Jim's Beach Weekend

The train stopped, as it approached the east coast. Jim had boarded the train, seven hours earlier that Friday morning. The upcoming three day weekend was his summer vacation. A young looking girl entered the car; sat in seat in front of and across the aisle from Jim. Also a young man, around twenty, sat in the window seat across the aisle. The young man handed a magazine towards Jim and said he had a blog in it and asked if Jim wanted to see it. Jim said he didn't want to see it. The young man asked the girl if she wanted to see it. She held the magazine a bit, handed it back, and said nothing.
The girl looked at photos on a display. All the photos had a picture of a girl in them. Jim thought they could be photos of the girl.
At the next train stop, an older looking young man wearing torn pants, boarded. Jim recognized these pants as expensive pants sold with tares in them. The man also carried a very expensive camera. He talked with the girl for a while. Jim thought he might have taken the pictures of the girl. Jim thought the man considered himself as the "starving artist" type, but in reality he was well off financially.
After the man left; the girl, looking into a small mirror, brushed on skin tone makeup. Jim thought she wanted to get just the right look for a photo.
Late that afternoon, Jim arrived at the hotel. Unknown to him, he had reserved two rooms, one was the bedroom and one was the kitchen-living room. Two white robes were hanging by the closet door. Jim recognized the robes were there and he could use them, but he felt they were for someone else. A sliding glass door in the living room opened to a balcony. From the fifth floor, Jim saw the boardwalk, the sand beach, and the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Jim found a Friday special all you can eat buffet for twenty-nine dollars. While eating Jim thought a meal at a fast food place for six dollars was better. He finished his meal and paid by credit card. The waitress returned the card with a receipt where a tip can be written in. Jim wrote in two dollars and left the restaurant.
Early Saturday morning, Jim strolled along the boardwalk. A-sleep on a bench was someone completely covered in a blanket. A truck, with police written on the side; stopped, the driver got out, woke the sleeping person, said something, and left. The person removed the blanket from his head. Jim recognized him as the young man, with the magazine, on the train.
At Noon, Jim went away from the beach a few blocks to newly built stores which sold expensive items. He had lunch, and then he started back to the beach. Walking past him, in the opposite direction, was the person he saw sleeping on the bench. Jim thought the young man was walking to the local rail system two and a half miles away, where a train could take him to the train station.
That evening, Jim stopped by an outside sitting area of a restaurant, to eat. He found it crowded with no available seats outside. So he sat just inside, which was the bar area. A waitress came to the table and asked if he wanted anything. No one was eating inside, so he asked for a diet soda. He drank his soda and saw other persons were receiving bills at their table. He had received no bill, so he asked the waitress for the bill. She said he didn't have to worry about the bill. On Sunday evening he returned to the restaurant and the same thing occurred. Jim felt odd that other people were paying for their drinks but he was not.
On Monday morning, Jim was walking on the boardwalk and saw an older, rundown looking, man sitting on a bench. Two females, about the mans age, stopped. One sat beside him. The other sat a few feet away.
The female sitting beside the man said, "If you want I can get you into the apartment."
He said nothing and kept looking at the sea horizon.
She said, "At least you have a place to live. With a address for a place to live, you might be able to get a job."
He continued looking at the ocean and said proudly, "I'm getting 679 dollars now.", as if he had achieved something after a long time trying and not achieving.
He added, "I guess I could."
She replied, "They'll probably throw you out after a couple of months. But with a job you can find another place.''
He knowingly stated, "Yes. I'm a veteran. It shouldn't be like this."
The other lady started taking a plastic wrapped sandwich out of her purse. She stopped, held it at the edge of her purse, and slid it back in.
Jim had been in the military also. He felt he understood what the man was saying. Because of this, he didn't want to hear more of the conversation, so he continued his walk.
Close to noon, Jim passed the two white unused robes by the closet door, as he left the room. After checking out, Jim walked across the street and two blocks. He reached the lot where a bus picked him up and took him to the train station. This was a free ride for Jim, since it was included in the train ticket price.
He sat on the train and remembered the young man on the train, the girl on the train, and the veteran sitting at the beach. He didn't think of the man with the expensive camera or the free sodas he received at the restaurant. The train left the station.