Evening Commute

[writer_mel]

Patsy Davis had certain patterns in her life. When she got up, she worked out so she wouldn’t get distracted. She had her lunch at the same café that was two doors from her office building. Every day. After a year, she’d tried everything on the menu. Twice. Now she had two favorites and she went back and forth like clockwork. And she caught the same train home every day. She knew how long the ride was from stop to stop so well that she could stop reading in time to get off without checking during the ride. She knew she wasn’t the only person to do that because five people got off at her stop and she’d noticed them doing the same thing.

It was part of how big city life worked. You saved as much emotional energy as you could because there were just so many distractions in life. So much noise. So many people. You had to be able to shut it all out for a while and the commute to and from work was a perfect time. You had to be able to shift gears from the grind of work to, well, the grind of home.

She’d talked to one guy at work who said he had to rest up on the ride because he needed the energy to face his two kids. They tended to jump him the minute he got home. That wasn’t a problem she had. Her cat didn’t even care much when she got home. It could be hours before Sami finally made her way over to say hello.

Today, Friday, Patsy had a few errands to run before she got home so she was going two more stops to get to the grocery store. It was a strange thing that that actually put her closer to home, but that was how the track ran. Patsy didn’t even think about it anymore. She just adjusted her little mental distance calculator and got ready to disembark at the right stop.

As she gathered her things up, she thought maybe a string of lights in the tunnel was out because the car had taken on a decidedly blue tone. She wasn’t the only one who noticed, but she was one of a few. Some people had kids or big parcels and could be excused , but there were a handful more who really should have been looking around in confusion the way she was. She exchanged a look with a guy she saw all the time. They’d actually spoken a time or two. He could only shrug.

Everyone queued up for the door same as always. Now more people were looking around, trying to figure out what had changed.

Then the tunnel opened as they entered the station and people all over the car gasped in surprise. Even before the station proper, everyone could see that nothing looked right. The covers over the lights, now a soft blue, were ornamented in a kind of Art Nouveau style. They were much nicer than the basic steel cages people were used to.

When the train pulled into the station proper, everyone went absolutely silent. They were moving around plenty, everyone working to get pressed up against the windows so they could see, but no one said a word.

Everything was different. Patsy realized that even the car around them had changed without her realizing. Now it looked like something Sherlock Holmes might have ridden in. No, that wasn’t right. It was fancier than that and somehow still off. It was more…steampunk? When the doors opened, no one left the car. Usually, people surged out in their eagerness to get home. Not this time.

Finally, a tall man in a very nice suit slowly stepped out onto the platform. Someone behind Patsy let out a gasp when his wardrobe changed. It took other people longer to notice since men’s suiting didn’t really change much over the years. The hat popping into his hand out of nowhere. Patsy was surprised no one who saw that fainted or screamed. A gasp was nothing.

The man took a few more steps then turned back to look at the car. His eyes went wide. Clearly the outside of the car looked different, too. He nodded slowly to the people still waiting right inside the door. One by one they stepped out. Men in suits all looked much the same, but the women? No more pants, that was for sure. Some women ended up in shirtwaists and floor length skits, but others wore elegant dresses with little jackets. They usually had hats, too.

Patsy was almost afraid to find out what her skirt suit would change into. By rights, she should get a lovely trouser suit with narrow pants and sharp shoulders. She knew she wouldn’t get that. She stepped a little way from the people around her, each trying to figure out if they still had their belongings in their bags. Patsy heard more than one person say, “My phone is gone!” She had to laugh at that. What did they expect?

Looking down at herself, she saw a slim cut skirt and neat ankle boots. On top was a mannish blouse under a tailored jacket. It wasn’t quite a suit, but it was more severe than anything the other women were wearing. She had no idea what kid of woman would wear what she was, but she felt really comfortable in it. Some of the other women absolutely were not. The one senior executive who wore much too bright colors and ruffles that wouldn’t have been flattering on a six year old was in a salmon pink dress with tons of lace ruffles. In truth, it wasn’t a bad dress, but it still wasn’t right for her. Maybe, if they ever got out of this, Patsy would invite her to lunch to discuss fashion.

It was absolutely good that Patsy was looking to the future.

A young man beside her asked the question everyone was thinking. He was in simple trousers and a work shirt. At his feet was a cloth bag that had probably held his lunch. “What do we do? I mean, do I go one block up and two over?”

Everyone knew exactly what he meant. If this was so different, did they even have homes? Was the whole world different? Would they even be able to get into their apartments. Would there buildings even be there. There were some buildings that dated back to their clothes, but a lot of them had been replaced with high rises in the twenties. And some replaced again later.

“What else can we do? Just stay here? Get on the next train?” That was a woman on the other side of the group.

A man closer to Patsy piped up. “What if we end up in the future that way? Safer to go from here.”

Patsy kind of agreed with that. At least they had a vague idea what to expect here. And they were all starting from the same place. That thought made her speak. “It’s got to be all of us. Just in case this is a one off event. If we split up, part of the group might get stuck. At least if we’re all together, we can help each other.”

Somehow the idea of being split up freaked people out. They were city strangers, the kind who knew each other on sight. That was better than the complete strangers they might meet topside. Patsy watched as everyone processed what she’d said and made their decisions. The guy next to her asked her, “So, what? We hold hands and go up the stairs together?”

Patsy shrugged. That was a pretty good idea. “Yeah, we do that. But first, does anyone have a pen and paper? I feel like we should write out names down. Leave the list somewhere here?” She wasn’t sure why she thought that was a good idea, but one of the guys had paper and a pen and he started it going around. Patsy and the guy next to her, his name was Danny, went to stand at the bottom of the stairs. When the list was done, it got passed to Patsy. Danny put his name on it, then Patsy did. She held it up for everyone to see before folding it up and putting it behind the sign that identified the station.

She took the hand of the woman behind her, who grasped the hand of the man behind her. Soon, everyone was linked up. At the bottom of the line, the last two people reached across. They were now all connected. After letting out a long, deep breath, Patsy started up the stairs. Beside her, Danny started up, too. Slowly, so no one tripped, they climbed the two flights of stairs to the street. When they were about three steps from the top, Patsy started to cry. Nothing was changing. They were going to go right out into the past and they were all going to be stuck.

Three steps later, she stopped suddenly and turned to Danny. He wasn’t crying. His face was lit up like he’d just been given a puppy. She looked down at herself. Her clothes, her own real clothes, were back. Someone near the end of the line called out to ask what was happening. Patsy called back. “Keep coming. Everyone stick with the plan.”

Somehow the people behind them figure out what why she hadn’t said anything. It didn’t take long for everyone to be up on the street. They all pooled around the entrance and looked back the way they’d come. It looked totally normal. After a long moment, someone let out a cry. Then everyone was shouting and crying with relief.

Patsy noticed Danny standing right at the top of the stairs and came over to him. “What?”

He jumped a bit, blushing. “I.. What’s going to happen tomorrow when we have to go back to
work? Hell, what happens when the next train comes in?”

She hadn’t thought of that and it shook her. “It all looks normal.” “It had looked normal when they went in on the other side.

“I’m going back in. Just a few steps.” He started to the top of the stairs, but Patsy grabbed his arm.

“Wait, please? I have an idea.” She turned around and called to the group, most of who hadn’t moved very far. “Does anyone have a long belt? Or a scarf? Something?” Nobody really moved or spoke up, so she kept going. “We need to be sure the stop is fixed, too! Come on, a phone charger cord, anything.” Finally there were hands raised and they ended up with a long USB cable. Danny looped it around his wrist and Patsy did the same. “You don’t have to go far, right? Just long enough to see if things change.”

He nodded, then took three steps down. After a slight pause, he went down as far as the cable would allow. He didn’t pause again at the bottom, choosing to race back up instead. When he popped out from the entrance, he shouted, “It’s fixed!” He looked around at all the eager faces and realized that wasn’t nearly clear enough. “it’s right. It’s NOW! And it’s HERE. Same as every other time. It’s our station from our time.”

The cheer went up again. Patsy gave him a huge hug that surprised both of them. Then more than a few people came over to hug both of them. It took work for Patsy not to stammer and Danny was a shade of pink she’d never seen before.

Finally people started to go. They tended to go in groups, which made sense. The USB cord went back to its owners. Patsy and Danny were the last one’s there.

“I guess I should go feed my cat. I’m kinda late.”
Danny nodded. “I’m kinda hungry. Was going to pick something up on the way home.”

He didn’t seem eager to go alone, which she kind of understood. There was no one at home she could share this with. No one to talk to. “Oh yeah? What did you have in mind? There’s a great Thai place just before my building…”

“Thai Sails? With the boat in the window?” When she nodded, Danny started walking. Patsy fell right into step with him. “I love that place…”



The next morning, they walked back to the station together. Nothing happened, but they ended up walking to that station together every morning for quite a while.