Gregory Smith is a retired medical social worker. He is active on social media, including Instagram, Facebook, X and Blue Sky. Greg enjoys oldies music ( especially The Beatles), classic movies, Baseball and Football ( Go Phillies & Eagles), and reading. He is married (Holly) and has two adorable dogs ( Katie & Cocoa).
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Charlie paced, hands in his pockets like an expectant father in a waiting room. Arrival and departure announcements competed with piped in Christmas music overhead. Travelers carried brightly-wrapped packages in festive gift bags. Greeters offered warm, melting hugs to chilly arriving family and friends.
Strange, he thought he heard his name being shouted from across the crowded train station. It was his brother, waving and calling his name. Not who he expected or hoped would be greeting him.
“Hey, man!” Dominic shouted above the noise of the crowd. “Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas!” Charlie replied, shaking hands and hugging his older brother.
“What are you doing here?” Dom asked. “Traveling?”
“Waiting,” Charlie answered.
“Waiting for your train home?”
“No. Waiting for someone. What about you? Leaving town without the family?”
“No, no. Coming home from work, like usual.”
“Work on Christmas Eve?”
“Well, only until noon. More like an office party downtown all morning. I actually left early to get home to Kerry and Kira,” said Dom.
“How’s everyone doing?” Charlie asked.
“Just great. It’s been a while. Why don’t you stop by tonight for dinner?”
“Thanks, Dom, but I think I’ll pass,” Charlie said.
“Why...Picking someone up?” Dom pried.
“Hopefully,” his brother replied.
“Hopefully? I’m sure there are better things to do then wait in a madhouse like this on the afternoon of Christmas Eve.”
“Actually, I’ve been here since early morning,” Charlie said. “I expect her at any moment.”
“Her?” Dom winked. “Ah, then it is a friend! I’m so glad for you! What’s her name? How did you meet? You know, give me the dirt.”
“Alice,” Charlie muttered. “Her name is Alice.”
“Funny, you’ve never mentioned her before.”
“There’s nothing to mention. I met her three years ago. “
Dom gave his brother a side-glance. “You met her three years ago? Why haven’t you introduced me?”
“The truth is, I haven’t seen her since. I come here every year to wait for her. It’s been three years now.
“Wait a minute, Chaz. You’ve been coming back…for three years…waiting for a woman you don’t even know?”
“Well, I don’t know her very well. We met here at the train station by mere chance.”
“Three years … it’s been that long already?” Dom asked softly.
“Since Ellen passed?” Charlie replied. “Yes, I suppose so.”
“And that’s when you met this…Alice?”
“Precisely.”
“Chaz, it’s your life; I know you’ve been lonely, and I don’t want to come off as the know-it-all older brother….”
“Like usual,” Charlie snapped, a smile playing on his face.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt. But okay, exactly how did you meet her?”
“Well, it was Christmas Eve. I was right here, at this bench, waiting for my train to Pittsburgh. After Ellen died, I needed to get away for the holidays…”
“I understand,” Dom interrupted. “I remember how tough those first holidays were.”
“I decided to visit Spider. You remember him. We were college roommates back in the day,” Charlie said.
“Oh, yes…Spider! Big drinker, if I recall correctly,” Dom reflected.
“Exactly. To be honest, I was going to Pittsburgh to drink my sorrows away. I didn’t want to be alone for the holidays, so he invited me out there. Well, if you remember, that was the year of the big Christmas Eve snowstorm. My train was delayed. A train from Baltimore pulled in right before they shut everything down. I was right over there, getting coffee. When the passengers from the Baltimore train started streaming in, the coffee line grew. The guy in front of me said he would pay for my coffee as a little Christmas gesture. I thought that was a nice idea, so I went along with it, and said I’d pay for the person behind me.
“Anyway, I heard this soft voice say ‘Thank you.’ I turned around to say ‘No problem.’ That’s when time stood still. This beautiful woman stood there. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Right here, in the hustle and bustle of the station. Our eyes met and that was it.”
“Tell me more,” Dom said. “Let’s sit down for this.”
“We started talking,” Charlie continued. “I ended up buying her a cinnamon bun too. The wafting aroma of cinnamon was just as intoxicating as her perfume.”
“Cinnamon! Sounds serious. So, what then?”
“Well, we strolled over to this bench and sat down. She said ‘Excuse me for a second,’ as she was looking up at the schedule board and texting someone. She had gotten off the Baltimore train and was planning to connect to the next train to Boston, which was her destination. But the snow had delayed everything. She was stranded like I was.
“She put her phone down and looked straight at me. It was like something in the movies. Sort of like ‘Sleepless in Seattle’-- like magic. Like it was meant to be. Instead of connecting to Boston and Pittsburgh, we connected with each other. My heart skipped a few beats, for the first time in a long while.”
“Let me guess…Did she have long red hair?” Dom asked.
“Yes. As a matter of fact, she did,” Charlie answered.
“And green eyes?”
“How did you know?”
“Brother, that’s Ellen,” Dom pointed out.
“Yes, that was Ellen,” replied Charlie. “It’s not my fault I like redheads with green eyes.”
“Go on,” Dom said.
“Where was I? Oh, yes…We started talking. That’s how I knew she was going to Boston. She had a terrific sense of humor. We laughed about the pathetic possibility of spending Christmas Eve stranded in a train station away from family and friends. She was so easy to talk to. She reminded me so much of…”
“Ellen,” Dom finished.
“Yes,” Charlie said. “Ellen. Like she was Ellen. Like Ellen missed me enough to ask out of heaven for Christmas Eve, just to spend it with me.”
“Isn’t that how you met Ellen? Here…by chance…at this train station?”
“Yes,” Charlie admitted. “Coincidence, isn’t it?”
Dom sat silently. “I want some coffee. Do you want a cup? Let’s go get some coffee, Chaz…”
“No!” Charlie replied steadfastly. “I can’t leave here. What if I miss her? I’m waiting for her, no matter what. You go and get the coffee if you like.”
“Okay, I’ll bring one back for you. My treat…but only because it’s Christmas,” Dom laughed. “I’ll be right back.”
********
Once around the corner Dom pulled out his cell phone and called his wife.
“Hey baby. He’s here. You had it all figured out. I’m pretty worried. Well, he’s obsessed. It’s one thing to meet a strange woman in a train station but it’s another to think she’s a reincarnation of your deceased wife. Yes, that’s why he’s here! I’ll tell you the whole story later. Listen, my train is leaving soon. I’m bringing him home for dinner. Do we have enough fish? I’m not leaving the train station unless he comes with me. He’s got to move on with his life. Call it tough brotherly love but I want my brother back…starting today. Ok, we’ll see you soon. Love you. Bye.”
Dom bought two cups of coffee; but before heading back to his brother, he purchased another train ticket. As Dom approached the bench, Charlie was nowhere in sight. Strange, after swearing that he would not leave that area.
“Where the hell is my lunatic brother?” Dom muttered.
That’s when Dom saw Charlie hustling back, flushed and out of breath.
“What’s wrong?” Dom asked, handing Charlie the coffee.
“I thought I saw her,” Charlie said. “I thought I saw her across the train station. Maybe she forgot where we met and went to the wrong bench. But it wasn’t her.”
They sat down again where Charlie picked up his story.
“So, there we were, talking for a good four hours. Naturally, she was sad about missing Christmas Eve with her sister, but, before you know it, we were best friends. She told me all about her life: She was a kindergarten teacher. She loved animals. She had a cat named Walter. Her favorite color was blue. She loved Christmas, but she was really a summer girl. She could cook, if need be. Her specialty was Italian, which is right up my alley. We had so much in common. Like soulmates.”
“Was she married?” Dom asked.
“I don’t know. She never took her gloves off, so I couldn’t tell if she was wearing a ring or not,” Charlie confessed.
“Chaz, you were star-struck by this beautiful woman who was the spitting-image of Ellen, you asked her all of this other dumb stuff, like ‘What’s your favorite color?’ and you don’t even know if she’s married?”
“Well, no. I didn’t think it was appropriate. After all, we just met,” Charlie reasoned.
“You were flirting with her?” Dom surmised.
“Yes.”
“And she was flirting with you?”
“Absolutely.”
“Did you get her number?”
“No,” Charlie admitted. “I didn’t ask for it.”
“She got yours?” Charlie sighed deeply. “No. The old Chaz, back in the day, would’ve given her his phone number in a heartbeat. This might sound crazy but I held back because…well…if it was really Ellen, I didn’t want her to think I was cheating on her.”
“Chaz,” his brother answered sternly, “Ellen is dead. You were there when she died. You were at her funeral. I know this hurts. But you have to accept the fact that Ellen is not coming back!”
Dom patted his brother on the shoulder as Charlie sipped his hot coffee. “I’m sorry to be so harsh, old man,” Dom apologized.
“I guess you’re right,” Charlie answered, staring ahead.
“This Alice…What happened to her?” Dom inquired.
“Pretty soon they announced that the snowstorm was moving out. They were clearing the tracks and would be up and running. I jokingly threw out the line ‘This has been fun. We should plan on meeting here every Christmas Eve, just for old times’ sake.’ She said ‘Sounds like a plan…See you next year!’ She boarded her train to Boston and I went home. I didn’t feel like going to Pittsburgh anymore. I was happy; It was good to laugh again, good to feel alive again.”
“Chaz, if your encounter with Alice made you feel better, so be it. But as far as coming back here every Christmas Eve, that was just small talk. Something people say they will do but never mean to do.”
Charlie remained silent.
“I know you have a lot of trust, more than I do,” Dom admitted. “You’ve been here, waiting for her, for three freaking years. She hasn’t shown. Isn’t that proof enough? “
Charlie put his coffee down on the bench and reached inside his overcoat pocket for a handkerchief, wiping his tired eyes.
“Maybe I’m losing it, Dom,” he said.
Poor guy, thought Dom. Chaz was always a sentimental fellow, but now his emotions were controlling his logic. “What do you mean, bro?” Dom asked. “Do you mean this woman isn’t real? That she’s a part of your imagination? A byproduct of your grief?”
“No, she was real! You must believe me.”
“I believe you, man. I believe you. She was real. But she wasn’t Ellen,” Dom replied, putting his arm around his brother. “Listen, Chaz-- I want you to come home with me. The Paoli train is about to leave and I got you a ticket. Kerry is making seven fishes. Remember how Mom used to do the traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner? Well, she’s not Mom when it comes to cooking…Don’t tell her I said that…but she’s pretty damn good. And Kira is all hyped-up about Santa this year. Please, I’m asking you to come home with me and share Christmas Eve dinner with us…like old times.”
“Like old times,” Charlie repeated.
“Yes, like old times. Like when we were kids. Like when you and Ellen used to stop over for Christmas. I miss those days. I miss having my only brother join us. It’s been three long, shitty years. I understand your grief, your sorrow…”
“No, you don’t! Don’t say you understand because you don’t! You never lost a wife to goddamn cancer,” Charlie replied, his voice rising. “Just because you’re a damn psychologist doesn’t mean you have to analyze everything in life. Some things are more a matter of the heart than the head. We had the greatest romance. I just want that again,” Charlie said, choking up.
“You’re right. I don’t know what you’ve gone through,” Dom said, humbled by his brother’s outburst. “What I do know is that it’s time, Chaz. Time to stop beating yourself up. I’m glad we’re talking again. You can always talk to me. Brother-to-brother. I’m always here for you.”
The Paoli train was leaving the station in five minutes. Time to board.
“Alright, grab your coffee,” Dom ordered. “Let’s hustle to make the train. I think it’s the last one leaving for the night…”
********
Thankfully, it wasn’t snowing as the brothers boarded their train, but it had turned bitterly cold. Charlie reached into his overcoat pocket for his gloves, only to find it empty. They must’ve fallen out of his pocket at the bench while he was reaching for his handkerchief.
“My gloves!” Charlie gasped. “I lost my gloves. I need to go back and get them.”
“Chaz, the train is ready to leave. They’re only gloves. I’ll buy you another pair,” offered Dom.
“No, I must go back and get them. Ellen gave me those gloves when we were dating. They are sentimental. She even had my name stitched on them. Don’t worry, I won’t miss the train. I’ll be right back!”
Charlie got off the train, ran to the station, flung open the door and sprinted to the bench where he had left his gloves. Breathlessly he arrived, only to find a familiar woman standing there, looking at the gloves and smiling.
“I remember these,” she said.
“Ellen,” he replied. I knew you would be here.”
They stood silently for what seemed like an eternity, looking into each other’s eyes.
“I had to come back, “she said. “My friends said to forget you, that it was only a chance encounter. I listened to them for a while, but I never forgot our Christmas Eve together. So, here I am. I told you I’m a hopeless romantic.”
Funny, she never corrected him about getting her name wrong.
In all of the excitement his homeward bound train slowly pulled away from the station, an exasperated Dom looking out the window.
“My brother, the lunatic,” he mumbled to himself, sitting down. “If you want to spend your Christmas Eve in a lonely train station by yourself, more power to you. I’m going home to my family.”
Back inside the station, Charlie and Ellen hugged.
“Coffee?” she suggested, smiling. “This time it’s my treat.”
“Cinnamon bun?” he asked, reaching for her hand.
“Of course,” she replied. “What would Christmas Eve be without it?”
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