

Life is too fast for the eye, now too fast for our hearts. We have an app for everything, even for broken hearts. As cynical as I can be, I still believe in human connection and that some things can and should be salvaged, rather than trashed.

That is my lesson of the day. Those ladies gave me something to think about.