Green Eyed Girl - Chapter 1-5

Chapter 1

         I stood dumbstruck in limbo between the platform and the train car, as the swift warning of the subway door attempted to close on me. I stepped forward and found myself in a train car full of glaring fellow passengers, suggesting I had stood there too long, holding up the ride. An alarm triggered, lecturing me for not moving forward and finding my seat. Embarrassed, I hurried to the nearest empty seat and plopped down next to a frail Asian man.

Now that I was in the clear, reverting back into invisibility as far as the rest of the passengers were concerned, I thought back on the girl I’d seen stepping off the subway train across the platform. Something about her, I don’t know what, mesmerized me for that split second. Normally, I ignore strangers passing, mimicking the hustle and disconnected togetherness of the normal city crowds. We travel through our lives together as a group of strangers, caught up in our own thoughts and worlds, more alone than ever.

How many of these strangers have I traveled with before? I look over at the Asian man, who is dozing now, his head lolling forward toward the large brown paper bag balancing precariously on his lap. How many times has he passed me before? I make a mental note to check for this particular sixty-something year old man every so often from now on.

On another note, what’s in the bag? I tip my head forward, gazing at the overflowing contents of this mysterious paper bag. He had been to the market, bought himself a few tomatoes, some feta cheese, a half gallon of soy milk. Something leafy and green sticks out sideways. And then I think of that girl again, from the subway across from the one I’m on now.

Her eyes were green like lily pads. They were green like the leafy vegetable in my neighboring passenger’s paper bag, fresh and earthy. I wanted to see them again. I shot a glance up at the tiny device above the door, the one that had gotten impatient with me. I wish I had taken that moment to turn around, to catch up to the Lily Pad Eyed Girl. But of course, I’m too shy to have come up with anything to say, let alone to gather the courage it would have taken to turn around. I would have had to wait three hours for the next transit to get home. When did I become so predictable? What had happened to the spontaneity in me?

Once, when I was in Kindergarten school, I walked right up to Emily Tucker during our daily hour of indoor playtime. Emily was the cutest girl in my class. I remember coming up behind her, reaching up and tugging gently on one of her silky blond curls. She turned and looked at me and right at that moment I put my mouth on her cheek. And she blushed at me and pulled me over to play house with her and her friend Ashley.

Where had that boy gone? Sure, I had always been shy and probably never would have done that if prompted. And yet, there were those instances throughout my childhood in which you couldn’t place what on earth I was going to do next. Kissing Emily Tucker’s cheek wasn’t something I’d do now, even if she wasn’t the cutest girl. And talking to Green Eye Girl wasn’t something I could count on catching myself doing. This needed to change. And so, seconds before my stop, I turn to the sleeping man next to me and what do I do?

I reached into the paper bag on his lap, and I steal his leafy green stuff! As soon as the subway train stops, I’m on my feet and out the door and nearly jogging now across the platform and up the stairs to get to my apartment. I actually giggle, feeling a rush of adrenaline I don’t remember ever experiencing before. What did I just do? Who knows, but it felt good.



Chapter 2

As I entered the flat I suddenly felt embarrassed. How was I going to explain away this green substance? I’m really not the type of guy who buys groceries, especially things that look like they need some cooking to turn into anything edible. It’d be different if I walked in sporting a sack full of take out. I mean, a guy’s gotta eat sometimes. But the Green Thing was definitely not in my diet plan. I swallowed a lungful of totally unhelpful air and opened the door.

Of course, I couldn’t catch a break and walk in to find the place devoid of pesky family members. There, sitting on the couch with a look on her face that told me I was definitely not getting away with this was my sister in law. No, wait. Not just her, but BOTH of her equally puzzled kids. I checked my watch. It’s just after five. “Before you say anything, Tris. Why don’t you tell me what you all think you’re doing lounging about?”

Her face changed then, slightly embarrassed now. I bet it matched my own expression. “We were just taking a break from um,” She looked around at the wreck I like to call my home, “cleaning?” She shrugged. I knew this was a lie. I’d asked her to do the chores this morning, knowing they wouldn’t get done.

“I worked all day, man. I pay the bills, I let you guys crash here for going on, 5 months now? The least you could do is clean up once in a while.” She nodded with a knowing look in her eyes. “I’ll do it tomorrow, Rick. I promise. But uh,” here it goes, “you wanna explain what the hell that thing is?”

My nephew laughed, probably due to the “hell” part of that question and nothing more. He’s barely 2 years old and usually bears an expression that exudes he has no clue what’s going on but is happy to be included in the conversation. I used this as a stalling point. “Hey man, what are you laughing at?” I dropped my briefcase and jacket on the end table by the door and crossed over to him, egging him on. “C’mon, tell us the joke, buddy.”

He giggled more and leaned in to my ear. “Hell!” he cried into my ear. I’ve got to teach this kid how to whisper. “Jamie!” Tris scolded with equal volume, which made both Jamie and me grin in accomplishment. But then she fixed her eyes on me and pointed the the Green Thing, “alright really, what is it?”



I sighed, caught in the trap. I decided to admit defeat, “I have no freaking clue.” This perked up my shy but very bright five year old niece, Piper. “You don’t know what it is? But you buyed it, Uncle Rick.” Her big doe eyes got even wider and then she relaxed into a giggle. “You’re silly.”

“YOU’RE silly!” I replied, laying the Green Thing on the coffee table and lunging at her mismatched socked feet, prepared to tickle until the heat of this embarrassing predicament simmered down. I made a mental note amidst Piper’s peals of laughter, to be more spontaneous so as to avoid situations like this one.



Chapter 3

         “So you’re saying that you were just sitting there on the bus and you thought ‘Hey, I’ll just jack this poor innocent sleeping man’s leaves and run?’ How does that make any kind of sense?” Tris sat on the kitchen counter, leaning out to check on the kids. Piper and Jamie sat in the living room floor, eyes glued to the television.

         There was nothing good in the fridge, so I opened a drawer and began rummaging through the take-out menus for something cheap and plentiful. The pile of menus drove a hard bargain, so I had to sacrifice and settle for expensive. “Chinese food?” I glanced sideways at her.

         She nodded, “Chinese sounds fitting, considering you stole from an unsuspecting Asian man today.” I frowned at her, “How did you know he was Asian? Are you some sort of clairvoyant now?” Hey, if she could pick on me for being spontaneous, two could play that game. At least dinner would be cheap.

         “The label.” She pointed to the Green Thing. I went over to pick it up, taking some time to observe it more thoroughly. Sure enough, the words Pho Market circled the base of the plant on a thin strip of paper. “That makes him Asian?”

         Tris picked at her nails, “Well, I just assumed…”

         “You shouldn’t assume things like that.” I hate when she picks at her nails like that. She leaves little strips of skin and nails all over the apartment. Gross. “But yeah, he was Asian.”

         “Was? You just saw him less than an hour ago. I’m betting he’s still alive. You should say ‘is’.” She smirked at me behind a half chewed nail.

         “Save it, Tris. Just help me figure out what the heck it is.” I handed her the Green Thing. She reached out for it and snatched it away, sliding off the counter like a salamander. “It’s probably some kind of lettuce or something. Who cares anyway?”

         “I care. I risked my credibility as a regular bus rider for it. I ought to know what it is.” I should have taken the cheese instead. Why did I even do it to begin with? I dialed the number for Dragon Moon, the closest Chinese restaurant.



         “Uncle Rick?” a tiny voice called from across the hall. Sighing, I got up from my desk chair and shuffled into Piper’s room. “Yeah, bug?”

         She sat there in her jammies in the middle of a pile of books. Piper was the weirdest kid I’d ever met. She’d been wild about books since she could talk, it seemed. No barbies for Piper. On her birthdays, she begged for new books instead of toys.

         “Read me a story? Please?” She held one up to me. “Look, it’s a skinny one and everything. It’s just one.” How could I say no to such a face? I crossed the room, slid some of the books out of the way and sat down on the bed beside her. Even as bookish as she was, she hadn’t quite got the hang of reading by herself. I don’t blame her though; I had no desire to even try reading when I was her age.

         “Why did you take that man’s food??” Her big blue eyes looked up at me, reminding me so much of my little brother’s. “Where’d you hear that?”

         Crap. She must’ve been listening in on the conversation. I forget how supersonic her hearing is. “It was a really stupid thing for me to do, Piper. And it wasn’t very nice. I wouldn’t like it if someone took something that belonged to me.”

         “You should give it back, Uncle Rick. Because…  What if that man is hungry?” Her lower lip started to twitch. “Oh shit, don’t cry, please! Look, I’ll give it back tomorrow I promise, okay?”

         Piper nodded, blonde curls bobbing in all directions. “Okay.”

         I stacked the books up, tucked her in and flicked the light off. “Get some sleep, buggy. You have school tomorrow.” As pulled the door shut to a crack she said softly. “And don’t say shit.” I grinned through the crack in the door and put a finger to my lips. I really did need to start watching what I said around her. Her brother too, for that matter.



         I woke up about an hour early to the wretched sound of Tris well, wretching, her dinner into the toilet. I went to the hall closet and got a rag. I turned the light on to see her hunched over the toilet. “You alright?”

         “Do I look alright?” She barely got the words out before continuing painting the inside of our toilet a putrid shade of orange. I grimaced, wishing I hadn’t looked. I fumbled to wet the rag and handed it over. “What’s wrong?”

         She shook her head, wiping her mouth and flushing. “I don’t know, I guess food poisoning? I woke up feeling like microwaved dog shit about an hour ago. She was sweating profusely, still bent over the toilet. I felt bad for her, but I couldn’t help but laugh at her appearance.

         “What’s so fucking funny?” She could be a major potty mouth when her kids weren’t present. Between chuckles I forced out an explanation. “My precious!” I said, walking back towards my bed.

         “Hey shut up.” She must’ve jumped to her feet pretty quick because I wasn’t even back to my bedroom before a wet slap hit my bare back. “That better not be what I think it is.” I looked back. Sure enough, Tris was standing there holding the puke rag. “I didn’t have to get up and give you that rag!”

         Tris’ giggles erupted loudly, eliciting a sudden whimper from Piper’s room. “Great. You woke everyone up!” My back tingled with the distinct feeling of fresh sister in law bile. I went to the bathroom to take a shower. I really didn’t want to smell like puke for the rest of the day. “Jamie’s not up yet, can you take Piper to school?”

         I closed the door in her face, sighing, “Sure. But only so Jamie can sleep in. It has nothing to do with you ralphing.” I could almost hear her sarcastic smile through the door. “Thanks, Rick.” Her fuzzy slippers scooted across the carpet away from the door, leaving me to clean myself up. She could be so gross sometimes.



Chapter 4

         Halfway down the elevator Piper let out a huge gasp. She was not a morning person by any means, and I dreaded what preposterous diva realization she had come up with now. We had already searched the whole house for the match to her polka dot knee high socks, redone her backpack straps, remade the sandwich Tris had packed her last night because it had mustard on it. I’m not even sure when Piper stopped liking mustard, but when I quizzed her on it I found out some goddess-like creature named Rachel from Piper’s class didn’t like mustard either.

         I wondered what it was like to be a five year old girl with poofy curls who liked books and mustard. She must struggle to fit in. My frustration with her softened a little. I had never thought of it before, but maybe Piper had a tough life. She had to live with a mom like Tris and a man that was related but in no way a replacement for her dad.

         “The Green Thing!” She surprised me out of my thoughts. I groaned, “Piper, I’ll deal with it later.” I pressed the Lobby button on the elevator a few more times, wishing it would hurry so we wouldn’t have to go back to the apartment again. Just then I made the mistake of looking down into her blue eyes.

         “But you promised, Uncle Rick! You gotta give it back. What if we see him?” The elevator door opened to the lobby. I shook my head at the crazy, frivolous choice I was about to make and reached out to press the button to the fifth floor again, letting the door close. “We’re gonna be late buggy. But I guess I did make a promise. You go grab it, hurry up.”



         Piper’s school is a far walk, and she had already missed her bus long before Attack of the Ralph Rag. I hailed a cab, practically feeling the stab to my credit card. We climbed inside a stinky yellow car and made our way to her school.

         “Nice socks.” The cab driver noted, making a quick connection with Piper’s sleepy eyes through the rearview mirror. “Oh, thanks,” she replied, kicking her feet around a little. “They are my favorite. We don’t get to wear lots of cool stuff at my school.” She pointed to her uniform.

         I raised my eyebrow at the cab driver, testing his intentions talking to my niece. You just can’t trust people here. But he responded with a chuckle, “My daughter goes to your school too. I hate those uniforms, the stains are hard to get out.”

         I relaxed a bit but felt puzzled by what he said. Why would he be washing his kids clothes? Where was the mother? Since when did I care about other people’s lives? Suddenly, the car lurched to a stop. “Ohh no.” The cabby had a thick Indian accent, which made Piper giggle.

         “What happened?” I leaned forward to look out the windshield. We were pretty much there, but he should’ve pulled up all the way. I frowned at him, but then recognized the issue when I looked at the dashboard. “Battery is screwy?” I asked him.

         The cabby shook his head, “It is the alternator. I’ve been meaning to get it fixed but money is so tight sometimes. School is expensive here.” I sympathized with the guy. He must be a single dad to find things like elementary school tuition expensive. “I hear you. I gotta pay for this one’s school. She’s my niece.”

         I slid my credit card for the ride, getting ready to walk Piper up to the school. “I gotta get her in there man, she’s probably late already. I’ll come back and check on ya?” He nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

         I extended my hand first, for the first time in who knows how long. He reached across the high front seats to shake my hand. “My name is Rick.” Piper opened her door and slid out of the car, reaching back in for her backpack. “I am Aseem. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

         It’s funny how you make friends in between the scenes of daily life. Actually, I don’t know when the last time I made a friend was, or if I even made one just now. He seemed like he was just nice to everyone.

“C’mon Buggy. We gotta go talk to that principal of yours.” I grabbed Piper’s hand. She thinks she’s too old to hold hands in public, but this is a busy road. Tris would never forgive me if anything happened to Piper.



Chapter 5

         I checked Piper in to school with little trouble. “Piper! Is this your daddy?” an older lady working in the front office reached down to pat Piper on the shoulder. Most of the time, people just think she’s my kiddo, because of the family resemblance and same last name. Piper looked down at the floor. Crap.

         “Actually she’s my niece. Strong genes, I guess.” I quickly explained, reached for Piper’s late slip and walked out the door, pulling Piper along behind me. As soon as we got out in the hall I bent down to look into her big blue eyes. Yep, watery just like I expected. “You alright, bug?”

         She reached up to wipe a tear. For a kid, she’s a surprisingly silent crier. “I’m okay, Uncle Rick. She didn’t know.” I pulled her in for a hug, nearly knocking her off balance.

         “Woah, what is in your backpack!? It’s heavy as crap!” Piper giggled through her tears. “My books are due at the library today. And don’t say crap.” I shook my head. This kid could run through books like no one I’ve ever seen, especially to not be able to read really well on her own yet.

         “Tris is reading to you lots?” I hadn’t really been home early enough most nights lately to read a story to Piper. I felt bad now, realizing that fact. She probably misses me. “I’d read to you more if I got home from work on time.” She looked up at me, knowingly.

         “You have to work though, Uncle Rick. I know it’s expensive to take me here.” She squeezed my hand.  I looked down at the late slip in my other hand. “We’re gonna be late AGAIN. This thing has a time limit.” I pulled her down the hallway. Who gives a time limit to a five year old?

         “You sure you’re okay?” I wiped the last of her tears out of her eyes. She was a strong girl, I knew she would be fine but I had to ask. “Yes, I’m gonna be okay. It’s no big deal. I will ride the bus home, okay?” I smiled at her for thinking ahead. “Tell mommy to feel better.” She opened the door to her classroom and headed over to the teacher. I waved and walked off, that heavy feeling of losing my brother settling back down to dwell with all the rest of my burdens.



         After dropping Piper off I walked back down to meet Aseem. He was helping to load the cab onto a truck. “Oh, Mister Rick.” He smiled at me.

         “You don’t have to do all that ‘sir’ and ‘mister’ stuff, man. I’m cool.” I stepped off the curb awkwardly. I’ve never really been too sure how to talk to new people. It’s weird, trying to be friendly to a stranger. “So how come you didn’t get your car fixed ahead of time?”

         He shrugged, “I do not really make that much money. I work some nights at the corner store plus I drive every day but I still can’t really afford any stalling.” I frowned, “The cab services don’t pay for your repairs?”

         “No, they do. But if it is being fixed, I cannot work. If it’s in the shop, I don’t have a car to drive people in. I don’t get commission. But now it’s going to take like a week when it would only take a day or two if I got it serviced ahead of time. My fault, I guess. Sorry it happened at the end of your ride.”

         I shook my head, “No big deal, man. It’s not that far to walk. Really.” I hailed down a new cab. “You want to catch a ride with me? I’m headed back to the subway.” I looked down at my watch. I was over two hours late to work now but the shop owner was out of town. Maybe I could put in some extra time later to help out. I was never late to work.

         We climbed into the cab together, watching the tow truck drive away with Aseem’s cab. The new driver smiled wide. “Aseem! You dog, I told you your car was going to break down.” Aseem shot the driver a look, “I know. It happened at a good time though. I caught myself a nice customer.” He pointed to me.

         “Ah,” I said, feeling modest, “I get it. Stuff happens.” The driver grinned. This guy was toothy. “Usually people from the big city are really uptight and they just don’t understand. Thank you for being cool with Aseem, sir.” He rolled to a stop in front of the subway entrance. I pulled out my card.

         Aseem held his hand out in protest. “I will vouch this ride.” He slid a company voucher card before I could protest. I put my card back in my wallet, secretly relieved for the kindness. “You didn’t have to do that.

“Thank you Rick, you are a good man. I will see you around.” He handed me a business card. “You call me if you need a long ride anywhere, I will take you.” I took it, stepped out of the car and gave a little wave. “Have a good day, guys.”

How did that happen? Strangers here never talked to me. No one ever did anything nice for me for no reason. I didn’t really know what to think about this morning, or last night, for that matter. It was like something shifted in me. Walking down the steps to the underground subway, I thought of that girl from the bus yesterday. I looked down at my plastic sack full of Green Thing. Yes, my life was definitely shaking up a little.