people watching

it's already dark as the line of commuters grows under the street lights outside the train station. for the most part the people are quiet. the only thing escaping their lips are small wisps of breath that quickly disappear into the cold air. a young man in a black hoodie and a crooked ball cap clutches a shivering chihuhua in one arm and presses a cell phone to his ear. aside from the dog, his appearance is that of someone who would sock you in the face for looking at his sister. he paces along the sidewalk as he speaks into his motorola, but his conversation is lost to the sound of cars rushing down broadway. shortly the bus arrives and the people file on as the man with the dog speaks earnestly on the phone. he is obviously distraught and contemplates whether or not he should follow the rest of the crowd . as the people walk by they catch pieces of his conversation, "i don't know what to do." "he won't stop shaking." "are you near the hospital?" "i'm getting on right now." with that he edges into the plodding mass and then quickly climbs the stairs into the back of the articulated b-line. the bus is full and people scramble to find a seat in a nightly contest of musical chairs sans the music. as everyone settles in and the driver eases the bus into traffic the young man continues his strained conversation. the rest of the bus is quiet and the only discernable dialogue is his frantic phone call. it is clear that his worry is directed at the shivering dog pressed against his chest. "i came home and he was curled up in the corner." "he had puked blood and pooed on the floor!" "i'll be there soon." "he doesn't know what's going on. he’s totally out of it" the other passengers squirm uneasily. his voice cracks, "what's wrong with him." some struggle to hide their awkward smirks while a man reaches into his messenger bag to turn up his ipod. the young asian girl sitting next to him shifts herself slightly and leans into the woman on the other side. the conversation continues for several more blocks as his voice becomes more shrill in sharp contrast to his tough guy appearance. one passenger smiles as he finds the mans unabashed compassion for his furry companion a nice break from the typical stoic and silent passengers at the back. at the next stop he quickly and clumsily extricates himself and his dog from their seat tucked in the corner and departs back into the city. he walks briskly toward the veterinarian’s office at the end of the block. as the bus speeds away normalcy returns and passengers shuffle to fill the spots of people that left in an effort to avoid sitting next to someone they don't know...