"That's right, girl," says a man who is so fat and dark he
reminds me of a fudge brownie.

"Do you think it'll rain today?" I ask him.

"Yes it is supposed to thunderstorm," he enunciates.

I shift my gaze to the girl next to him. She is asleep and
wearing a shirt that says I'm $ingle If You're RICH.
Her boyfriend is lightly tickling her arm. I wonder how he
feels about the shirt, and whether he is very funny or
indulgent or illiterate.

Rain begins to spatter the windows as we cross the Williams-
burg bridge. Even though the weather will affect everyone's
day differently, there is one moment when we all think the
same thing. The Brownie Man gives me a look. I wait for the
sleeping girl to wake up and notice the rain, but we're under-
ground by the time she opens her eyes. Then it's my stop.

Two bald men get on the train, and their heads are both dry.
It must not be raining anymore, or else they have umbrellas, or
have been waiting a long time in the station.


Index