地下铁遇见爱

by Maeve Lahey

My morning commute on the subway usually followed the same pattern—keep your head down， your nose in a book， and try to survive the crowds. So when I sensed someone looking at me I felt annoyed. I looked up to see a tall， attractive man， but his eyes werent focused on me—he was staring into space， with headphones on. Among all the businessmen， his casual outfit of a grey woolly hat， navy coat and jeans stuck out.

I wasnt in the habit of noticing men on the subway—of course， you see people come and go， but no one had been so memorable before. As the weeks went by， I began to search him out—he was so tall I could spot him by looking for his head above the crowd. It helped that we were creatures of habit and both headed for the front of the first carriage.

Twice a week Id see him and always when I was running late. After the third time， he looked back， and from then on we would exchange glances but nothing more. At work Id mention to my friends if I had seen my “subway crush”， but I didnt let myself 1）fantasise about him—the chances of us ever actually talking， let alone living happily ever after， were so remote that it would be foolish to dream. But I looked forward to seeing him， and was glad when I noticed he wasnt wearing a wedding ring.

Then disaster struck. He disappeared. Weeks went by without a sighting and I felt darker and darker. After a month， I vowed that if I ever saw him again， I had to say something； it might be my only chance.

On a wintry Monday last January， I was 2）stranded on the platform， knee-deep in snow， fretting because I hadnt managed to get on to the packed train， when he materialised next to me.“Ive got snow in my pants，” he said and did a 3）shimmy. We both laughed and then began to chat. As we boarded the next train， I was aware that everyone around us was 4）eavesdropping， so I felt self-conscious but also thrilled. We had lots in common and the conversation flowed. The only problem was that he was giving me all the right signs that he was interested but he didnt ask for my number. As my stop approached， I realised it was now or never—I had to do something. The train pulled in， and I shoved my business card in his hand and leapt off.

As I dashed away， heart pounding， I felt a mixture of elation and 5）mortification. Why didnt he ask for my number？ Had I been too pushy？ Friends at work reassured me and I waited for his call.

In this city， the etiquette of when to call is clear—within a few days and definitely before the weekend. By the end of the week he still hadnt， so when I saw him on the train I tried to hide.

It was obvious that he didnt want to go out with me. To my dismay， he came over and started to chat. I decided I was clearly a pity case to him， so when he asked what I was doing on the weekend， I made myself sound hugely busy and super-cool to hide my hurt pride. Unsurprisingly， he didnt mention meeting up.

Then， on Monday， he emailed， asking me out. I was delighted. I dont normally like dating—the nerves， the awkwardness， that stilted first conversation—but I was nothing but excited to see Josh and the evening went wonderfully. We ended up going to his brother-in-laws birthday party and I met his family. It didnt feel strange or 6）nerve-racking； it felt natural.

We moved in together 10 months later and got married last September. As a nod to where we met， we had a subway train on top of the cake and the tables were named after different train lines—ours was the 4 train， naturally.

Josh has since told me that after I gave him my card， he was hugely flattered—he was planning to call me that Friday， but after bumping into me and hearing how “busy” I was， he decided to wait until Monday to make contact.

Getting together felt like 7）kismet—it was destined to happen. We unravelled all the random events that led us to be on that same train together and marvel that we ever met. We still take the 4 train into work， but now we sit together.

通常在早上搭地铁上班时我都依循一样的模式——低着脑袋，鼻子埋到书上，希望在拥挤的人群中熬过来。所以当我察觉有人在看我时，我感到很恼火。我抬起眼，看到一位高大的魅力男士，但他的目光并非落在我身上——他空洞地瞪着眼，戴着耳机。在周遭上班族的包围下，他那头戴灰色羊毛帽，身穿深蓝色外套和牛仔裤的一身休闲打扮显得格外扎眼。

我没有那种在地铁里留意男人的习惯——当然，会看着人群来来往往，但之前从未遇到过一个让人印象如此深刻的人。这样过了几周，我开始寻找他——他长得很高，往人群之上瞧准能锁定目标。而且我们都是那种有固定习惯的人，都喜欢朝车头第一节车厢挤，这有助于我找到他。

我一周会碰到他两次，通常是在自己快赶不上地铁的时候。经过第三次后，他回头望了我，并从那时开始我们会交换眼神，但也就仅此而已。上班时我会跟朋友们聊起那天我有没有遇到我的“地铁情缘”，但我没让自己痴迷上他——就连真实地说说话的机会都如此渺茫，更不用说什么从此以后幸福地生活在一起了，所以我不会蠢到去做这样的梦。不过我还是期待能见到他，并且很高兴地发现他没戴婚戒。

接着，灾难来了。他消失了。几周过去，我一眼都没见着他，这让我感到越来越忧郁难过。一个月后，我发誓如果我再见到他，我一定得说点什么；这可能是我唯一的机会了。

在去年一月的一个寒冷的星期一，我被困在站台上，站在齐膝的雪中。……