After I gave up the seat, I moved to the vestibule between cars three and four. I was not alone. There were eleven other adults standing in that vestibule because the train was that full. I found a spot near the bathroom, against the wall, and I sat down on my suitcase — a hard-shelled Away carry-on — because I was going to be standing for approximately three and a half hours and I was going to sit if I could. My suitcase took up exactly one square foot of floor space, and I checked twice to make sure I

was not blocking a path. I was not. There was a clear three-foot corridor past me for people going to the bathroom. I put my earbuds in. I opened a podcast. I was, in my head, going to get through this miserable train ride and eat a late dinner with my partner in Boston and sleep for ten hours. That was the plan. The plan lasted, depending on how you count, about fifty-four minutes. At 5:34 PM, the train stopped at New Haven. A woman got on.