he characters exist, and the reader feels this discomfort with them. Their wait for the train is about forty minutes, and we are present for most of this time. In the course of this wait, however, there are only about eleven passages of dialog, and half of those are merely a handful of words long. This creates an atmosphere of disquiet, and their uneasy struggle is what draws the reader's interest. The thing that furthers this unrest more than anything is the Man's worry for the situation. He initiates conversation five times in the story, and four of those are out of concern for the girl and/or their circumstances; the girl, on the other hand, begins six passages of dialog, yet only one is out of that same manner of thought. His focus of attention, as depicted in the narration, is constantly on her or the table - the area immediately surrounding them; her concentration is along the horizon and to places distant from him and the situation. He wants to press on in the conversation; she wants not to talk about it or think about it... they drink four drinks together in the wait - three are ordered at her request, as conversation. It is this silent grappling between them that is the powerful force in the story, and it could not exist without each of them caring for the other and harboring feelings for their child.More than any other fact in the story, the Man's affection for the girl is evident. Seventeen times he relates his feelings for her, and seven of those times he reiterates that he doesn't want to go through anything that she doesn't want to do - that he's perfectly willing to go through with it (the pregnancy) if it (having the child) means anything to her. The difficulty and frustration for him is that she will not say what her feelings are one way or the other. She won't say that she wants to go through with it (the abortion). She won't say that she wants to have it (the baby). She is distant and despondent, and seemingly relying...
