Swaying gently with the train, I opened my eyes to watch the city lights. As I began to drift off again, an elderly man settled into the seat next to mine and asked if I wanted a drink. Startled by both the question and his voice, I looked over to confirm that it was, indeed, my father, who had died several years ago.
"Where are you headed?" he asked.
"Down to Lexington for a pickleball tournament."
"At your age? You should have stayed in medical school." He shook his head.
I was about to argue the point when a commotion in the aisle drew our attention. Some guy in a clown suite was running from an old lady who kept beating him with her cane and telling him to keep his fucking hands to himself.
"Wasn't that Clara Johnson? The old lady that used to live down the street from us?" I asked.
Unfazed by the incident, my father asked what I wanted from the bar.
"Just a Diet Coke."
"I'll get you a beer."
While he was off to the lounge car, a young woman grabbed his seat. I initially tried to ignore her but jumped when she spoke.
"Hi, Mack" she said.
Unbelievably, it was my college girlfriend and she had not changed a bit. She was even wearing the same perfume.
"Hey, Margo. How have you been?"
She just leaned over and kissed me on the mouth.
"Want to come over to my place?" she asked.
Though I've been married for twenty years and have two teenaged kids, I did not hesitate.
"Sure. When?"
"Now," she said. "It's at the next stop. Don't you remember?"
It was then that I noticed the train was actually a bus and that I was dressed only in a T-shirt and a pair of boxers. As the bus creaked to a halt, we stood at the door and, when it opened, jumped from the steps into a large, calm pool.
The water was warm and a bowl of stars gleamed overhead. It was otherwise pitch dark and I could not see Margo. Though I repeatedly called her name, she did not answer.
I suddenly awoke in my bed, tears on my face.
