{"id":1477,"date":"2023-01-18T09:15:59","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T09:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1477"},"modified":"2023-01-18T09:16:18","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T09:16:18","slug":"all-change-please","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/all-change-please\/1477\/","title":{"rendered":"All Change Please<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re \u2018familiar strangers\u2019, you and me. Each morning, we board the 6.28 to Paddington at Swansea train station but never interact. Have you noticed me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Familiar strangers don\u2019t speak. If you wanted to double-check what the announcement just said, you\u2019d ask that guy over there, who\u2019s not a regular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reverse is true out of context. Say I saw you in a bar, you\u2019d be more likely to talk to me than you would a perfect stranger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I know your name. Amy Ellis. I love how it travels around my mouth when I say it. It\u2019s written inside the sketchbook you use every morning. You hate your corporate job, dreaming of becoming an artist, but you lack confidence. You shouldn\u2019t. Your drawings are incredible. You float around in monochrome, but the flash of a red bra strap beneath your shirt suggests a wild side, deep down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Am I right? I deduced everything myself. Much more fun than googling you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m so close behind you as we board the train that I can smell your perfume. Chanel \u2018Chance.\u2019 It\u2019s pure whimsy. Might a chance encounter sweep you away?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We take our usual seats. You by the window, me diagonally opposite, aisle-side. We keep our distance like good familiar strangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we need is a break in the routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do it just as we\u2019re approaching Cardiff station. It\u2019s only a little fire. There\u2019s a fleece jacket draped over the luggage rack, and I ignite it on my way back from the toilet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve barely sat down when someone screams. I leap up, push the alarm and throw my coat over the fire, extinguishing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The train jolts to a halt and a guard appears. I return to my seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod!\u201d you say, your eyes meeting mine. Eyes that minutes ago were intent on avoiding my gaze. An announcement tells us the train will terminate at Cardiff. But I can barely hear it over the birdsong in my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fire\u2019s out,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m Amy.\u201d You extend your hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGavin.\u201d Electricity crackles as we touch. Do you feel it too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversation is breaking out between the passengers around us, buzzing like white noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know,\u201d you giggle. \u201cGavin Price.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I gasp. \u201cHow\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMessages flash up on your watch sometimes.\u201d Your face flushes. \u201cPeople call you \u2018Gav\u2019 or \u2018Pricey\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I laugh, but it\u2019s hollow. As though all that churned up excitement inside me has been scooped out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFancy getting a coffee in Cardiff?\u201d Your voice trembles and the train judders into a crawl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I force a smile. \u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uncertainty creeps up on me like the Principality Stadium sliding into view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll change, please!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside, I zip up my coat, hiding my face in my collar. A smoky smell lingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We walk towards the high street. \u201cI must confess I looked you up on Facebook,\u201d you say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stop dead. This is freaky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You turn, scrunching your face into an ugly knot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I run. I\u2019ll never catch the 6.28 to Paddington again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re \u2018familiar strangers\u2019, you and me. Each morning, we board the 6.28 to Paddington at Swansea train station but never interact. Have you noticed me? Familiar strangers don\u2019t speak. If you wanted to double-check what the announcement just said, you\u2019d ask that guy over there, who\u2019s not a regular. The reverse is true out of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10158782359051062_103813597863211":"","twitter_1225722811282530305_1225722811282530305":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[695,697],"tags":[13,12,72],"class_list":["post-1477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-695","category-january-2023-infatuation","tag-me","tag-my","tag-your"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbrNJE-nP","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1477"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1479,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1477\/revisions\/1479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}