“You got questions, ask away. I can see them written all over your face. Just need you to put words to the squiggly lines.” How did he know that?
“Are you single?”
“Yup.”
“Homophobic?”
“Nope.”
And the big one. “Are you gay?” Looking for a little to dote on? I’ll save that one for later.
“I am. Where’s this headed, Payden?”
“Ever been on a train?”
Chapter Four
Stone
Cutie in the unicorn costume had caught me off guard with his questions and I honestly wasn’t sure how to answer. In fact, I needed a moment to glance around and make certain there wasn’t a camera pointed our way, because I couldn’t tell if I was being punked, or if Payden was going somewhere with the questions he’d asked.
No cameras, at least, not any I could spot. Just a smiling man with sad eyes that were a bit puffy, as if he’d been crying recently.
“I’ve been on many trains,” I replied. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s the best way to get from place to place. There’s no traffic to contend with and I find the sound of the wheels to be as rhythmic and soothing as a song.”
“This is my first train ride,” Payden blurted.
“How are you liking it so far?”
“I love it,” he declared, smile slipping as he shuffled from one foot to the other. “But I wasn’t supposed to be on this trip alone. I have a whole other ticket. I saved a lot for it. I don’t want it to go to waste. Would you want to come with me?”
“Just like that?” I asked, for certain now that I was being punked.
“I-I mean…” He stammered, shuffled, then squared his shoulders and looked me dead in the eye. “Yeah. Just like that.”
“And where would we be headed?” I asked, humoring him, because there was something vulnerable in his eyes that kept me from telling him to step off.
“Just up and back down the coast,” Payden explained. “It’s a big o’ rolling Pride party. That’s why I asked if you were homophobic.”
“I see,” I replied, eying the train and the others, some also in costume, standing on the platform, chatting, while passengers got on. “Something tells me I don’t have much time to make up my mind, do I?”
“Nope.” He replied smiling again before glancing back over his shoulder. “I didn’t know I was going to be taking the trip alone. My partner was supposed to meet me, but he sent a breakup text instead. This was supposed to be our special vacation.”
Sad again, eyes shimmering with unshed tears, but his jaw was stubbornly set as he refused to let them fall.
Dumping someone via text was one of the shittiest ways to break up, in my opinion, and it wasn’t like I had anywhere to be. I lifted the guitar strap over my head, scooped the money from the case and stuffed it in my pockets so I could replace it with the guitar, before I stood.
“Guess we’d better get moving then,” I declared as I slung the case and my weathered backpack over my shoulder.
“Seriously! Oh my gosh, thank you,” he said, suddenly a whirlwind of motion as he grabbed my hand and all but tuggedme into the depot, rambling words spilling from his lips so fast it was a struggle to keep up. “We need to get the ticket changed. I hope there isn’t a line. If there’s a line do you think someone will let me cut, since the train will be leaving as soon as our supplies are loaded. They were running late and…. oh, no line.”
Right up to the counter we went, my head spinning as he explained the situation to the kind woman behind the counter, who immediately got as indignant over his plight as I had. I couldn’t imagine booking a vacation for someone and having them stand me up. It was the kind of shitty behavior that made me hate humans sometimes.
Well, truthfully, after some of the things I’d seen while living on the streets, that hate reared its head more often than not.
I handed over my ID when she asked for it, and the next thing I knew I was headed for a train full of people decked out in rainbow colors and a random collection of costumes and gear.
“Well sir, it looks like your partner caught up to you after all,” the Porter said.
