It’s Up to You, New York: A Short Story

By Kate Courtright

Free at last to embark on a new chapter in her life, Jean Dennin moves across the country to New York City, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Her first stop: a visit to Far Rockaway to see and thank the one person who loved her unconditionally: beloved Aunt Celia. But beginning with her ride on the A Train, the day takes one distressing turn after another as her path crosses repeatedly with the same mysterious man. Will this day mirror so many disastrous past experiences? Or does it truly herald a new beginning? A sweet, contemporary short story about choosing to be open to love in the second half of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kate Courtright
• Release date: May 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005760762

Kate Courtright

Kate Courtright has found joy in stories her entire life. She loves reading stories that make her laugh and cry and believe in the power of love to change people’s lives. She loves literary and genre fiction and has a particular fondness for romance. She wrote her first story, about Cinderella eating spaghetti, when she was seven years old, and has been writing in one form or another ever since. When not reading or writing, Kate works professionally to create caring communities that empower people to be good neighbors and faithful friends. She lives with her family in New York City.

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It’s Up to You, New York: A Short Story by Kate Courtright

Published by Kate Courtright

Copyright © 2022 by Kate Courtright

Cover Design by MaryDes, www.marydes.eu

Book Design: Brisbane Creative, LLC

This short story is an original work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Discover other titles by Kate Courtright:

Pinkie: A Short Story

Fire Boy: A Pine Lodge Tale

Former Things: A Short Story

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact: [e-mail]

This story is dedicated to my children, with thanks for all their love and support.

Part One––A Ride on the A Train

A hoarse cry rang through the subway car, making Jean Dennin flinch and dart a glance over her shoulder. A woman who looked to be the same age as herself, which is to say, middle-aged, had slumped from her seat to the subway floor. Unlike herself, the woman wore no pants. Her pale, exposed legs and feet splayed at awkward angles.

Oh God.

Jean faced forward again.

Help me, help me! the woman cried. I can’t get up. Will someone please help me?

Jean looked out the window, seeing nothing in the dark but her own reflection. She seemed to be forgetting how to breathe. What was a decent human being supposed to do in a situation like this? The woman on the floor was obviously troubled. Jean had only been in New York City for two weeks, but that was long enough for her to know that no woman found herself on the A train without pants on, not to mention all those bags on the seats next to her, without being troubled in some major way. 

Around Jean, other passengers sat motionless. Jean glanced back again, furtively. The woman reached for a black plastic bag that had fallen to the floor beside her, pulled out a Subway sandwich, turkey it looked like, and took a bite. So, she couldn’t be badly hurt.

Please help me! the woman cried again, her voice garbled because of the food in her mouth, though it still managed to carry through the subway car. I can’t get up.

Oh, God, please help her. Somebody, please help her. 

Several seats in front of Jean, a broad-shouldered