—-Short Story Sunday—

The prompt that inspired this piece was:

“Two people sit next to each other on a train. They do not know each other and have never met before, yet they share the exact same secret.”

I came up with two ideas for this.
This is idea number one. Number two will be shared next week.

Seeing Is Believing

Yvette let out a sigh of relief as the subway train pulled up to the station. The platform was especially crowded for a Sunday morning; people standing too close and more than one had stepped on her foot or pushed her aside in their hurry, without so much as an “excuse me” or a “pardon.”

“I swear,” she murmured to herself fluffing her long spiral curls, “this city gets worse and worse with each generation.”

Between the cell phones and the headphones, it seemed everyone was content to be cocooned in their own little world; never bothering to look up and see who else they might actually be sharing it with.

“Come on,” Lucy whined. “We need to get on the train.”

“Of course,” Yvette conceded smiling down at the little girl with the pursed lips and impatient stare. “Lead the way.”

Lucy bounded on the train and marched down the aisle scouting for the perfect seat. 

“How about here?” Yvette asked slyly, spotting a handsome man in a military uniform sitting next to a young boy.

“Whatever,” Lucy rolled her eyes and blew her bangs off her forehead with a disgusted huff and sat down to sulk.

Yvette slid closer to the stranger as the train began to move and giggled her apologies as their knees touched. 

“No problem ma’am” the stranger drawled as she straightened herself out, smoothing her pink chiffon skirt and adjusting her faux diamond choker. 

“Is that your girl?” he asked nodding in Lucy’s direction.

“Oh yes….That’s my girl.” she giddily agreed.

“Well she is adorable” he continued on.

“Thank-you. My name is Yvette” she offered her gloved hand demurely, batting her lashes his way.

“Private Grant Lawson, pleased to make your acquaintance.” 

“Ahhhh hummmm?!?” Lucy grumbled shooting them both a sidelong stare.

“Excuse me,” Yvette corrected herself. “My name is Princess Yvette Deveroux of the Lower East Side” she mock curtseyed in her seat.

Content with this response Lucy turned her attention back to the window where she was breathing a grid of tic tac toe to life, her chubby finger slashing Xs across the diagonal.

“Princess? I see” the solider gave Yvette a knowing wink.

“Yes,” Yvette explained. “We are going up town to visit her grandmother but she is convinced we are going to have tea with the Queen” she paused, “so you know….” she gestured vaguely to the plastic rhinestone tiara perched upon her head.

“Yes, I know” Private Lawson agreed nodding to the boy on his right. “Kids have such wild imaginations.”

Yvette laughed. “I don’t mind though, all girls love playing dress up.” She glanced at the sparkly heels Lucy had insisted she wear and absently touched her lips which were painted just a shade too pink.

“Besides,” she sighed wistfully “they grow up so fast; it won’t be long before she doesn’t need me anymore.” Yvette let her voice trail off as she gazed lovingly at the precocious child next to her.

“We’re not supposed to talk to strangers,” the boy on the end spoke up timidly giving Yvette a suspicious glance.

“Well Kyle,” Grant explained “this isn’t a stranger. This is….” he looked past Yvette to the back of Lucy’s dark bobbed head and made a mental check before speaking to ensure he got the title correct. “Princess Yvette Deveroux of the Lower East Side” mock courtesy. He could see the back of Lucy’s head nod in satisfaction and grinned to himself at winning a bit of approval from the sullen child. 

“Children usually love me,” he wondered aloud. “She is a tough little thing isn’t she?”

“Yes….” Yvette sighed. “Well you see, divorce can be so hard on children. Since the split she has become more and more withdrawn. She goes into her own little world and doesn’t let many people in.” She took a breath and lowered her voice, “Her psychologist says this is normal. Coping Mechanism I think he called it. He said to go along with her, not push too hard, allow her the little things that make her happy. Eventually she will come around.”

The train lurched to a stop exchanging passengers like breath. In and out. Yvette smiled at the young couple and their twin girls who took a seat across the aisle from them. The parents ignored her greeting, looking past her, avoiding eye contact. A grown woman in a tiara in the middle of New York could only be trouble after all. The children however shrieked their delight at her costume and went on to speak to each other about her in the secret language only twins share.

“I understand” Grant looked at the quiet boy who was entranced by the arrival of these unusual girls and was fervently trying to crack the code of twin speak.  

“His older brother joined the army and he has really been having a hard time adjusting to his absence. He has been having trouble in school and has been acting up at home.” 

“Such a shame,” Yvette offered her sympathies.

“Yes,” Grant agreed. “It is.” He smiled at the boy so perplexed at such an early age by the secret world of women. “You are never going to understand them buddy,” he tried to clue the boy in but was waved away with an impatient flick of the wrist. Yvette giggled in agreement. 

“Anyway,” Grant continued, “I decided to come spend some time with him and his family. See if I couldn’t be of some help.”

“Oh,” Yvette was a bit confused. “So…you’re not his father then?”

“No,” I am an old family friend. I have known his father since we were kids. So when I heard they were having some issues. Well….here I am.”

“How noble,” Yvette swooned.

“Indeed,” Grant smiled.

The train signaled its arrival into the next station. The doors opened and more morning travelers elbowed their way into the slowly crowding car. Space was becoming a premium, real estate not many passengers were willing to part with.
A large man with bags of groceries eyed the narrow space between Yvette and Grant.

“Surly he’s not….” Yvette thought as the man, oblivious to the space restriction and the burgeoning romance, squeezed in and plopped himself down onto the seat.

Lucy let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“You’re killing her! You’re crushing Yvette!” she wailed. “Move, move, get off of her!” she pummeled the man with her tiny fists, tears streaming down her face. 

“What the….” the man looked around in dismay at the empty space trying to decipher the root of the commotion.

“Oh my goodness,” Lucy’s mother looked up from her cell phone for the first time since they boarded the train.

The man collected his bags and ambled towards the back of the train muttering that people should really start medicating their kids.

“I’m so sorry,” the embarrassed mother continued looking around the train for a sympathetic face.

Locking eyes with the woman a few spaces down, the one sitting next to the shy, quiet boy, she tried to explain.

“Yvette,” she swallowed, “Yvette is my daughter’s imaginary friend. She goes everywhere with us these days” she rolled her eyes as her voice trailed off at a loss to explain the situation any further.

“I completely understand,” the woman assured her. “My Kyle has one too” she gestured to the boy who looked stunned by this turn of events. “Isn’t that right Kyle?” she paused. “What’s his name? Private Grant something I think.”

Lucy’s mom let out a sigh of relief.

“Kids,” she admonished “They certainly live in their own little worlds don’t they?”

Then she went back to her phone.