You: trombone case and oranges on the Blue Line. Me: across the aisle

You stood on the Blue Line at rush hour holding a trombone case and a bag of oranges, as if there were no other way to travel. When the train jerked, the trombone case leaned on a man in a suit, who held it steady the rest of the way without speaking. Nobody said a word. You got off at Logan Square. The man in the suit looked at his hands, then at the door. He looked proud. I do not know if he was thinking of the trombone or the oranges. I have been thinking of both.