He stared at me with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher, and then looked forward again. He was older than I, though not by more than five or six years. I wondered if he knew who I was. There was a glimmer of familiarity in his eyes, though I couldn’t quite place it.

His cell phone vibrated, and he opened it to read a text message. He attempted to hide an emotion and then snapped the phone closed without replying, and didn’t speak again until the cab arrived.

He opened the door for me, and I scooted over to the farthest end of the seat while he slid in behind the driver.

“Where to?” the cabbie asked in a throaty voice.

“Brown University,” I instructed. “Please.”

“Uh-Huh. One stop?”

“No,” my unanticipated companion said.

I noted that he was careful not to mention his address, and that struck me as odd. Maybe it wasn’t odd at all; maybe I was more curious about him than I would have liked to admit. I was surprised that I had noticed anything at the moment, and found myself grateful to this stranger for the diversion he’d inadvertently created for me.

“I’m Jared by the way,” he grinned, holding his hand out to take mine.

“Nina.”

“Wow, your hands are freezing!” he said, clasping his other hand over mine.

I pulled my hand away, noting his exceptionally warm grip. I watched him for a moment, listening to any inner voices that might have sensed danger, but the only feeling that stood out was curiosity.

After the realization of his offense, he apologized with a small smile. I tucked my hair behind my ears and stared out the window. The wind whipped around outside, blowing the collecting flakes across the road like white snakes slithering ahead. I shivered at the image and pulled my coat tighter around me.

“Brown, huh?” Jared asked. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket and he flipped it open once again.

I nodded. “Brown.” He continued to look at me so I offered more, “Business major.”

The residual frustration from the unwanted caller melted away once our eyes met. It seemed as if he’d just noticed I’d been crying.

“Are you all right?”

I looked down, picking at my nails. “We buried my father today.” It occurred to me that I had no idea why I was sharing such personal information with a stranger.

“You were close,” Jared said. It was more of a statement than a question.

I waited for the expected pity in his eyes, but there was none. My relief caused me to smile which in turn made a grin turn up one side of his mouth. I noticed then that he had a nice face. It was more than nice, now that it had come to my attention. He was quite attractive, really….