LocatedinthecheckroominUnionStationasIam,Iseeeverybodythatcomesupthestairs。 Harrycameinalittleoverthreeyearsagoandwaitedattheheadofthestairsforthepassengersfromthe905train。 IrememberseeingHarrythatfirstevening。Hewasn’tmuchmorethanathin,anxiouskidthen。HewasalldressedupandIknewhewasmeetinghisgirlandthattheywouldbemarriedtwentyminutesaftershearrived。 Well,thepassengerscameupandIhadtogetbusy。Ididn’tlooktowardthestairsagainuntilnearlytimeforthe918andIwasverysurprisedtoseethattheyoungfellowwasstillthere。 Shedidn’tcomeonthe918either,noronthe940,andwhenthepassengersfromthe1002hadallarrivedandleft,Harrywaslookingprettydesperate。PrettysoonhecameclosetomywindowsoIcalledoutandaskedhimwhatshelookedlike。 She’ssmallanddark,hesaid,andnineteenyearsoldandveryneatinthewayshewalks。Shehasaface,hesaid,thinkingaminute,thathaslotsofspirit。Imeanshecangetmadbutsheneverstaysmadforlong,andhereyebrowscometoalittlepointinthemiddle。She’sgotabrownfur,butmaybesheisn’twearingit。 Icouldn’trememberseeinganybodylikethat。 Heshowedmethetelegramhe’dreceived:ARRIVETHURSDAY。MEETMESTATION。LOVELOVELOVELOVE。MAY。ItwasfromOmaha,Nebraska。 Well,Ifinallysaid,whydon’tyouphonetoyourhome?She’sprobablycalledthereifshegotinaheadofyou。 Hegavemeasicklook。I’veonlybeenintowntwodays。WeweregoingtomeetandthendrivedownSouthwhereI’vegotajob。Shehasn’tanyaddressforme。Hetouchedthetelegram。 WhenIcameondutythenextdayhewasstillthereandcameoverassoonashesawme。 Didsheworkanywhere?Iasked。 Henodded。Shewasatypist。Itelegraphedherformerboss。Alltheyknowisthatsheleftherjobtogetmarried。 Harrymeteverytrainforthenextthreeorfourdays。Ofcourse,therailroadlinesmadearoutinecheckupandthepolicelookedintothecase。Butnobodywasanyrealhelp。IcouldseethattheyallfiguredthatMayhadsimplyplayedatrickon2him。ButIneverbelievedthat,somehow。 Oneday,afterabouttwoweeks,HarryandIweretalkingandItoldhimaboutmytheory。Ifyou’lljustwaitlongenough,Isaid,you’llseehercomingupthosestairssomeday。Heturnedandlookedatthestairsasthoughhehadneverseenthembefore。 ThenextdaywhenIcametoworkHarrywasbehindthecounterofTony’smagazinestand。Helookedatmerathersheepishlyandsaid,Well,Ihadtogetajobsomewhere,didn’tI? SohebegantoworkasaclerkforTony。WeneverspokeofMayanymoreandneitherofusevermentionedmytheory。ButInoticedthatHarryalwayssaweverypersonwhocameupthestairs。 TowardtheendoftheyearTonywaskilledinsomeargumentovergambling,andTony’swidowleftHarryincompletechargeofthemagazinestand。Andwhenshegotmarriedagainsometimelater,Harryboughtthestandfromher。Heborrowedmoneyandinstalledasodafountainandprettysoonhehadaverynicelittlebusiness。 Thencameyesterday。Iheardacryandalotofthingsfalling。ThecrywasfromHarryandthethingsfallingwerealotofdollsandotherthingswhichhehadupsetwhilehewasjumpingoverthecounter。Heranacrossandgrabbedagirlnottenfeetfrommywindow。Shewassmallanddarkandhereyebrowscametoalittlepointinthemiddle。 Forawhiletheyjusthungtheretoeachotherlaughingandcryingandsayingthingswithoutmeaning。She’dsayafewwordslike,ItwasthebusstationImeantandhe’dkissherspeechlessandtellherthemanythingshehaddonetofindher。WhatapparentlyhadhappededthreeyearsbeforewasthatMayhadcomebybus,notbytrain,andinhertelegramshemeantbusstation,notrailroadstation。ShehadwaitedatthebusstationfordaysandhadspentallhermoneytryingtofindHarry。Finallyshegotajobtyping。 What?saidHarry。Haveyoubeenworkingintown?Allthetime? Shenodded。 Well,Heavens。Didn’tyouevercomedownheretothestation?Hepointedacrosstohismagazinestand。I’vebeenthereallthetime。Iownit。I’vewatchedeverybodythatcameupthestairs。 Shebegantolookalittlepale。Prettysoonshelookedoveratthestairsandsaidinaweakvoice,Inevercameupthestairsbefore。Yousee,Iwentoutoftownyesterdayonashortbusinesstrip。Oh,Harry!Thenshethrewherarmsaroundhisneckandreallybegantocry。 Afteraminuteshebackedawayandpointedverystifflytowardthenorthendofthestation。Harry,forthreeyears,forthreesolidyears,I’vebeenrightoverthereworkingrightinthisverystation,typing,intheofficeofthestationmaster。