Thursday. September 11, 2014. It was a crowded E bus Northbound from Belltown but that was to be expected. The weather was beautiful and you were standing by the rear entrance when I squeezed on at 3rd & Bell.
As is the fashion of our times, I ignored you and everyone else on the bus to focus, instead, on my personal glowing rectangle. With a few pokes and swipes, I returned to the Doctor Who episode I had begun on that morning's bus travel.
We were all squeezed in tightly, so there was no where to look that was not into someone's space. However, I caught you in the corner of my eye watching my phone. I kept it angled so you could see and your eyes certainly kept trained.
I looked back at you. We smiled at each other. I offered you an earbud. Thank you for not thinking me a weirdo or creep. Thank you for not being germophobic. You accepted my offer, noting that this was a good episode, and we shared the viewing. Even when the people shifted and you handed back the bud, through when your friend (whom you had ignored for the Doctor & me) left the bus above Green Lake, you watched with me - smiling & laughing all the while - up through 95th & Aurora.
My stop was ten blocks North and I almost jumped off with you to catch your name but did not want to turn our encounter awkward or repugnant. Know that I wish I had. Know that I respect how you made a quick judgement and shared those headphones with me. Know that I truly liked your style; swirly earing, owl messenger bag, Nalgene covered in stickers, cool t-shirt, and rad tattoos (I had just been thinking about getting an SNES controller on my right forearm recently - did you somehow know?!). Know that I will be hoping to bump into you on the bus again soon.
Maybe next time we will introduce ourselves.
