“You’re joking right?” I kept the prize near my chest, facing away from him as he lurked behind me.

“You’re actually going to take this pie by force? There are many more interesting things in my purse, I can assure you.”

The incredulity of my voice only served to agitate as I could feel him take a step closer. “Look sistah, we can do this easy way or the hard way, but one way or another your fingahs are going to be letting go of that box in five minutes.”

Now, I had given up my wallet in a mugging once, and yet handing over this box was not on my agenda for the day. There was a line, and this overgrown shoeless gangster brute had crossed it.

Nowhere to go except to switch cars, I risked the purchase I had on the pie by extending an arm to open the adjoining doors.

I felt the train begin to slow for the station, and I took a deep breath. “So what happens in five minutes? Are your wannabe gangster buddies going to be waiting for me at the next stop?”

“Nope. My wife is.”