The Woman Who Argued with Strangers About Books on the Train

Marisol had a rule: never talk to strangers on public transit. She broke it every single Thursday, without fail, for a man she knew only as "the guy who's wrong about Hemingway."

It started with an overheard conversation him telling a friend, with complete unearned confidence, that The Old Man and the Sea was "just about fishing." Marisol, unable to stop herself, had leaned over from her seat.

"It's not just about fishing."

He'd turned, startled, then visibly delighted. "Oh, we're doing this. Okay. Convince me."

They'd argued the entire remaining twenty minutes of her commute, missing her stop entirely in the process, and somehow ended up exchanging numbers under the guise of "continuing the debate properly, with sources."

Three months later, they were still arguing about books, mostly, though it had expanded considerably to films, restaurants, and the correct way to load a dishwasher, which remained genuinely, bitterly contested.

"You're wrong about the dishwasher," Marisol said, for perhaps the fortieth time, watching Desmond load plates in what she considered a deeply illogical configuration.

"I'm efficient," Desmond said, unbothered. "You're needlessly rigid about plate hierarchy."

"There is a correct order. It's not subjective."

"Everything's subjective, Marisol. That's basically the entire Hemingway argument all over again."

"The Hemingway argument was resolved months ago. I won."

"You did not win. We reached a respectful stalemate."

"I definitely won," Marisol said, though she was smiling now, watching him deliberately load a bowl in the worst possible spot just to provoke her further.

Her roommate, walking through the kitchen mid-argument, paused to observe them both with weary amusement. "You two have been 'just arguing' for three months. When are you actually going to date properly?"

Marisol and Desmond exchanged a glance, the kind that suggested neither had quite properly acknowledged the question themselves.

"We're getting there," Desmond said eventually. "Building the necessary argumentative foundation first."

"That's not a real relationship strategy," the roommate said, unconvinced.

"It's worked so far," Marisol said, though warmth had crept into her voice despite her best efforts at maintaining the bit.

to be continued... 📖💛