Rebecca Hayes

The Woman in the Notebook

The morning’s flurry of activity had exhausted him; this morning was like all others. But now began one of his favorite rituals: reading the morning paper. He sighed heavily as he took his seat on the commuter train and quickly opened his newspaper so that no one would strike up conversation. It was such a disappointment when someone chatty sat beside him and he felt obligated to engage. “Monday, June 3, 1935...”— and he was lost to his surroundings. He timed his reading perfectly; he could read the entire front page before the train would arrive at Paddington Station. However, an article detailing a volatile but rallying stock market grabbed his attention. As a bank president, he had been consumed by the global depression, and he was hungry for good news. He glanced out the window while deep in thought. Almost too late, he realized the train was at the station. Swiftly, he swung his legs out of his seat, tripping a young lady who was hurrying to exit the train. She could not brace her fall and fell facedown. Overcome by embarrassment, she avoided looking at anyone, and quickly she straightened her hat, grabbed her handbag, and scurried to the platform. Try as he might to apologize, the gentleman could not catch her. At the end of the aisle, an elderly woman grabbed the sleeve of his coat, and said, “Here, Mister. She dropped this.” In his hands, the woman placed a little black notebook.