A man at the bus stop asked me about the senior citizen bus pass I had in my hand. I told him about it, and he said he will qualify next spring. He fell silent.

“My bus is an hour late,” he said abruptly. “I can’t even get home to check on the work they’re doing in my house. I tried to trick them by saying I would fix them some lunch when they were done, and they said they were leaving.”

I said, “That’s not so good.”

“It’s my cousin, so that’s okay.”

“Yeah, you know where he lives.”

“He asked me if I have any money in the house. I don’t know why he had to ask that.”

My bus arrived on time, so I left him staring into the middle distance, and I started talking to the lady next to me in the senior citizen seats instead. She had a walker. We had the usual conversation about holding on tight when the bus turns. 

I hope that man got home in time to keep his cousin from robbing him blind. I hope that lady held on.