Free Country by Danielle Steel

looked at it wistfully, sad again suddenly at what the woman had said.
    “My husband and I always wanted to go too.” And then she added, “He’s not here.”
    “Go anyway,” the woman said. “You can always come back again with him,” she added cheerfully as Stephanie shook her head.
    “No, I can’t. He died in February.” She hated herself for saying it, but she always seemed to need to tell people now, as though they should know she was a widow, and feel sorry for her. The woman looked at her pointedly then and handed her the map.
    “Then you need to go. It’s a magical place, and it will be good for your soul. It’s on me,” she said, indicating the map. “You’ll be glad you did. I’m sure he’d want you to go.” Stephanie nodded with a lump in her throat the size of a fist, embarrassed by what she’d said. She was tired of telling strangers her story. Too much information, but she was still so raw, even after a night like the one in Vegas. In the clear light of day, Bill was still dead, and she would be a widow forever. She wasn’t used to it yet and didn’t want to be. She looked at the woman for a long moment, holding the map in her hand.
    “Thank you,” she said softly, and walked into the sunlight, and back to her car. She opened the map on the front seat, wondering if she should go. Maybe the woman was right and Bill would want her to. If he had, they would have gone together. But he wasn’t here anymore. Her life was her own. And she had come as far as Las Vegas, on a whim, so why not go to the Grand Canyon too? She didn’t know why, but she knew she had to go. She followed the first sign to the turnoff that would lead her there. She had no idea what she was doing or why, but just as she had gone to Vegas after taking the wrong turn, now she was heading to Arizona to see one of the wonders of the world. It was another adventure, another day, and she felt like a different person suddenly. She had no idea who she was, but this new person she was becoming surprised her every day.
    “Okay,” she said to herself out loud, feeling as though she were being led by forces she had no control over, but was willing to give in to, to see where they led her. She turned on the radio in her car, and started singing, wondering if she was going a little nuts, or if she was sane. But what was sane anymore? It made no sense that Bill had died, especially at his age. And it made no sense that she was suddenly alone and that no one knew or cared where she was, and that she had spent a night in Vegas and was heading to the Grand Canyon now. She could only assume that she was a little off-kilter at the moment, but maybe it wasn’t so bad. And by the next day she’d be home, and no one would ever know what she had done, or why. She didn’t know herself why she was going there, as she drove through the desert singing out loud to a Norah Jones song. And as she thought about the past two days, all she could do was laugh. “Stephanie Adams, you are certifiably insane,” she said to herself in a clear strong voice. But the funny thing was she didn’t feel insane at all. It was the most normal and rational she had ever felt. And it didn’t matter what Bill thought of it, or if he liked it or not. He was gone. And she was here. She felt excited by what she was doing, and alive!

Chapter 6
    Stephanie left Las Vegas on Highway 93 and drove south to Interstate 40, and finally she took the last turn just before three o’clock, after crossing the state line into Arizona. She pulled up in front of the visitors’ center at the south rim, where throngs of people were coming and going in hiking boots, with backpacks on, laughing and talking and excited to be there. It was one of the most important natural wonder destinations in the country and the world, and Stephanie felt exhilarated as she arrived. She parked her car in the lot and walked back to the center, to inquire about hikes she could take that late in the