Terra Mechanica: A Steampunk Anthology (22 page)

After a few hours, she came to the station. The ticket booth was locked for the night, but she could still see past the leaded window to a candle burning inside. She knocked and an older woman, hair pulled back in a bun, answered.

“Here now, office hours are from seven in the morning until nine in the evening.”

Josie looked at the woman, unable to hide her weariness. Slowly, the tears she had been holding back spilled forth. The older woman looked more closely at her. Concern melted her features. “Now, now, don’t you cry. Come inside and have a cup of tea. Everything looks better after a cupper.”

The older woman opened up the barred door and let Josie in. She sat her down and eyed her worriedly as Josie stared at her hands.

“My name is Grace,” the older woman said. “What is your name, girl?”

Josie looked up. “. . . Josie.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Josie. What are you doing out so late? Especially without an escort? The city isn’t safe in the night for a young lass like yourself.”

Josie laughed harshly. She didn’t feel young anymore. She felt old and worn thin. George had used her up. Too many broken words and fast fists. “I don’t feel like a young girl.”

Grace took a deep breath and patted Josie’s hands. “This city beats many fine folk. I’ll go get you that cup of tea. You wait right here.”

Josie didn’t know the older woman, but she couldn’t help it; she spilled everything. She told Grace about meeting George and how she hoped for a bright future, but instead had met empty bottles of spirits, harsh words, and finally fleeing for her life because of her man’s mistakes.

Grace sat in her chair, her heart pounding. “Girl, you can’t be going back to that man!”

“What else do I do?” Josie said, finally breaking down into sobs and putting her face into her hands. “I’ve nowhere else to go. I’ve nothing!”

Grace poured some more tea into Josie’s cup. “Compose yourself, child. Everything will be all right. You just let me think a moment.” Josie looked at her doubtfully but took the tea. The hot cup burned her fingers slightly, but she was grateful to feel anything besides the pain of her tattered heart. Grace sat back and sipped her tea.

“Here is what I think you should do: you give me that watch and I’ll give you a ticket. I’ve a friend in town. She runs a boarding house just for women. Her girls are smart and clean. One of them for sure will be able to help you find something, and I’m sure she will let you stay there until you are on your feet.”

Josie shook her head in despair. “He won’t let me go, Grace! He’s too afraid to be on his own. He’ll drag me to hell right along with him.”

“Stuff and nonsense,” Grace scolded. “You just stay away from him. After you give him the ticket, you come right back here. If he asks for you, I’ll tell him you got on another train. He’ll think you are gone forever.”

Josie considered her words. “I—I don’t know.”

Grace took Josie’s cup and placed it on the counter. “You’ll have to think fast. If you want a fresh start, free of him, this is your chance. But you must seize it with both hands. Or he will crush you under his boot until there is nothing left of you.”

Josie looked into the older woman’s eyes. She saw truth and compassion there, far more than she had received from others. She nodded. “I’ll do as you say.”

Grace patted her hands. “That’s a good girl.”

It didn’t take Grace long to draw up a ticket for as far away as she could get the man.

“Here now, you give him this ticket and be done with him,” she said.

Josie nodded, holding the ticket tightly in her hands. “You promise you’ll still be here when I get back?”

Grace nodded with a smile. “I live right upstairs with my man. He’s a conductor.”

Josie handed her the watch. “Thank you, Grace.”

“You’re welcome, Josie.” Grace took the watch and waved at the girl. After she had left, Grace sighed. Josie’s story was an all-too familiar one in the city these days. She glanced at the watch and noted the unpolished gold. She rubbed it against one of her towels.

“My goodness, I do believe it’s gold. This would be a perfect gift for Terrence.”

She took the watch upstairs and began to clean it carefully. Unsure of the best, she tried to be mindful of the delicate hands. She polished the watch-face and brought the gold to a bright sheen. Proud of her efforts, she wrapped it in a bit of gift paper she had been saving. Grace then began making a dinner for her husband, hoping that Josie would be all right.

“Leaving again so soon?” she said, a sad smile on her face. Grace had met her husband’s return with a warm embrace, happy to be in his arms again. She didn’t even mind the smell of his tobacco.

Terrence leaned in and kissed her forehead. He thought himself the luckiest man in the world to have Grace for his wife. Despite her long days, she was always there to greet him with a smile and dinner. She was his greatest blessing, a gift from God. “My dearest flower, I would love nothing more than to be by your side always, but I must make sure the train arrives on time.”

She nodded, taking his hand and kissing it. Then she smiled as she remembered her surprise. “I have something for you.”

“You do?”

Grace nodded and went to retrieve the watch she had wrapped in the colorful green parchment paper. He took it and kissed her lips before undoing the paper. He lifted the watch in his hands and stared at it. Grace was proud of the way the candlelight reflected on the newly polished gold surface.

“My flower . . . Where did you—”

“You’ve always wanted one,” she reminded him. “No train conductor should be without a good watch.”

He nodded. “But Grace, this would cost us half a year’s pension! I can’t accept this.”

“Don’t worry, my love. I got it in trade. It is secondhand, but I doubted you would mind.”

He shook his head, a smile beaming on his wrinkled face. “I love it. And I love you. You are the greatest gift I could ever have, my love.”

They held each other in the candlelight for a time, all too aware of their limited and precious moments together. He read from the Bible as she listened to the sound of his voice. He knew that something troubled her. When she was ready to tell him he would be there for her. But for now, he prayed for her, and thought of how lucky he was to have her in his life.

Josie waited around the station edge for George nervously. It was just before the sun shone in the sky when he finally appeared. He looked tired and uncertain. For a brief moment, she wondered if there could still be a chance for them, but when he saw her, he fixated on the ticket in her hand and not on her face. There would be no future for them. She hardened her heart, knowing what had to be done.

“Here you go, George.” She handed him the ticket.

He took the ticket greedily and didn’t seem disappointed when he only saw one. “You were only able to get one? No worry, my girl, I’ll send for you as soon as I have money.”

“I know,” she said, not believing a word of it. “But you must go. The constables have already been by, so they must be looking for you.”

He grimaced and glanced around, worried. “Where does this ticket go?”

“San Francisco.”

He nodded and turned to look at her. “I—I’m sorry, Josie. I know I’ve not given you the life you wanted.”

She avoided looking into his eyes. “Life has a way of wearing us all down, George. Just go.”

He nodded again and without looking at her, he went to the train platform. She watched him go. She continued watching as he was about to board the train, but two constables walked up from behind and grabbed him. They had been waiting for him to show himself after she had told them where he would be. He struggled, but they dragged him away. He cried out, but not her name, only that he was innocent.

“Goodbye, George,” she whispered, before she turned around with her own ticket in hand and walked back toward the ticket house and a new future, one of her own choosing.

Alexander stood still as his mother did up the buttons of his collar. He watched her sad eyes through the dark mourning veil. How he wished she would smile again. But he understood her sadness all too well.

He missed his father. All they had received was a notice telling them of his  death. Words on a piece of paper no larger than his hand told him that the man he looked up to more than any other was never coming back.

But he couldn't believe that. His father would never break his word. He had promised to be there for his birthday and give him the watch Grandfather had given him.

But that day was his birthday. No father and no watch. Everything he had told him had ended in broken promises. Still, he couldn't completely give up on him. Maybe he had merely forgotten the date and was still out there, hoping to come home. It had to be true, didn’t it? He would not just die and abandon them.

He listened to the sounds of the steam train, the hissing of the gears and metal as it shifted filling his ears. The tracks and ground shook as the massive train rolled to a stop. He looked up at his mother and smiled, trying to lift her spirits.

She did her best and smiled back at him. Her face, always pretty, seemed somehow more tired than usual. The notice about his father had hit her hard, and he could often hear her crying into the night when she thought he was asleep.

He nudged a small pebble with his foot. He didn't want to visit his aunt, let alone stay with her. But times were tough and his mother had told him they had to move, that there would be no more money from the Army. How he wished that his father would come home and tell them that everything would be all right and that they didn't have to leave.

They followed everyone who boarded the train and stepped up the metal stairs leading to the car that would deliver them to their future.