Title: One Moment…
Author: Ellywinkle
Fandom: Original Work – Drabble
Rating: PG
Word Count: 493
Author’s Note: Originally posted on my Dreamwidth journal. Slight editing for punctuation and grammar.
Summary: One moment would have changed his entire day.
– – – –
The man waited at the bus stop for the 15 cross-town, which was running late by the way. Just one moment would have changed his entire day. There were a multitude from which to choose this specific day. There was the moment this morning when he rolled over and instead of just hitting snooze had somehow knocked his book over on top of it, thereby preventing the alarm from ringing once more. There was the moment the little girl in 5B ran into the hallway to wave goodbye to her mother and, seeing the jam laced hands he had zigged instead of zagged. This, of course, resulted in a return to his apartment to change clothes.
There was the moment he was late getting to the copier to pick up the email he had printed instead of deleting. The same email his boss had been holding awaiting his arrival. There was the moment that the elderly lady stepped in front of the sign at the deli, and he did not see the sign signifying the change in ingredients to his menu selection. The change that resulted in an afternoon of indigestion.
And then there was that moment, the one at the end of the day where he stopped to let Carla on the elevator and was spotted by his boss and informed that he would be working overtime today. Which, of course, resulted in his current predicament. After finally finishing the report his boss needed before tomorrow’s management meeting and taking the time to ensure it was properly bound and assembled, the man had run to the bus stop and just missed the 23 which was a straight shot to home. Missed it by just a moment.
So here he sat, waiting for a bus that will take him on a long circular route before reaching his neighborhood. At which point, he might add, he will still have to walk almost two miles to get to his front door. And what is this? Is it about to rain? Just great. He reached into his backpack and removed the umbrella every traveler of public transportation needed to carry and sighed.
“Excuse me.” The voice soft and tentative coming from his side. A woman dressed in blue approached him carefully. She was a vision of loveliness, the fading light struck her vibrant eyes, making them appear to glow from within. There was a warmth there that stretched out to touch everything within reach, and he found himself smiling a friendly, open smile.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I was delayed a moment this morning and forgot to grab my umbrella. Would you mind terribly sharing until the bus arrives?”
“Please, be my guest.”
“Thank you so much. I don’t think I’ve seen you out here before.”
“It’s a new schedule for me. I think you’ll be seeing a lot more of me.”
She smiled a little smile while blushing heavily, “I’m happy to hear that.”