A Rat in Our Vicinity!

I was taking the V train to west 4th after work because I am doing tennis pick-up in the village.

I opened my new Sherman Alexi book Flight and I was reading it diligently. Then the whole story arc changed and it was difficult to understand so I looked away from the page to let the story shift process.

The train was pretty sparsely populated and across from me a skinny older black lady was sitting in her purple sundress listening to an ipod and reading a magazine. I looked down at her legs and there was a black canvas bag.

Then out of the corner of my eye there was movement and my eye tracked it. It was a huge fucking rat! And it was scuttling along the wall of the train car, across the train and then underneath her seat. And then he must've sniffed something nice inside the black bag and he ever so delicately weaved between her legs and pulled down the side of the bag and climbed right in. He stayed in there, rustling around.

We got to my stop and I battled with what to say, if anything, without causing panic. Luckily the woman was getting up too. She was folding her magazine and going to pick up her bag. I held my hand to her in a 'stop don't way' and said 'ma'am theres a rat in your bag'.

Her look was at first disbelief and then when she looked down and saw her bag moving and bustling there was understanding. She rushed up and batted at her bag, once twice and thrice with her magazine. The bag rustled. The doors were open and people were waiting to get on but hesitating, sensing a scene, and out popped ratty!

The whole platform exploded in excitement. Ratty scurried along down the car and people poured out of the train. I walked along next to the woman and said the first not unkind thing that came to me. "I didn't know if he was your pet, I just wanted to make sure." She smiled meekly and went up the stairs, I kept walking down the platform.

What if it was her pet? What if she was embarrassed and now she and ratty are forever separated. Oh well, there will be other rats.