Limited Affair

Chapter Three - Rebecca Clarke

"Capitol Limited. Capitol Limited," muttered Rebecca to herself as she walked briskly down the length of the train station. Where is the Capitol Limited?!" Her head whipped from side to side. "There it is!" she handed the conductor her ticket. He nodded and directed her to the correct train car and Rebecca climbed aboard the train.

"Your bags, Miss?" the porter offered. "Yes, thank you," she replied, handing her luggage to him.

"May I see you ticket?" Rebecca held her ticket up in front of him to read. "Thank you," the porter started walking down the narrow corridor and stopped in front of the compartment at the end of the aisle. "Here you ar, Miss, Compartment No. 17 Second-Class," he placed her luggage on the rack above the seats. Rebecca handed him 50 cents, he bowed and tipped his cap to her then left. Rebecca sat down at the desk to start working when a tall slender woman entered the compartment. The porter finished loading her luggage onto the rack then he held his left hand palm up out. Rebecca could clearly tell the man was asking for a tip, but the woman simply ignored him. Rebecca placed 50 cents into his outstretched hand and smiled up at him, he smiled back. The lady raised a questioning eyebrow at Rebecca but quickly replaced it with a smile instead and extended her hand. Rebecca shook her hand skeptically while taking her in. She was wearing a sky blue linen, full length, Rococo Classic Lolita dress with a fitted bodice and cap sleeves.

"Hi! My name's Jessica Simons, but everyone calls me Jesse," she said in a heavy southern drawl.

"Nice to meet you, Jesse, I'm Rebecca," replied Rebecca. "Where are you traveling to?"

"Oh, I'm getting off at Fort Collins," she answered.

"Well, I'm going to Chicago at the end of the line," Rebecca said. The train lurched forward as it started on its journey. Jesse reached out and put her hand on the the doorway before sitting on the bottom bunk.

"Rebecca, would you be so kind as to wake me when we arrive in Fort Collins. You see I'm a tad tired and I want to be well rested when I visit my folks."

"Yes, of course, dear," replied Rebecca.

Jessie smiled, "Thank you," then she laid down and promptly fell asleep. Rebecca glanced out the window one more time to look out at the beautiful morning light shining through the trees before she started her writing.

Night was falling when Rebecca woke Jesse up,"Jesse, Jesse," called Rebecca as she gently shook Jesse awake, "We're in Fort Collins."

"Huh?" Jesse said looking up, then she looked out the window, "Oh, right, thank you." She stood up and stepped out of the compartment.

"Would you like me to call for the porter to help you?" offered Rebecca.

"No, no, that's alright. I don't think he likes me anyway," she said chuckling. She tugged her luggage down from the rack and it landed with a thud on the floor. She picked it up again and walked down the corridor and off the train. Rebecca watched her leave the station, then returned to her work again.