The Train Ride

I had traveled from Tucson, Arizona, to Glenwood Springs, Colorado, for my friend’s wedding. The train ride there, while scenic, was remote and consisted mainly of a desert landscape. I had grown up in Glenwood Springs, a hippy town, laidback and free. By the time I graduated high school, I had grown into a tall, gangly thing: five foot ten and all of one hundred and five pounds. My dad always said I had million-dollar legs, but I never saw any of that money.

I went off to school in Tucson and lived there after graduating. I enjoyed the heat because I was not too fond of wearing clothes, never a bra or underwear, and I’d always wear a very short sundress. I went for a few years without shaving my body hair, but after a few negative responses from guys getting into my pants, I started shaving. And I shaved everywhere. My pink peach was as smooth as a baby’s butt. I really wasn’t driven by sex, but I managed to get laid when I felt the urge. Men considered me pretty, but as far as sex was concerned, I was inexperienced.

So anyway, I went to a wedding, which was a great time. I got to see my folks and an old friend. My friend made a beautiful bride; the service and reception were perfect. I had a few offers to get laid at the reception but resisted the temptation. On Sunday, I hung out with friends, stayed longer than I should have, and got to the train station just before my train departed. It was due to leave at five PM and wouldn’t get into Tucson till morning. I was exhausted and planned on sleeping the entire trip.

I boarded the train at the front, and to my dismay, all the seats in the first few cars were full. I entered the last car on the train, finding only a few people at the front of the car, but at the back was a group of eight men, acting loud, unruly, and drunk. I sat three rows in front of the men, who all appeared to be in their late twenties or early thirties. I put in my earbuds and tuned them out.

At some point, I fell asleep, waking in the dark and needing to pee. I looked around, and as fate would have it, the washroom was at the back of the train. I looked back to see the men still partying strong. I took a deep breath and passed them on my way to the washroom. Besides getting bumped around, I made it unharmed. I could hear the men commenting on me while in the washroom, and when I came out, they greeted me.

“Well, hello beautiful, how are you?” a handsome man asked.

“I’m doing well,” I answered, offering a weak smile,

I passed the men and returned to my seat. It wasn’t long before the man sat beside me with a bottle and two plastic solo cups.

“I thought you may like a glass of wine for the journey,” He said softly.

“Umm, thank you, but I don’t think so. I was planning on going to sleep soon,” I replied.

“Oh, that’s a shame. We were hoping you’d come back and join us for a while,” He said, pouring wine into the two glasses.

“You guys are too far ahead of me. I could never catch up,” I laughed.

He handed me the cup of wine. I looked at the passengers in front of me; the train was dark, and I could barely make their shapes out. I turned to look at the men in the back. They had the washroom doors open and cast a light so they were visible. I took a sip of the wine. It tasted very familiar,

“OMG! What kind of wine is this,” I asked excitedly.

“Oh, It’s Boones Farm strawberry,” he replied

“I knew it! I used to drink this stuff in high school,” I stated excitedly.

He filled my solo cup to the top, “That’s great, here enjoy the memory,”

We sat and talked for quite a while, and he constantly refilled my cup. It brought back many memories. I was getting seriously buzzed off the wine. I’m not a drinker at all. We drank a whole bottle, and he left for a moment only to return with another full bottle. We continued to chat. He said his name was Martin, and his whole group were Marines on a seventy-two-hour pass. They were on their way back to their base outside of Tuscon.

“Let’s go back, and I’ll introduce you to the other guys. They’d love to meet you:” he said, smiling.

“Yeah, I’m pretty drunk. I probably shouldn’t,” I slurred a bit.

Martin grabbed my hand and stood up, pulling me to join him.

“No, really I’m,” was all I got out before I found myself standing and Martin directing me down the aisle.

“Hey everyone, this is Madilyn. She wants to party with us tonight,” he exclaimed to the drunk men.

I smiled and waved at the men as they roared their approval of me joining them.

“Really, I just came to say hello,” I babbled.

“We’re playing a drinking game, and it’s your turn,” one man said.

“No, I should get back,” I said.

Martin grabbed my drink, and a man showed me the game. I had to close my eyes, spin around, and then touch both index fingers to the tip of my nose. It seemed easy enough, so I thought I’d be safe playing. I closed my eyes, spun around, almost falling over, and missed my nose with both fingers. The men roared with laughter, one of them handing me a cup,

“OK, Madilyn, you lost drink up,” he said.

I looked in the cup at a yellow liquid filling a quarter of the cup.

“Drink, drink, drink,” The men chanted.

I looked to the front of the rail car to see if anyone was watching, but it was too dark for me to see anyone.