Ah, home sweet home! I have just returned from yet another trip to Peterborough and Toronto...our seventh trip to Peterborough since September. The purpose of this visit was to complete the process of settling Pat's mom into her new retirement home and to do the final cleanout of her old apartment. We also figured we had time for an overnight trip to Toronto to visit adorable Avery. What didn't figure into our plans was him being sick again. He was so lethargic (with another double ear infection) that I changed my plans and stayed in Toronto for an extra few days. Thankfully, on Monday he perked up and was active again; climbing up stairs and happily playing with his toys.
So on Tuesday, I found myself on a noon hour bus, feeling good about my visit, but looking forward to my own bed. Upon entering the bus I was pleased to see few fellow passengers. Everyone had their own seat! "Hurray!" I thought. "I can spread out, eat in peace and sleep comfortably." So I was in a pretty good mood as we travelled down the Don Valley to the 401. Silly me. I forgot we'd be stopping at the Scarborough Town Centre to pick up more passengers.
As we made our stop I looked out my window and counted only 5 new passengers. Almost all of us on the bus had 2 seats to ourselves. Just who was going to lose their private space? Longing for peace and quiet, I looked at my winter coat and purse on the empty seat beside me. What to do? Should I move it and make it easy for someone to sit down? Should I close my eyes amd pretend to sleep? Should I sit in that aisle seat, making it pretty well impossible for someone to crawl over me to the window seat? What was the best strategy?
When I'm on a city bus, it drives me crazy to see someone hog two seats when there are people standing. I have always wanted to say something like,"Excuse me. Can you please explain to me exactly why you think you are entitled to two seats when these people are standing? You must be very important." Not wanting to get punched on the bus, I have never really asked that question. Anyhow, my point is, I did not want to look like a seat hog so I picked my stuff off the extra seat and piled my coat and purse on top of the lunch and magazines on my lap. It made a pretty high pile. I could barely see over the top of it. Matters were made worse by the fact that the young woman in front of me had her seat fully reclined, leaving me precious little space.
The five new passengers entered the bus and started off down the aisle. First came three people travelling together who headed for the back of the bus. Next came a middle aged woman who walked very slowly and stopped at my seat. As she hesitated and looked around, I screamed in my head, "Keep moving. Keep moving". Magically, she moved on! And then came the last of them...an older Chinese woman. Again, she stopped at my empty seat and looked around, weighing her options. Again, in my selfish head, I screamed, "Don't stop. Keep moving." Alas, she sat down beside me. She then turned to me, flashed me the loveliest smile and said hi.
I scolded myself for my selfishness and resigned myself to a seat mate. I just hadn't bargained on this. I had been up early for many days and had counted on sleeping during this drive. I did not have the energy to make a new friend. On other occasions I have made more of an effort but this time, as we got back onto the 401, I buried my head in my magazine.
It was about fifteen minutes later that the noise started; a kind of rattling tin, engine sort of noise. It was loud and irritating. There would be no way to sleep with that racket. I looked around. No one else seemed bothered by this intrusion into an otherwise silent bus. The driver was encased in a plexiglass bubble and unable to hear the noise coming from the back left corner. Again, what to do? Should he be alerted? Was this a safety issue? How stupid would we all feel if the bus suddenly exploded and we had done nothing about this warning noise?
My seat mate and I both turned again to the direction of the noise. Then we started talking. I suggested that perhaps I should tell the driver. She was as concerned as I was and said it was easier for her to move so she went to the front and told him. He was not concerned; he said it was only the cover for an air conditioner unit, not a safety issue. And so we continued, with the offending noise. The ice had been broken and while I won't say we had an animated conversation, we did talk now and then and both enjoyed the spectacular scenery. It was a lovely sunny day with fresh snow on all the trees.
As we got closer to Ottawa we talked more; where we lived, where we had worked and our families. I was surprised when she asked if someone was picking me up at the bus station. I told her no, that I would take the city bus home. She was silent after that, then pulled out her cell phone. After she finished her call she smiled and announced that her husband would drive me home! She had spoken in Chinese on the phone so I would not be dissappointed if her husband had said no. I was totally taken aback by her offer. Although I said it was not necessary she insisted that she would be pleased to drive me home because she had enjoyed our conversation so much.
As we drove into Ottawa, traffic was very congested on the 417. Near the station she said that she was a very practical person. The traffic was so bad that her husband would probably not arrive for some time. Therefore she would understand if I wanted to go ahead and take the bus, which would arrive much sooner. In the end, that is what I decided to do. Although I didn't end up in her car I was touched by her offer. I felt ashamed that I had almost denied her the seat beside me. She thanked me for the pleasure of my company!
And, so, I went home feeling tired and blessed. We had settled Rita into her new home as best we could, I had been able to stay with Avery to see the remarkable improvement in his energy level, I had a dinner out with Norah and then encountered this lovely woman, who gave me a valuable lesson with her gracious nature. Life is indeed good.
