A Man Who Lies

The station clock read 11:35, as the sun glinted off of its face. The young man
stared at it, then back down at his watch. The minute hand ticked softly but was
stuck in place, broken. Ticking away on the same second again and again, useles
sly spinning through time. The young man sighed as he turned toward the tracks,
walking over toward his platform. His appearance was, in a word, haggard. In nee
d of a shave and a good few hours sleep he had the look of someone being slowly
drown. His clothes were that of a traveling salesman; wrinkled and secondhand.
Glancing around the station, he finally selected a nearby bench. Collapsing on i
t rather than sitting, he let his hands hang between his knees, while his eyes t
ook in nothing. He seemed wholly unaware of his surroundings, ignoring the flow
of passing people as an early train pulled into the station. The gleam of its st
eely hull shone brightly before it passed into the shadowy overpass, his eyes ri
sing to watch the doors slide open. People began to stream out, stretching and h
urrying along their way. He watched them, and began to wonder about who they mig
ht be. Which ones were friends, family, brothers, mothers, sons, and uncles on v
acation, cousins from Far Away, or some other strange traveler out to stretch th
eir legs? He wondered who was good, who was evil, who was Evil, if any of them w
ere happy, had they ever been happy, were they coming home or running away, and
what would they be running from? There are, of course, a thousand stories to be
heard and told whenever people gather, and as the young man watched, he wondered
which ones had happy endings. Or at least, an ending at all.
Excuse me, is this seat taken? a voice asked from his side, as the young man blink
ed and turned to stare at the source of the sound. The speaker hadn t waited for a
reply, and was already seated next to him. A smallish man of at least 60, he ha
d a bald head and a brilliant white mustache.
He looks like the guy on the Monopoly box thought the young man, as he shook his
head no slowly.
Excellent, thank you very much. The old man said, as he placed his luggage between
his feet. He was dressed in a dark green raincoat, with a round bowler hat plac
ed upon his head. He looked strangely comical to the young man, sitting there as
he was.
Jonathan. He said suddenly, catching the young man off guard yet again. He blinked
slowly, and tilted his head slightly to show his confusion.
I m sorry?
My name, its Jonathan. Said the old man, as he now held out a hand to the bewilder
ed young man.
Oh, right. I m Tom. He said, taking Jonathan s hand and giving it a squeeze.
It s a pleasure to meet you Thomas. Jonathan said as he glanced over him, still hold
ing onto Tom s hand. So, what are you running away from?
This was said with the lev
el of casualness that one might expect to hear from someone describing their new
slacks, or the new method they had discovered for watering their lawn.
What? I m not what are you even talking about? Tom said, snapping his hand back as he
felt heat rising in his face.
I m talking about you Thomas, and what you re escaping from.
I m not running from anything.
Oh dear, it must be something quite bad, If you re willing to lie like that.
I m not lying.
Please Thomas, you do yourself a disservice. Your clothes look terrible anyway, h
ave some pride man! If you re going to do something do it right I always said. Said
the old man, as he bent down and began to fiddle around inside his suitcase. To
m gave Jonathan a bewildered look and got up, preparing to wait for his train el
sewhere. The gleaming clock face read 12:21 now, and he was sure that he didn t ne
ed to listen to crazy people for another hour.
You really ought to have an umbrella. Jonathan said, causing Tom to look back a mo
ment.
What?
I said, you ought to have an umbrella.
what?
My God, is English not your native language? An umbrella! Jonathan said, suddenly

pulling one from his luggage.

A device created to shield one from rain, sleet, and other forms of bothersome pr
ecipitation. I assume you ve heard of them Thomas?
Yes of course I have, I just...why would you need one? And the name is Tom, pleas
e. He said, as he glanced toward the sky. A few clouds but a blue sky for the mos
t part, it looked more like beach weather then any kind of rain.
Well you never know.
Know what?
That s just it, you can t.
Can t what?
Why know my dear boy, please try and keep up. Now Thomas, what are you running fr
om?
Its Tom, and I told you I m not running away. I m going on a business trip, that s all.
Oh? What s your business Thomas? Jonathan asked, leaning back as he tapped the end o
f his umbrella against the stone floor.
I m in sales, look, I don t really want toWhat do you sell exactly?
I don tThere can t be much money, judging by your appearance.
Now wait just a second!
Thomas there is no need to shout.
I am not shouting! But he was, and he realized it in a flash. Tom looked around an
d sighed, as he fell silent next to Jonathan. Neither of them spoke for some tim
e, as Jonathan seemed engrossed in a small newspaper he had produced from his lu
ggage. Tom began to feel a painful throbbing in the back of his neck, as finally
he broke the silence.
It s Janice I I just don t know what to do. God, listen to me talking to you about this.
It s quite alright Thomas, tell me more. What s wrong with you and Janice?
I how did you know I was having problems?
No one to see you off, you re barely packed, and you have the face of a man scared
to meet his own gaze in the mirror. I m sorry Thomas, but you re an open book. Jonath
an said as he leaned back.
Janice wants to get married.
Well, isn t that a good thing? Don t you love this girl Thomas?
I do, I really do, but but I don t know what I m supposed to do. About her, about getti
ng married, or work. I I ve been lying to her, worst of all I can t even be honest wit
h her. Tom said as he hung his head, his face hidden behind his hands as he felt
the crushing weight of what had been creeping around inside of him for days. I go
t fired two weeks ago, they said I
Wasn t the right kind of man for the business what
ever the hell that means.
And you didn t tell Janice.
How could I? She depends on me. And her father he s never liked me. Thought I was no
good, and now I ve gone and proven him right. I m sitting here going on a business tri
p that doesn t actually exist! Tom said as he shook his head and looked at Jonathan
. He looked utterly vulnerable, and scared, and all together Human. How am I supp
osed to be a husband, or a father for that matter, when I let everyone down alre
ady? A man has to be more right? When you marry someone, aren t you supposed to be
ready to shoulder the real work and do the right things? He said, but it was mor
e like he was asking himself, then asking Jonathan directly. Jonathan, for his p
art, smiled at Tom, his eyes dark and glinting at the young man.
Life is never that simple Thomas, never that cut and dry. In my opinion your bein
g far too hard on yourself. I know, I ve sat exactly where you are now.
What do you mean? I don tIt was a great many years ago now, but it doesn t feel that way. In fact, it s a blin
k of the eye when you get right down to it. Life is a blink. One moment you re sit
ting on the beach, with a wonderful, beautiful woman at your side. Then she s pack
ing, leaving, and vanishing out of your life like a cool breeze. One so faint an
d cool that you don t even feel it, until it s suddenly gone.
You lost someone too?
Yes, yes I did Thomas. Like you I saw little value in myself, and let fear consum

e me. But unlike you, Thomas, I was too late. You can still fix things you know.
I can t.
You can, if you want to fix them. Oh it won t be clean or easy. It will hurt, and y
ou ll feel it through and through. But you can go back. Right now, it s your choice.
Tom looked at Jonathan and seemed to cast the old man in a whole new light. How
could he speak so frankly about things that Tom himself had been hiding from? It
made the young man feel ashamed, and he realized that all he had been feeling w
as ashamed and afraid.
"You seem so sure, but I'm not Jonathan, what will she-"
"I know its hard, my boy, I've been exactly where you are now. Back when
I was just a little younger then you, I was in love with an angel of a woman. H
er name was Catharine, and we knew each other on and off throughout school. I ha
d always carried a strong love for her, and I never stopped loving her." Jonatha
n said, as he rubbed his chin.
"What happened? Why didn't you, you know, make a move?" Tom asked, as he
seemed focused solely on the older man now.
"Well truth be told, I didn't think I was worth much at all. From a poor
family, no real prospects. My lord, she was so beautiful...haha, I can still se
e those eyes. Clear as the sea, sweet and blue like you can't even imagine Thoma
s." Jonathan said, his own eyes carried a look that held the age of decades to i
t. He took his bowler hat off, as if in reverence of the memories of this woman,
and his missed chance.
"I remember, I had one last oppurtunity Thomas. She was leaving, from th
is very train station no less. Leaving to go live across country with her Aunt.
She didn't see a reason to stay, and the truth is I never gave her one. I wanted
to, God above I sat at home for hours, trying to think of what I could do or sa
y to make her see that I could make her happy. In the end, I stayed home, went t
o work, and Catharine left. She left, because I was too much of a fool to stand
up and do something brave and stupid in the name of love." He stopped then, shak
ing his head as he looked at Tom. Tom was looking away now, his eyes narrowed as
he felt a dull throb in his chest. It was like his heart was fit to burst, as t
he moments ticked by for the two of them. Finally, Thomas stood up.
"Thank you." Thomas said, as he looked back at Jonathan. And his face wa
s full of light, and hope, and for the first time in that dark station, Thomas l
ooked sure of himself. He looked like himself again, and Jonathan smiled back, t
he two exchanging nods. "I-I have to go! I don't know what the hell I'm going to
do, but I'll do it, and do it right." Thomas said as he whirled toward the exit
. A hand shot out though, as Jonathan gently took hold of his arm. Thomas looked
back, confused, before Jonathan wordlessly handed him the umbrella. Thomas seem
ed confused again, but he just smiled, took hold of it, and took off in a run wi
thout another word. He didn't look back once, just tore out of the station, into
the world, and was gone.
Jonathan watched Thomas go, a smile alighting his aged face, as he place
d his bowler hat atop his head again. He took out his paper and proceeded to do
the puzzle, the jumble, and to read that once again the world was headed toward
disaster. And yet today didn't seem nearly as hopeless, not by a longshot. Withi
n a short time, the windows the station darkened, the air grew cooler and thick
around them, as rain began to pour. And pour, and pour. The heavens opened and J
onathan watched as the cool rain fell against the earth, soaking into the stone
and grass alike. He was so absorbed in this, that he didn't notice the woman tha
t had snuck up behind him. She had beautiful blue eyes, eyes that had retained t
heir majesty, and still made Jonathan's heart stop when she looked right at him.
She placed her hand on his shoulder, aged and yet still as lovely as an angels.
Jonathan started, and looked upward at her, a smile curling up his moustache.
"Hello Catharine."
"Hello Johny." She said, smirking. She knew shortened names and nickname
s bothered him, and it pleased her to see him flustered a little.
"Oh don't start that now.." Jonhathan said as he stood, smiling as he qu
ickly kissed Catharine's cheek.
"How were the kids Jonathan? I hope they weren't too disapointed I could

n't make it. The puppies back home just need such constant care..." but Jonathan
shook his head, looking at her as they began to walk out of the station.
"No no, she and Robert understood. Though we'll have to make the trip so
on, Sally is far along, won't be long now." He commented, as they peered upwards
from the door of stations east exist. "So, ready to be Grandmother Cathy?" He s
aid, as Catharines face filled with love and whimsy again.
"Oh Jonathan, we'll really have to think about moving closer! I want to
see them more often." She said, as she suddenly noticed he was missing something
. "Jonathan, you...where is your umbrella? Of all days to be without it!" She ch
astised, as he was a very forgetful man. But, she loved him anyway.
"Oh that old thing? I just saw someone that needed it more then I did. C
ome on old girl, you know what they say." He said, giving her a dashing smile. "
What may harm one, can seldom hinder two when we're together." The old man said
softly, as he walked arm in arm with the Lady out into the warm rain.