Barbara
sat behind the glass enclosure in the Trailways Bus Terminal. She sipped her sugary, lukewarm coffee and
pulled her cardigan sweater over her buxom chest. It was raining outside early this morning and
there was a chill in the air; a big difference from the warm June temperature
of yesterday. Her long blonde hair was
still damp. She took an elastic from her
metal desk drawer and put her hair in a loose pony tail. That done, she took a look at the passengers
that were coming into the small sitting area of the terminal. Four women came in laughing as they shook out
their wet umbrellas and stored their suitcases and backpacks by the green
connected seats. They threw out their arms wide to give one another big
hugs.
Mmm,
Barbara thought. They must be going on a
women’s weekend to NYC. After six years of selling tickets in the
Springfield terminal, she could tell a lot about the travelers that came into
her waiting area. She turned her head
to the left and saw a young man in his twenties finger picking his way on his
computer; a student. Sitting next to
him was a lean, older black woman,
dressed in a neat white blouse, grey skirt with her beige raincoat folded and
draped over her small suitcase. Visiting
the family in Brooklyn, Barbara thought.
Through the sliding doors a tall black man
appeared. He was wearing a Mexican
serape; bold green and blue stripes were woven vertically making the man appear
even taller. He was pushing a small cart
which had a huge plastic tub on it topped with a folding table. The street
vender, Isaac, Barbara said to herself.
He came towards the ticket window and with his
broad smile and African accent said, “Good morning Barbara, and how are you on
this fine rainy day?”
“Wet”,
she mumbled.
“Ah
but the sun will shine today. I promise”, Isaac said with a twinkle in his eye.
“What
weather report did you listen too?” She asked.
“The
one for the Big Apple, Barbara. Sunshine
in the BIg Apple” he said with his deep melodic voice.
“Well,
here it is going to be rain. rain, rain all day. Which I guess doesn't’ matter
since I am inside this place until late this afternoon.” She looked at him with a tired expression as
she handed him the ticket and his change.
“Don’t
look so glum, my friend. Tomorrow will
be another day and sunshine may just smile on your pretty face.”
At
that remark, Barbara pulled her sweater tighter and knew she was blushing.
Isaac gave out a huge laugh.
“See
you tomorrow my friend and he rolled his cart away towards the line that was
forming to get on the bus.”
By
the end of her shift, she would be on her way to Stop and Shop to pick up
something for dinner and maybe a movie.
It was her free night. Her
weekend without Nolie. She hated when
Nolie was not home and with her dad in Hartford. Barbara missed Nolie as soon
as she got into his car. Yet, having the
weekend to herself was, well, like going away on a bus. Something out of the
ordinary. Yes, she would get herself a
comedy, something that would make her laugh, laugh as loud as Isaac just
did. Issac, she thought of that tall
man again. Sunshine in New York
City.
Here she sits in the florescent light of the
bus terminal day after day and has never stepped onto one of the buses. Hell, she could even go for free. Yet, not
once in the six years did she climb up the steps to sit high up in one of the
buses. Granted six years ago she had a
one year old daughter and two years later was a single mom; Derrick cheating on
her with that woman that was now his wife. She looked out the window as the
rain came down in torrents. Then she
looked at the newspaper’s weather report, today 90% rain, Sunday 80% rain with
thunderstorms.
Her
heart skipped a beat as she tried to slow down her mind and what she was
thinking. She looked at the digital clock on her desk 7:15 AM. The bus was
leaving in five minutes. She took a big
swallow of her now cold coffee, buttoned up her sweater, reached for her black pocket
book that was in the bottom drawer and stood up. She quickly scrawled a note on
a piece of paper; Emergency with child, will return tomorrow.
She looked around the office, took a big breath and stepped out into the
waiting room. The line for the bus had
vanished. She moved slowly to the door,
opened it and felt the rain on her face.
The bus driver, John, was a regular.
She looked him in the eyes and said, “I’m riding for free today, John.” With that she took the steps up onto the
bus,made her way down the aisle, and saw Isaac sitting by the window third of
the way down the bus.
Isaac
looked up at Barbara as she stood there clutching her black pocketbook. Barbara’s face broke into a smile and said,
“I’m looking for sunshine.” She took the seat beside him and the bus rolled
away from the terminal towards New York City.
Marilyn London-Ewing
June 2012
June 2012
