Greyhound

The bus is crowded. The crush of people was comforting. She could more easily be lost in the crowd.

She slips in the seat, holding her bump against the intrusion of the elbow of the person beside her.

“Excuse me.” the man mumbles. She simply nods before turning her face to the window. The bus starts and she watches, with relief, as her hometown starts to fade away.

Never could she have ever imagined that she would be on a Greyhound bus, eight months pregnant. Then again, she couldn't imagine having to run away from her husband either. Her right hand runs over the bare skin where her wedding ring used to rest. It now rests in a pawn shop drawer while the rest of the money from its sale is hidden in the bag that rests at her feet.

Her eyes scan the farms they pass. The baby settles to sleep in her, lolled by the motion of the bus. Her seatmate has placed headphones in and is lost in whatever he is listening too. That is fine with her. She doesn't want to talk.

Two years ago, almost to the day, she stood in the front of her little church and pledged herself forever to the man she is now running from. She was just seventeen. Her mom, who also married young, tried to warn her.

“Please listen. If you marry in haste you will have a lot of time to regret it. Your grandma tried to warn me and I didn't listen.”

“I love him, mom. I will forever.” She insisted. Legally able to do it, she didn't need her permission. 

A dark chuckle at recalling how she thought she got one over on her. Now she understands what she was feeling as she watched her, her own eyes swimming with tears. 

They moved away a month later. A few weeks after was the first time he hit her. 

“Christ alive, baby! I am so sorry.” His immediate sorrow followed by tender loving, made his young bride forgiving.

In the present, she shudders, her hands holding her arms. They are still bruised. 

“A kid. A kid will fix it. You have someone to love while I work. A part of me.” A year after they are married, a few days after his latest beating, ‘ she hasn't folded his clothes right ‘

She was excited by the prospect. A little baby to dress up, show off. Someone who would always love her.

“I was such a fool.” She mumbles to herself. Outside the window, the sun is setting. Her seatmate looks at her. She doesn't see, staring at the setting sun. They just passed the state line. 

It was better, at first. He was excited, proud about the coming baby. Walking around with his chest out, telling everyone about his coming son.

Then, at five months, the ultrasound revealed a daughter. He was furious. 

She lay, curled against her unborn child, bruises covering her, including her bump. That is when she started making plans to leave.

The bus stops. Her heart starts to pound. It is the first place, the first stop, where he could possibly track her down. A few exit. A few enter. She remains in her seat, white knuckled. The man beside her notices, starts to say something. The bus starts moving again and she lets out a shuddering breath.

“Are you alright, miss?” 

She swallows back the fear. “I am now.” She tries to smile at him but it comes out as a grimace. When she turns, he sees the bruise on her back. 

She started putting money back. It wasn't easy. He just gave her enough to buy what was needed, whether food, household supplies, and even stuff for the baby. She packed things away a little at a time, hiding the bags deep in their closet. Finally, she had enough to take a cab to a pawn shop in town.

He left for work. She waited until she knew he wouldn't be back, sometimes he sneaked hoping to catch her doing something. She walked to the payphone to call a cab. He had convinced her that every phone conversation he was monitoring. 

She carried two bags. One for her and one for her daughter. The pawnbroker asked no questions. He sees a lot. Both the diamond and gold are real, to her relief. Another cab to the bus station.

“Your boyfriend or husband.” she turns to the stranger, “the one hitting you?”

“My husband. He tried to kill our daughter.” Her hand goes protectively to her bump.”

He softly curses and she winces. “Sorry. Are you heading somewhere safe?”

She names the town. “My mom and stepdad are there.”

“Good.” He was to get off a few towns away from there but decided to ride in, to see her safely to her destination. If that bastard shows up…

“Daughters are special. I am on my way to see mine. Do you have a name for the baby?” He knows getting her talking about her child will help relax her.

“He wanted Margaret after his mom,” she pulls a face and then it clears. She can name her anything she wants now! The thought makes her giddy, “No, her name is Hannah Leigh.”

“Beautiful. My daughter is Grace. I am going to visit her and my new grandbaby, Bethany.”

As the night fully falls, they talk about babies, fathers and the wonder of daughters. She falls asleep in the middle of the night. He stays awake, watching over her. 

Gracie had one boyfriend that dared to lay a hand on her. It only happened once. For her to be running away, so far pregnant, her husband must have been a serial abuser. ‘Let him show up,” he thinks, ‘this old man will show him what's what.’

Her bladder wakes her as the sun rises. She smiles her apologies as she moves through the crowded bus back to the bathroom. Halfway there, something gives loose. “Heaven, I have peed myself!” She thinks. Then the first pain hits. In the middle of the highway, on a Greyhound bus, she is going into labor!

“Just a bit more.” The bus was cleared out. The driver called 911 after being informed of the situation. By the time an ambulance arrived, it was too late to move her. It turns out, the pain she had been feeling in her back, wasn't just due to her husband ‘s fist, but was early labor. 

So, on the side of the road, her seatmate by her side, she gives birth to Hannah Leigh. The child looks blessedly like her. 

The passengers cheer as mom and baby are moved into the ambulance. 

While at the hospital, she is informed that her husband was killed in an automobile accident, speeding and drunk. She weeps in relief. Her mom arrives.

On Hannah Leigh ‘s first birthday, she receives a card from the man present at her birth. It contains a check for 100,000 dollars and a letter.

“You can stop running now. Make sure Hannah Leigh has the life you both deserve. 

                         Sincerely ____

                         CEO of Greyhound 

The end