Amy was visiting this weekend, which resulted in a tiny reunion with the only friends from high school I still talk to or make a point to see when I go home — Amy, Lisa, and Nnennia. Strangely enough, even though she lives in Central Square, it was the first time I had seen Nnennia in the Boston area since our MIT graduation — or so I thought. Nnennia and I had been best friends since some ridiculously young age, but once we got to college, we drifted apart, even though we lived in the same dorm. Now we usually only see each other when we both go home to Minnesota.
At some point this weekend, the four of us were riding the shuttle bus from Park Street to Kendall, since the Charles/MGH T station was out of service. This reminded Nnennia of an evening last winter when the Red Line was shut down and she had to take a shuttle bus back to her stop at Central. “People started singing christmas carols. It was really weird,” she said.
Sounding oddly familiar, I chimed in. “‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ followed by ‘Jingle Bells’?”
“Yes…” she responded.
“Was it really really crowded and packed like sardines? And did the singing start from people at the front of the bus and spread backwards?” I asked.
“Yes… yes… how did you know?”
“Because I think I was on that same bus. And I joined in when the people started singing.”
Sometimes it really is a small world.