Free Finding Grace: A Novel by Sarah Pawley

asked
for a ticket to Chicago. She put her money down on the counter, and
waited with quaking nerves to see what would come about.
    And then, it was over and done with.
    The agent took her payment, handed her the
ticket, and that was that. He hardly even looked at her, probably
because he was busy talking on the phone. Maybe it was the
distraction, or just pure luck. Whatever the case, there had not
been the slightest of trouble, and now, here she sat.
    Strange, how that small part
of her quest had been so quick and easy, when the idea of it had
given her such trouble. She might have thought it over a little
more, but there were other matters on her mind now. Rifling through
her meager possessions, she found one of her books…a copy of Pride and Prejudice . She
opened it to the middle, where there rested a small envelope. She
looked at its front and read the address…
    Mr. and Mrs. John Langdon
5739 Lincoln Avenue
Lincoln Park, IL
     
    She had no real idea where Lincoln Park was
or just how to get there. She had seen it on a map many times
before. She’d pointed it out to herself, so she knew it was within
the city limits of Chicago. Her imagination had gone wild, thinking
of what it must be like to go there. But now she wondered…how on
earth she was going to find it out there in the real world?
    These details were driving her crazy, and
she realized she had two choices. She could either sit there,
continuing with this madness…or she could push the thoughts aside
and think of other thing. She chose the latter of the two.
    As she looked out the window, she thought of
Jack and Alice. What would they think when she suddenly showed up
at their front door?
    She hadn't written to them. There just
hadn't been time, as fast as all this had happened. When she
suddenly appeared out of the blue, would they welcome her? For a
moment she had her doubts. But then she shook her head at her silly
fears. Jack and Alice had always loved her. They had often invited
her to come and stay with them for the summer, but that had been
impossible. Her folks would never have allowed it, as opposed as
they were to Jack and Alice as a married couple. Besides that, they
wouldn't have let her take a trip anywhere, especially by herself.
And so, she had always written back and politely declined. She
smiled now as she thought of what their faces might look like when
she arrived. Suddenly, a different kind of anxiety came over her.
One of excitement, of hope…and wonder at what the future held in
store.
     
    * * * * *
     
    She was nervous about leaving her seat, for
fear that someone might take it from her. So she sat quietly in her
place all through the afternoon, reading to pass the time. But her
body had its natural requirements, and eventually, they became
quite demanding. She felt like a fool not knowing what to do, but
despite her embarrassment, she forced herself to seek help from the
porter as he passed by. Her voice was small.
    "Sir," she said, "Will the train leave
without me if I step outside for a minute?"
    He smiled kindly and shook his head. "No
Miss, not if you are quick. You have a few minutes before the next
departure."
    She rose and stretched, and with much
caution, she moved to the door and stepped down to the ground. The
porter stepped down a moment later to tend to something, and though
she was ashamed to ask the question in her head, she could not help
herself.
    “ Is there a place where I
can go...” She stopped mid-sentence, mortified. “Is there
a..."
    She stopped again, and found she couldn't
utter another word. But the gentleman seemed somehow to read her
mind, and he spoke kindly.
    "There is a lavatory on the train, Miss.
It's in the last car. You'll see the small door when you get back
there."
    Her eyes widened in surprise. She thanked
the man, and went in search of what she called, in her head, an
indoor outhouse. It was little more than a wooden bench with a hole
in the bottom, and it served its purpose. There was even