Washout

What world

Margaret Wilkes shivered. She wrapped her arms tighter around her chest, pulling her thin jacket closer. The march wind pushed at her sides, carrying with it an unforgiving taste of rain.
For Margaret , it was her third year of college. The 23 year old small town New Hampshire girl had never thought it possible that she could be here, on here way to a conference with full time lawyers, in Washington, D.C., where she was an exchange student at Howard university. If this conference went well, it could mean high hopes for her getting into a law school, where she dreamed to be. For Margaret, it was more than she ever could have hoped for. She only wished they could find the bus stop.
"It must be around here somewhere." A voice said behind her. Margaret stepped back under the awning to face her companion. Lucas Flint was a  student like herself, and the two had been ecstatic when they found out they'd be attending this conference together.
"Maybe you're reading it wrong." Margaret said patiently, taking the map in Lucas' hands. They both studied the damp pages as the wind whipped around them.
Lucas glanced nervously at his watch. The conference was to start at 2:30, and it was coming on 2 already.
"We'll be fine, don't worry." Margaret reassured, noticing his worried expression.
"You're one to talk, you're always late." Lucas murmured, running his hand through his short cropped hair.
Choosing to ignore the comment, Matgaret offered another suggestion.
"Why don't we just ask someone?" She said, desperately peering at the damp paper, which was becoming wetter every second as fat rain drops began to splatter it.
"Where will we find someone in this weather?" Lucas sighed, placing his hands on his hips and shaking his head at the ground.
"Nonsense. It's just a little rain. Someone must be out." Margaret pressed determinedly.
Lucas just shrugged and took a sip from his Dunkin donuts coffee cup. "Whatever you say, Margaret. We just better not miss this conference."
Margaret nodded. She knew how important this opportunity was for both of them, but especially for Lucas. As a young African American student from modest backgrounds, opportunities like this wouldn't come his way this often. Not to mention that this was 1989, in southern Washington. The campus may have been well integrated, in fact it was a mainly black community, but society its self was still adjusting to color mixed into a southern community.
"There's someone!" Lia cried thankfully, gesturing to a woman who sat on a bench a while away. "Didn't I tell you someone would be out? I'm sure she can help us."
The pair picked up the briefcases and headed towards the woman, who looked up from her paperback novel to greet them with a smile.
"Hi." Margaret began, unfolding the map in her hands. "Hello dear." The woman replied pleasantly.
She was a well dressed, white, middle aged woman, maybe 40 or so. She held a small white pocket book and had small white shoes in her feet. She sat with her feet curled under her on a bench beneath one of the small awnings that lined the street.
"We were wondering if you could help us." Lucas continued, gesturing towards the map with the hand that held his coffee cup.
"Oh of course, just a minute." The lady said, reaching down into her purse.
Margaret gave Lucas an 'I told ya so' look, which he returned with an eye roll.
To both youths surprise, however, the woman came up not with a bus schedule, but with a handful of coins, which she dutifully dropped into Lucas' extended coffee cup, splattering the hot liquid onto his jacket. "There you are, dear." She said.
The two students stood, sputtering, as the woman gathered up her things and headed off into the rain, waving good bye with her gloved hand over her shoulder.
Margaret and Lucas looked at each other. After a moment, they turned their gaze to the change that glittered in the warm brown liquid that sloshed around in the styrofoam cup in Corey's hand.

Late that evening, in her dorm room, Margaret couldn't sleep. She kept tossing and turning in bed, trying to figure out what was bothering her so. She knew it was related to the events of the afternoon, but she couldn't put her finger on just what it was that tormented her mind.
      Giving up eventually, she slipped out of bed and crept over to the window, careful not to disturb her roommate.
       Looking out at the roofs of the sloping college buildings, it suddenly struck her what it was that troubled her.
     After their encounter with the woman, she and Lucas had managed to find directions to the nearest bus stop, and they'd gotten to the conference just in time.
     However, once in the building, Lucas had immediately excused himself to the nearest restroom, where he'd stayed for at least 6 or 7 minutes. When he emerged, a look of grim determination set on his face, Margaret could see that he'd tried desperately to scrub the coffee stains off his vest.
    And standing their, bare footed by the open window, listening to her roommate snore, Margaret suddenly had a thought.
She thought:
'In what world do we live in, where more than 20 years after Martin Luther King fought for integration, a well-to-do white woman on the street, a perfectly non-racist, polite, pleasant woman, sees a young black man, in a suit for Christ's sake, extend his hand to her and ask for help, and she automatically assumes he's asking for money? In what world is that?"

This is adapted from a true story which my mother experienced while trying to find a bus stop with a fellow student, who happened to be an African American, in 1989.