Back inside for coffee number four of the day, and the purchase of this one won’t be near as entertaining as the last. I wonder if they have hot chocolate?
I hadn’t ever actually spent much time looking at the station—if you’veseen one, you’veseen them all—but I was wrong. Looking around, I could see families instead of suits, lots of benches, and smiling people actually talking to each other.
“If you have hot chocolate, I’ll take that, and if not, then a small coffee, no sugar.” I handed over a twenty and told her to toss the rest into her tip jar.
Why not?I thought, taking the hot chocolate from the lady behind the kiosk. The Australian has me feeling good.
Sitting was not an option with so many thoughts running through my head, so I decided to check out the outside of the station. Besides, I thought better when I was on the move.
No graffiti, no trash on the ground, and that couple just smiled at me. Has it always been like this?
The hand-carved wooden benches in the foyer area of the station were tucked behind a brick wall away from the harsh winds. I set my briefcase on the ground next to me, brushed away a few red and gold leaves, and lowered myself onto the bench to wait. Although it wasn’t near as cold out of the wind, I still pulled my black leather gloves out of my coat pocket, only to be aggravated to have to remove them a few seconds later.
You can’t thumb through emails with gloves on. Someone needs to change that.
At the sound of a car engine slowing down I glanced around the wall to see if Mom had arrived.
Nope, just someone else being picked up on time, probably.
I could still feel the coffee from two hours ago pumping through my veins, making me even more restless, if possible, than earlier.
When was the last time you took a minute to look around?
Leaves still clung to the scattered oak trees in the parking lot even though it had been in the twenties for weeks now. I laughed to myself.
When’s the last time you took a minute to even notice the trees?
A family hurried by huddled under thick winter coats and boots to their knees.
I had another fleeting memory of the incident in Grand Central with the Australian. Another first for me to stop for a coffee and then help someone long enough to cause me to lose valuable time.
She was adorable. I should’ve asked her name, at least. Not that I would’ve done anything else with her name, but….Lost in thought, I hadn’t realized that something was against my ankle until a weird vibrating sensation went up my leg
. I casually kicked my leg out thinking the wind had blown something into me. Nothing… I went back to my emails. Then the vibration came with a nudge.
What the hell is on my leg? I didn’t see any trash when I sat down. Ignore it it’s just the wind.
Another nudge. Now I reached down to remove whatever garbage had clearly blown into my leg, but instead of the garbage I expected to get, I got a handful of fur and a wet tongue.
I jumped up and quickly backed away.
What the hell was that? Had to be a raccoon or God forbid a rat.
I scanned the area near the bench, not seeing anything and definitely not wanting to sit there anymore. I bent to grab my briefcase. Then I heard a faint whimper. I squatted down to figure out what creature was still there, maybe injured or hungry.
To my great dismay and utter surprise, it was not the raccoon or rat I’d imagined it to be. Instead, it was a tiny little puppy shivering wildly.
“Hey there, little one,” I said. “You’re freezing, aren’t you?” I knelt down on one knee to get a closer look. Poor thing was so little and so cold.
Maybe it’ll let me pick it up.
After removing my glove so it could smell me, I put my hand out to it.
“Come here. Come on, I won’t hurt you,” I said, reaching under the bench. I could tell it wanted to come to me. The puppy tentatively crept out from under the bench, stumbling and shivering. I grabbed the nearly frozen puppy as soon as it got close enough.
I’m not a veterinarian, little one, but I don’t think you have much left in you in this cold. Please don’t bite me.
The little guy shook violently from cold, not fear, so I wrapped him inside my jacket. He needed body warmth right away.