Traveling Alone

Chicago. Union station. Standing in line, waiting to board my train. I glance behind me, and a cute girl shoots me a smile.

Instantly, this girl meets all three of my dating criteria
1. Smiles at me.
2. Is shorter than me.
3. Rides trains.

However, I’m not the type of guy who knows how to hit on girls in train stations, so I do nothing.

When traveling this Amtrak route, you’re often asked the question of “traveling alone?” before boarding. The answer to this question determines what car you’re assigned to. For those curious, I have only ever ridden the singles car.

Since we were in line together, we were asked this question at the same time.

“Traveling alone?”

I hesitate. Does physical proximity in the boarding line and a quick smile mean you and this girl you’ve never even spoken to are travel companions?

I mull it over, but don’t have much time, so I go with the safe answer of “no.” and confirm that, yes, I am indeed traveling alone.

On the train, I take an empty row of seats and she does the same. We do this because it’s considered creepy to sit next to someone when there are clearly other available seats.

A few minutes go by and a motherly figure asks me, “Would you mind giving up your seat so my children can sit together?”

hmm… opportunity to sit with cute girl who smiled at me.

“Sure!” I say, and in one smooth motion move my bag, take a seat next to smiling girl and throw in a, “Hi, do you mind?” for courtesy’s sake.

“Not at all” she says.

I’m in.

So I sit there and say absolutely nothing for a good 10 minutes.

Here’s some advice: start talking right when you sit down. Don’t be weird about it. It’s weird if you wait 10 minutes. Trust me. I know. It was weird.

After what must have been an eternity of silence I mustered up the courage to ask, “so… do you ride Amtrak often?” (Watch out ladies, this guy has killer lines)

“No, I haven’t ridden the train in the longest time. My boyfriend’s car broke down, and I have to get back to GR by tomorrow morning.”

Okay. Okay. Okay. Some things.
1. She was a very quick to tell me she had a boyfriend. What reason did she have to think I was hitting on her? (Besides the fact that I was.)
2. She was the one who smiled. I just needed a seat. No need to get all defensive.
2.5 Why did she even smile at me to begin with?
3. She actually wasn’t acting that defensive. It was just the answer to the question.

And that pretty much ends the story. We talked for a awhile about trains, college, book publishing, and the fact that I’m unfamiliar with the cast of Full House. Even though I didn’t meet my future wife on a train (which has been my goal for quite some time), it was refreshing to have a honest conversation with a stranger.

So, was anyone on the train really traveling alone that day?

Perhaps not.

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