He took the wrong train once, on purpose, just to extend a conversation.
It was early, only their third date really, though neither of them had called it that yet. They’d talked through an entire dinner and kept talking on the walk to the station, and when her train had arrived first, Ezra had simply stayed on the platform, missing his own connection by twenty minutes, just to finish a sentence he hadn’t wanted to leave unfinished.
She hadn’t realized until much later — he’d never made it a story, never brought it up to score points — that he’d been late getting home that night, that he’d had an early meeting the next morning, that the missed train had cost him real inconvenience for the sake of a conversation about, of all things, the ethics of zoos.
She found out by accident, years later, comparing calendars for some unrelated reason and noticing the date.
“You missed your train for the zoo conversation?” Noor asked, genuinely startled.
“It was a good conversation.”
“It was about whether pandas should be allowed to consent to captivity.”
“Exactly. Important stuff.” He shrugged, unbothered. “I didn’t want it to end yet. You don’t get many conversations like that.”
She thought about all the small inconveniences he must have absorbed over the years without ever mentioning them — the times he’d probably stayed later than convenient, driven further than necessary, given up some comfort or efficiency simply because the alternative was leaving a moment with her too early.
He never tallied these things. He’d never once used them as evidence of his devotion. He’d simply done them, quietly, because the conversation had mattered more than the train.
“I’d miss it again,” he said now, watching her reaction.
“Even with hindsight?”
“Especially with hindsight. Look where it led.”
✦ Today’s Reflection
Has your partner ever given up something small and inconvenient just to stay in a moment with you a little longer? Did you know at the time?
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Sonia M. Rompoti, MSc, Bsc 
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