Chapter 13 - THE STRANGER ON THE PLATFORM
I met Daniel Reed on a Thursday evening.
At Penn Station.
Of all places.
I was waiting for a train to Philadelphia when my coffee cup slipped from my hand.
It hit the floor.
Coffee splashed across my shoes.
I stared at the mess.
Then laughed.
A man standing nearby offered me a napkin.
“Rough day?”
I looked up.
He was tall, dark-haired, and wearing a navy sweater beneath a wool coat.
He had kind eyes.
“Not particularly,” I said. “Apparently gravity has a personal problem with me.”
He laughed.
He helped me clean up.
Then introduced himself.
“Daniel.”
“Sloan.”
He was an architect.
He was traveling to Philadelphia to visit his sister.
We talked while waiting for the train.
About work.
About New York.
About the terrible coffee.
When boarding was announced, he smiled.
“Would it be strange if I asked for your number?”
I considered.
Six months earlier, the question would have frightened me.
Now it simply felt like a choice.
“No,” I said.
He smiled.
“Good.”
We exchanged numbers.
Then boarded separate cars.
That evening, he texted.
Did gravity behave for the rest of your trip?
I laughed.
We began seeing each other.
Slowly.
No grand declarations.
No pressure.
No assumptions.
On our third date, Daniel asked whether I wanted to spend the weekend in Vermont.
I told him I wasn't ready.
He smiled.
“Okay.”
I blinked.
“Okay?”
He looked confused.
“Of course. We can do something else.”
I stared at him.
Then laughed softly.
He asked:
“What?”
I shook my head.
“Nothing.”
May you like
But it wasn't nothing.
It was the first time in years that saying no had not turned into a negotiation.
