It would be safe to say that Abby was used to strangers keeping their distance. Not that she was likely to attack anyone who came too close provided they werenât being creepy or suspicious, but the fact that she dressed as she did and refused to fit in with the crowd made people keep a wide berth. It wasn't something she exactly liked, but she was used to it enough now that it barely even registered that she was stopping anyone from using the part of the bench she wasn't using.
Which, of course, made it all the more surprising that someone had. Hearing the soft thud of items being placed onto the solid surface of the bench seat, she looked up to see the typically businessperson collection of items that took up much of the remaining bench space and the person who, judging by the tight smile he offered, was the owner of said items. To Abby, the man looked like he was already having quite the stressful day but, rather than come to the more usual conclusion that he might not welcome random conversation with a complete stranger, Abby was convinced that she could help if only to get that concerned look off his face and replace it with a smile.
Moving over slightly to allow the stranger as much room as she could afford, Abby returned the brief smile she had been granted with a broad smile of her own as she jokingly asked, "Not enough hands? Believe me, I know the feeling." Pausing for barely long enough for the man to say anything, she added, "I'm Abby, by the way." Of course, she knew there was every chance he would respond with a strange look and silence; a lot of people did. But that wasn't about to stop her from introducing herself anyway. One downside to being somewhere new and not having a pre-given family was that Abby was spending a lot more time alone than even she was used to, and so she would take any conversation, however brief, where she could get it.