Choo-choo-choo

Choo-choo-choo, with enough left over for a whoo-whoo! 

Choo-choo-choo

My flight into DC was on time. I landed about 40 minutes before Robby’s flight from Atlanta was due in. I made my way to baggage reclaim and waited for my suitcase to appear. I knew Robby would only have carry on so the timing of us both being ready to leave the airport would be perfect. I willed the baggage handlers to hurry up with the luggage. I wanted to be waiting at Robby’s gate. I should have made a sign to hold up. My case finally arrived, I grabbed it and power minced through the airport to the gate the Atlanta flight was at. According to the boards it had already arrived. I waited at the gate, wondering if he had already disembarked. I had butterflies. After a few minutes a trickle of people started coming through the gate. I wondered if they were the Atlanta passengers.

As I waited I saw a face I recognised. It wasn’t Robby but a guy that I used to work with. He had been seconded to the UK for a couple of years but had since returned back to the States. He was the third person I knew who I had randomly bumped into during my three months of travelling. We caught up briefly and I found out that the people coming through the gate had been on the Atlanta flight. I saw Robby heading towards me. He spotted me and a grin spread across his face. We gave each other a big hug. He had his bag on his back, which meant my hands ended up lower than I had intended. However, it meant that I left the airport knowing he had a nice firm bottom.

We got the subway to Union Station, chatting all the way there. I asked which members of the West Virginia gang we would be meeting first. His friends John & Rob, who everyone called Betty, were already at the station. Everyone else was either already at Tyler’s parents’ place or on the drive up. I asked why Rob was called Betty. Robby explained that someone had once told him that he had a laugh like Betty Rubble from the Flintstones and the name had stuck. I said I didn’t think I could call a guy I had never met before Betty so would he introduce him as Rob. He said he would but nobody called him that and I would be told to call him Betty. We arrived at Union Station and Robby got a message that John and Betty had sorted out train tickets and were waiting in a bar in the station. We headed for the bar.

Robby gave his friends a big hug then started on the introductions. He said, “This is British,” pointing at me. He introduced me to John & Rob. Rob immediately said “Everyone calls me Betty”. Ok, so I would be calling him Betty then. We pulled up a couple of chairs and joined them for a couple of drinks. The conversation was constant and when Betty laughed I could see why the nickname had stuck. He had a laugh that would make you laugh just hearing it. It soon approached the time we needed to think about getting ourselves sorted for the train. We asked the barman if there was a liquor store in the station. There normally was but it was currently closed as they were moving location. The nearest liquor store was a few blocks away. We needed beer for the train.

Robby was volunteered to do the beer run. It would be close if we were to make the train. As we sat waiting for him to return Betty explained to me that Robby had a shocking sense of direction so we had probably sent the worst person off to get the beers. However, with about five minutes to go before the train was due to leave Robby returned. Not only had he got an 18 pack of beers he had also managed to get a polystyrene cooler box and a bag of ice. Such good service! We collected our luggage and the four of us headed for the train. The first few carriages were all fairly full so we carried on down the platform. We came to a carriage that looked virtually empty so we climbed aboard. There was one set of four seats that faced each other at the end of the carriage so we settled into them, taking up a couple more rows with our bags and beer.

With enough left over

A group of workers who had boarded just after us seemed a little perturbed by our seat choice. We had made the cardinal sin of sitting in the seats that regular commuters always sat in. They outnumbered us about three to one but we held our ground and they were forced to sit a few rows further back. As more of their group arrived the new arrivals would point out loudly that there were strangers sat in their seats. We explained that we had 18 beers between four of us so had two left over that we could share. One of the guys, who seemed to be the ringleader, took a beer. Once they had come to terms with not getting their usual seats they were very friendly and they chatted to us for the whole journey. They certainly made the 90-minute train ride a fun experience that would be difficult to forget.

It turned out that they all sat together in the exact same seats every day of the week and had done so for years. They also liked to have a drink on the way home. Not only did they have regular seats they had a beer rota and were on first name terms with the ticket inspectors. They had even made the local news, a feature having been done on the MARC “Party train”. We were in the presence of celebrities.

They asked where we were headed and where we were from. Robby told them that we were from Atlanta. One of them looked at me and said “You aren’t. You have an accent. Where in Australia are you from?” I said I was from London, England. I have no idea why so many Americans think I am Australian. They asked what I was doing. I told them that I was spending a year travelling the world with the sole aim of sitting in the seats of regular train commuters forcing them to sit elsewhere. Betty laughed quite loud. From some of the conversations and questions we were asked it was obvious the regulars caught on to the fact that we were gays. I’m not sure what gave it away. It could have been Betty’s laugh…

Whoo-whoo

Duffields "station"

We finally arrived at Duffields station and got off the train. Station is perhaps a little bit of an overstatement. There was a concrete path at either side of the track, one small shelter on the opposite track, a car park and then nothing but trees. Betty sent Tyler a message to say that we had arrived so he could come and collect us and take us to the house, via the liquor store. As the commuters who had got off the train got into cars and left we were left alone in the car park. I pointed out that had we all been pretty blonde girls it would be reminiscent of the start of a horror movie. We finished off the last of the beers as we waited for Tyler arrived to take us to the house.

“Choo-choo-choo, with enough left over for a whoo-whoo!” 
Lyrics from Light at the End of the Tunnel from the musical Starlight Express