Dropping a Dime

On the uptown platform of the 14th Street N/R/W/Q trains I passed a couple sitting on a bench and as I did I heard the sound of a coin hitting tile (which, in my mind is the same thing as the electric and cacophonous sound of a slot machine screaming JACKPOT). The couple heard it too and the woman looked to see a dime settle out of her reach on the floor. I passed and when I looked back she had looked away too. So I retreated. When I picked it up she looked at me and I said,

"Is this yours?"

"I'm not sure," she replied as I handed it to her. She took it and said, "Thanks any way."

She had dark purple nail polish on short nails that I could see as she pinched the dime from my fingers. I wonder if she didn't want it. Would she have felt robbed if I had just swooped it up with no eye contact and hustled off down the platform? I was sad to see it go but not for long.

I got off the express at the deuce and then took the stairs up to street level (you don't find coins on escalators) and after the turnstile but before the sidewalk there was a dime waiting for me.

Total haul for the day (including the 2 Pennies from 2 Blocks) = .12

TOTAL to date = $16.59