Friendly Not-So-Strangers

I have a lovely little story for you today...

I have been riding Metro to work for about 10 years. When you are on a certain schedule you tend to see the same people repeatedly and it becomes pretty obvious you recognize each other but typically you don't talk. It's just kind of the way it is. Yesterday on my way home one brave soul, fueled by some excitement in his life, decided to break the mold of the "Metro regular". I see this young many nearly every evening. We both travel silently, patiently, with earbuds to occupy our minds. He gets on the train the stop after I get on but we both exit at the same stop. We both switched which door we boarded at once the regular up escalator at our terminus went under repair. As the train left the Pentagon stop yesterday I moved closer to the exit for the next stop and he waived his hand in my downward glance to get my attention. I removed my earphone and he politely asked me "What did you end up having?" Immediately I knew he was referring to my bebe and so I smiled and told him I had a boy. He asked if it was my first and I said yes and commented that he remembered seeing me pregnant last summer. He replied that he did, he said he sees me all the time and was curious but didn't want to be weird asking. I told him about how big Declan was and how I rode Metro until 2 weeks before he was born. The man then smiled and told me he and his wife were expecting their first in December. I remember this feeling, when I got pregnant, so excited about it that sometimes I wanted to mention it to anyone that would listen. His excitement brought out just enough courage to engage a friendly stranger after countless commutes, day-in, day-out. The train got to our stop and we went our separate ways and I smiled because that little bit of conversation totally made my day. I'll have to keep up with him on how things are going as he and his wife's pregnancy progresses. Sometimes I wish I was a little more brave because I bet there are plenty of people on the train who would enjoy a little conversation over awkward silence in a confined space.