What Lies Beneath

You could hear the woman talking into her cellphone from the other end of the subway car: "I'm walking down the block now." A head lifted here, an eyebrow there, a glance or two were exchanged. The 1 train was just pulling into 103rd St. station. A moment later, she was off the train. Astonishing, when you think of it. So far underground, and the call went through for enough time to deliver the message. The presence of mind to deliver it nonchalantly. Much more interesting, probably, than the story it belied: a babysitter late for a pick-up or a mother late to relieve one? Whatever the little lie was about, for just a moment, we were all complicit.