It was an afternoon of heat when Theadosia crossed the platform, teetering in her unfamiliar spindly heels, and trailing her rinky-dinky suitcase-on-wheels behind her. Its rather basic rolling mechanism generated such a thunderous rumble that all the birds of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire closed their beaks and waited for peace to descend before they continued. She settled down on a bench to wait, giving some relief to her feet.
It was not long before the train drew up there, wontedly, requiring Theadosia to stand up. She did so arranging herself carefully atop her platforms, and smoothing her clinging skirt down over her thighs. She had not been on the platform long, but it was long enough to attract the attention of a young man standing nearby. He was pleased to see that she was getting on the same train as him, for he admired her carriage, and followed her gently jostling buttocks, and the grundling noise of the suitcase, towards the train. Theadosia’s thoughts were on staying upright as she negotiated the short trip in heels of such tallth as to make the outcome worth betting on.
The carriage had sufficient passengers to justify him ending up near her, but not claiming a seat. As the train began to move off, he saw out of the corner of his eye that she had crossed her shapuliceous legs and one of her radical shoes was dangling provocatively off her foot. He looked out of the window, watching the landscape waft past in that unseeing way which tends to be the fate of views from trains, – the meadowsweet and haycocks dry being rather wasted on him -and simultaneously focussing on Theadosia’s ankle. He saw her tilt her head up at him, and he met her eyes. There was a pause whilst eye introductions were made, and then he noticed she was looking at him oddly.
“I really like your shoes” explained Caspian (for that was his name) and she giggled. “I don’t think they were a very good choice actually”
Caspian assured her that they were a VERY good choice, and they laughed again. As they did so, his eyes also found themselves wanting to meet other parts of her: They enjoyed the way that the skin of her neck segued down into her chestular areas, and the way these moved up and down so adorably when she breathed. They took in her shapely ankles, and enjoyed the way these gave way to utterly gastrocnemiously fine calves. They positively relished the soft curves of her torso, wrapped as it was in something admirably thin and stretchy, and they joined in the general celebration when a sudden jolt of the train threw Caspian to one side so that his leg was against her thigh. She did not move it away, but after a moment uncrossed her legs and crossed them the other way, a manoeuvre which caused her instep to brush down the length of his calf . He was aware of a powerful juddering sensation which was unconnected with the movement of the train.
They travelled thusly for two stops, getting gradually more crushed together by a combination of boarding passengers and their mutual tendency to accommodate the new arrivals by adopting closer and closer proximity. It was a strategy effective on all counts.
After a while Theadosia looked up, catching Caspian’s eye (which was lucky, as had it hit the floor it might have been lost forever) and saying “It’s so busy here. Shall we try the buffet car?”
Caspian nodded eagerly: this was practically a date. He watched with a warm glow of inner joy/lust (is that joyst?) as Theadosia wriggled herself upright, once again using her hands to smooth down her clothing in a way which Caspian envied. Once upright on her teeterers she was the same height as him and they looked directly into each other’s faces for the first time. Now their eyes could meet properly, exchange phone numbers and really get to know each other.
Theadosia turned and squirmed her way forward through the throng of people, causing a wave of furtive gazes as her fulsome and callypigous buttoculars oscillated past. Caspian followed, mesmerised.
Eventually they reached the end of the carriage, and the connecting section between it and the next. Caspian had a sudden thought: “is this the right direction for the buffet car?”
“There isn’t a buffet car on this train”
“Oh”
“Oh!”
They stood together on the throbbing floor, feeling every stirring and surging movement, swaying together.
“Do you mind standing here, right on the link between the carriages?” asked Theadosia. Caspian assured her that far from being troubled by it, he rather liked couplings .At the next station, which was a big one, the train disgorged most of its passengers. Normally it would have disgorged Caspian as well, but on this occasion he remained engorged. As they pulled away again, both glanced up and down the carriages, enjoying the sight of empty seats.
“That’s better!” said Caspian. “I don’t like strap-hanging!”
Theadosia was able to convince him quite rapidly that some straps were worth gripping, if only briefly. And indeed as the train negotiated a big set of points, Caspian found that his strap-hanging had released the biggest and most delightful set of points he had ever seen, and that they responded charmingly to the rough ride they were both experiencing. It seemed that the lack of a buffet car did not stop them getting refreshment and a bit of a nibble, and as the engine pounded towards its destination, Caspian gave a final shunt and Theadosia and whispered in his ear
“That was first class”
