Sharing a Smile

I love it when this happens.

I was waiting for the bus after a long day at work and a short grocery shopping afterwards that was nonetheless challenging to my stamina. I kept having to change my briefcase and (reusable!) shopping bag from one hand to the other as the source hand started falling asleep or hurting too much and the destination hand was ready for its turn.

The interminable parade of 535 buses (always empty when they pass at this particular bus stop and always three times as plentiful as the ones I want to appear) finally included something worth looking at: one of our new accordion buses, just introduced to Montréal this year.

I had a good look at the bus from the point of view of someone standing at the bus stop as it pulled away, including seeing what the inside of the trailer part looked like. Then I turned and I noticed that there was a woman in the bus line, also not waiting for the 535, who was looking at the bus with the same fascination I had. We caught each others' eyes and exchanged a smile with our shared delight at our bus close-up.

A few minutes later, it was a car going by that caught our attention. Not the car, mind you, but the enormous dog with its head sticking out the back window. Smiles again.

This woman is no one I am ever likely to meet, maybe not even to see again. But we shared a couple of moments of joy. This should happen every day.