Jenny Teague carried her luggage onto the mid-row car of the southbound train and settled in a window seat. The train passed suburban houses with yard grass turning green from the winter brown. Birds circled trees as if scouting nest sites, and the strengthening sun threatened shaded mounds of remnant snow.

Nearing noon, he walked to the dining car. The two-chair tables were filled with riders, leaving one place with a single occupant—a tall, suited man leaning over his meal.  

“Can I take this seat?” she asked.

He looked up. “Please join me.” He was smiling as he spoke.” He introduced himself with his hand extended. “I’m Brian Crosby,” 

She reached across the table; “Jenny Teague.”

A waiter came over. “What would you like for lunch, madam?”

She looked at Brian’s plate. “What did you have?”

“Chicken and rice. I recommend it.”

She nodded, and the waiter turned his attention to Brian. Finishing his meal, he asked for coffee.

Brian said, “The destination is nine hours away, much quicker by plane. Why did you select a train?”

“I’m leaving, unlikely to return to where I lived my whole life. I wanted a slow departure, passing through familiar areas to an unfamiliar location. I could ask you the same question.”

“I travel often for my job, taking planes most of the time, but I sometimes enjoy long leisurely trips. I get more work done on a train.”

“I thought maybe you preferred the food,” she chuckled.

“You mentioned you were leaving for good. Must be a story behind the decision: new job, ended relationship?” 

 “Pretty personal question. Oh well, we will likely never see each other again. My mother passed away, and my father died three years earlier. There are too many reminders there. Memories can be best enjoyed from a distance. I had a good job, and I did end a relationship.”

He must have been a jerk. You’re an attractive woman with striking gray eyes. I wasn’t flirting,” he added quickly.

Jenny laughed.

“I’m sorry if that was inappropriate.”

She touched his hand resting on the edge of a saucer. “No. You reminded me that I had been seeing a man for about three months, and one day, when I was wearing sunglasses, I asked him, ‘What color are my eyes’? He didn’t know.” 

Turning slightly red, she pulled her hand from over his.

“Are you fleeing from an involvement, Brian?”

“No. But the last woman I dated said I travel to avoid commitment.”

The waiter came back with their orders. Jenny said, “You were right about the chicken.”

“This is a lengthy trip, and I would enjoy conversation during the ride. Is there a vacant seat near you in the main cars, or can we head to my area?”

“Is that a form of your place or mine? Yes, there is no one next to me two cars down.”

“Now, who’s flirting?” he joked.

 Jenny returned two cars to her seat. Gathering his case and computer, he followed. 

Brian leaned forward to look out the window. “Did you ever travel past homes and wonder about the lives of the people inside?”

Jenny looked out. “I feel like I’m traveling from one season to the next, from darkness to twilight. Enough people flash through my life. I don’t need to speculate about strangers.”

When the train arrives at the destination, what will you do; where will you go?”

“I was a Human Resources manager, and I’m confident I’ll find a job there. I’m staying with a cousin until I find a place. What do you do that requires so much travel?”

“I help companies set up, expand, or maintain data centers. You deal with people, and I deal with machines.”

“That must be a challenging job.”

“Figuring how computers function is easier than comprehending how people work.”

“You’re very philosophical for a computer nerd.”

Brian guffawed, “I’ve never been called either. I’m glad I met you.”

“Same here.”

He asked, “Are you apprehensive about starting over in a new town?”

“Maybe; I’ve never lived anywhere other than where I grew up.”

“I’m the opposite. My father was in the military, and we moved constantly. Home was a place you stayed in for more than three years.”

“I don’t know if I should envy you or feel sorry.”

“More the latter.”

They conversed for a few hours.

“You said you use train time to work. I don’t want to keep you from your tasks,” Jenny said.

Brian removed his computer from the overhead bin. She stared out the window. He was typing when she got up, “Excuse me.”

“The bathroom is at the back of the car.”

She was gone for a while, and Brian looked back repeatedly. Jenny returned, turning as she stepped past him to her seat. He looked at her and she lowered her head, but not before he saw her eyes were red.

“Are you okay?”

“It’s all too much: my mother’s death, the house sale, leaving my job, going someplace unfamiliar. I’m overwhelmed, scared.” 

He put his hand over hers. “I’m sorry. Did our conversation trigger the upset? I sense you are a strong, capable woman who will find a challenging job and have lots of friends. I bet you’ll even buy a dog.”

She smiled. “Thank you. If I get a dog, I’ll name him Brian.”

“Then he must be a big, handsome Labrador.”

“And who makes me laugh. Go back to your work.”

 Brian didn’t notice she was tiring until her head leaned against his shoulder. He glanced over and saw that her eyes were closed. He stayed still. 

When she woke up, he said. “Dinner will be served in an hour, but if we go to the dining car, perhaps we can have a glass of wine before eating.”

When they were seated and ordered wine, Brian asked, “How do you know someone is the right person?”

“Are you talking about my job or my personal life?”

“Both.”

“When interviewing an applicant, you don’t stray from the job description. But where personal feelings are involved, you can meet someone different from the person you expected to care for and in places you’d never considered.”  

The dining car began filling, and they spoke little while eating. As the waiter took away their plates, Brian said, “Since I had dinner with you, is this our first date?”

“Don’t you have to pay for the meal to make it count?”

“I ‘m glad you were on this train.”

“Me, too.”

A few hours later, the train arrived at its destination.

Outside the station building, Brian said, “A driver from the client’s office is picking me up. I’m sure he can give you a ride.”

“There are plenty of cabs. Good luck with your project.”

“And for you to start your new life. Can you give me your cell number?” he said as he handed over his phone.

Brian put out his hand to shake, but she stepped past his arm and hugged him.

On the way, Jenny’s cab stopped at a light. Her phone rang. 

“I’ll be back and will call you.”

“I know,” she said as the cab moved forward.