The Ghost & The Bus Driver

Eight months pregnant, alone, but not lonely. My mind was focused on preparing my apartment for the November arrival of a newborn. Once a month I allowed myself a shopping trip on the bus after going to my doctor's appointment. I didn't have much money left after groceries and rent but I always had enough for a few baby necessities.

My apartment was probably shabby, looking back on it now. To me, it was a sanctuary for my new life with a child. A mural of soft blues and greens dominated the bedroom; a large butterfly and a small identical one flying behind it. From a sale at Joann Fabric I had snagged a bolt of pale peach and green cotton print and hand sewed a bedspread and matching ruffled cover for the bassinette from a lawn sale.

The kitchen was painted blue and I had scraped the many years of torn contact paper off the counters, replacing them with a pretty blue tile. The floors of the apartment were scrubbed so often that they always looked wet, causing me to re-scrub them repeatedly. To say I was a neat freak was not giving me enough credit for my bizarre behavior.

The Fall time change had crept up on me, making me oblivious that I lived in a dangerous section of our city and my monthly excursions would now land me back on my sketchy street after dark. As my delivery time neared, the doctor appointments came more often. So, also had my health problems.

One morning I was waiting at the bus stop for a trip to the doctors when my vision blurred and I felt myself tilting precariously off the curb into oncoming traffic as I blacked out. From out of nowhere came a mysterious hand gently guiding me off the curb and lowering me to the grass next to the sidewalk.

The bus approached and I turned to thank my rescuer. There was no one standing behind me. I asked the driver and he saw no one either. I told him I was feeling faint and someone kept me from falling headfirst into the road.

Concern etching the dark face, that usually bore a bright smile, he offered me a seat behind him, requesting the man there move for me. When we arrived at the bus stop he asked how far it was to my doctor's office. Instead of letting me off at the stop, he pulled into the driveway of the office and waited until I safely entered.

Urinary tract infection was found early and treated with a packet of pills from the drug window. They used to do that. If you needed something right away you'd get sent home from the doctors with a little packet of pills; codeine, morphine, oxycontin, penicillin, you name it. No ID needed. Oh, the good old days!

Feeling a bit better, I began my cross town trek to the department stores and Woolworth's to finish buying the baby's layette set. The sky was darkening and frozen drops of rain began pelting me while I sat on the bench waiting for the 4:30 bus to East Colvin Street.

My favorite bus driver pulled up close to the curb and smiled at me. "How did your doctor appointment go?"

It may seem intrusive but I was thankful he cared. He was the only one who did at the time.

"Fine. I had an infection and they gave me some pills for it. I guess I'm due early in November," I babbled.

"Well, that's good. Say, it's freezing rain out and too dark for you to walk home from the bus stop. You live in the green building, right?"

"Yes, but you don't have to go through any trouble."

"No trouble at all. I have to turn around to take her back to the garage anyway. You shouldn't be walking alone on a slippery sidewalk in your condition. We are put here on earth to watch out for one another," he said, pulling right into my apartment house's parking lot and waiting for me to get inside.

Not knowing who the angel was that kept me from falling into the street, I couldn't thank them. Instead, I remembered to thank the bus driver every chance I got, because we are put here on earth to watch out for one another, right?