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A Date’s Awkward End on the Subway

Dear Diary:

Last fall, I had been out to a concert with a man I had been dating. After an evening of fun, we headed toward the subway to go to our respective homes. My date was moving to a new apartment, so there was some question about which stop we’d be choosing to say goodbye, adding to the inevitable awkwardness that comes with the early stages of getting to know someone.

When we got to the 14th Street stop, he quickly realized he had to be at the apartment nearest there to receive a furniture delivery in the morning. With barely any warning, he left the crowded train, giving me a clumsy hug and a quick kiss on his way out.

I sat down to continue on to Brooklyn, no doubt looking a little downtrodden about dating in New York, and noticed a lovely older couple sitting across from me. The woman, who thought I couldn’t hear her, said to her husband, “It must be so hard to have to say good night like that on the subway!” Her husband saw that I had heard her and smiled politely at me. The woman repeated herself two or three times to her blushing husband until she finally realized I could hear her.

“It’s true!” I exclaimed from across the aisle. “It’s totally awkward! You’re exactly right. Thank you for saying so!”

She smiled sheepishly at me, as her sweet husband flashed me a knowing smile and said, “There’s always tomorrow, dear.”

How did he know exactly what I needed to hear

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