Running

4

Four

         When Eponine stepped out of the bus station and into the city of New Orleans, she smiled. Her new beginning was here. Lugging her duffle to the nearest hotel, she paid for two nights before asking directions to a real estate agent. The woman there welcomed her and quickly found a small cottage for Eponine to rent. She moved in only a week later.

         Eponine liked it very much. It was quaint with a little white picket fence around it. The previous renters had left two rocking chairs on the front porch, and she made a mental note to re-paint them someday. Inside, the cottage had two floors, but was relatively small. Her cottage was actually the smallest on the street. The bottom floor had a mudroom, a small living room, and a kitchen with a breakfast nook for a dining room. Upstairs was the master bedroom, two bathrooms, and another bedroom that Eponine wasn’t sure what she was going to do with yet. Pretty trees were scattered in the front and back yards. Eponine began to dream about what she would do with the place. She saw a perfect corner in the backyard for her to start a garden. She wanted to line the brick pathway to her front porch with pretty flowers. One day, she would buy the house for herself. Then she could paint it however she wanted and renovate. But she was content for the time being. The window in her bedroom looked down into her neighbor’s backyard, so Eponine made mental note to buy some curtains. Quite frankly, her neighbor’s house loomed over hers. It was rather large, two stories with a wraparound porch on the bottom level. She tried to imagine who lived in it, but she simply couldn’t. There were no flowers or gardens in the backyard, but it was kept up very nicely. She tried not to spy too much, but this house was her only true neighbor. She was the last house on the street so the other side of her cottage was lined by a wall of trees. It was quiet, and Eponine liked it.

         Her funds were running short quickly, so she knew she needed to find a job. She wanted to find something that didn’t draw much attention to her but something that she enjoyed. Much to her delight, the local library was hiring. She went for an interview and after learning they would let her work as many hours as she wanted, she quickly took the job. She looked forward to start working. It was the first job she’d had since she’d married Marius. He didn’t allow her to work.

         Everything was finally looking up for Eponine. She had a nice cottage in a quiet neighborhood and a job that she loved. Her new beginning was quickly becoming a bright future.