Reason

She leaned against the wall

and watched as people hurried through

the unusually frigid November wind


bombarded by ice crystals that

were the emissaries of a blizzard

a subway motorman clutched his hat


everyone was racing for warmth underground:

an expensively dressed woman went by with a pained expression

her pearls had given her a sudden fear she had not noticed


before it never occurred to her that part of the reason for

running away may have been to avoid other women she had no

memory of any former loyalties except that she was unable

to look at women with blue-green eyes.


she went into a restaurant and tried to eat while avoiding any

other women in this place it seemed she could almost hear the

other women's words embroiled in argument: she began choking

on her gently textured delicious food.