Gripping stranger #5: Underwear Woman

You have the gaunt, weathered face and sinewy arms of hard living, but your bright blue eyes and small smile indicate a kind of spiritual youthfulness that I think is a unifying factor among those who have endured more than they should. You're always very friendly in the elevator and doorways, but seldom recognize us outside the context of the apartment building. The most distinctive thing about you is the large pair of white cotton women's underpants that you layer over your brown nylons and wear often with a cream-coloured cable-knit sweater. At first I thought it was a mistake, and then I thought it was something that maybe you only wore around the apartment to do laundry and stuff, but the more I saw you, the more I realized that this is how you atire yourself always. One Sunday afternoon in July we were coming home with groceries and heard a whirring sound as we neared our building. We looked up to see the wind blowing open the curtains of your balcony door. Inside, you pushed a vacuum across the floor, singing loudly and tunelessly, your blonde hair flying.