The young woman smiled at him again, and before he could offer to help her, she hoisted her briefcase up and went to stow it in the luggage rack above. With her arms stretched out over her head, she arched up on tiptoe to drop it in. Pressed so close to him, it was difficult for Carter to avoid staring up into her blouse. Meantime, his compartment mates looked the young woman up and down from head to toe, and exchanged glances and not-so-subtle nods of approval. Just then the train lurched to one side, and the young woman stumbled toward Carter. Instinctively he reached up and caught her by the elbow before she fell onto him.

“O Dio,” she laughed when she finally settled into the seat beside him. “Grazie.”

“Prego, signorina,” he replied politely, sliding closer to the window to give her more space.

Carter turned his attention back to the window, while the young woman, who was no doubt accustomed to being ogled, fussed with her purse. As she did so, she studiously avoided eye contact with the other men, each of whom was dying for her to look his way. Carter glanced back at her now and then. Something in her manner gave him to suspect that she was waiting for him to say something to her. As for the four other men, they took turns looking back in consternation at Carter, trying to prompt him with their glances to say something to engage her in conversation. Were he to do so, it might provide one of them with an opportunity to join in if he botched it. That, at least, is what he supposed their strategy to be. It seemed to madden them that he made not the slightest effort in this regard, and he could not help but be amused by their silent frustration. How, he wondered, could he have made them understand? Yes, it was undeniable that the young woman was indeed quite lovely, and she had smiled at him the moment she came in, and then laughed and thanked him in a very telling way when he had kept her from falling. All the same, Carter just was not interested. His heart and his mind were simply elsewhere.

As for the woman, she whipped out her cell phone and dialed a number. Soon she was talking away, and it was like an impenetrable force field had gone up all around her. Someone with keen hearing would no doubt have heard the soft collective groan of the four men despite the sound of her voice and the low rumbling of the train. For his part, Carter closed his eyes and allowed himself to doze for a time.