Read Online Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus by Joyce Magnin - Free Book Online

for the doorway. The showerhead was big enough for an elephant, and a fluffy white robe hung on a peg near the shower door.
    “A bath would be nice … a little later.” She rubbed her aching neck.
    And after washing her hands and rinsing her face with cool water, Harriet went back to the spectacular view. She could see boats and sailing ships in the harbor and buildings that seemed to go on forever. She had heard about the National Aquarium and wondered if it might be the large blue-and-glass building on her left. She consulted the complimentary city guide on the desk. “Yep, that’s the aquarium all right.” She glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. “It’s going on three o’clock. Maybe I’ll visit tomorrow.”
    Harriet pulled her phone from her tote and set it on the bedside table. There was still some green in the teeny-tiny picture of a battery. Lacy had showed her how to read the icon, and Harriet checked it often. Then she slipped off her shoes and rubbed her tired feet. Traveling was a tough business no matter how you went.
    Her phone jingled.
    “Martha,” Harriet said, “I’m so glad you called. I’m in Baltimore, Maryland. I’m fifteen floors up in a big hotel. It’s like … well, it’s like being in the sky, way up high like I climbed Jack’s beanstalk … you know what I mean, Martha. I can see so far. I had no idea the world was so big.”
    “I am so proud of you, Harriet. What’s your next stop?”
    “Well I’m definitely going to the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum. But before that? I don’t know. I guess wherever Amelia sends me.”
    “Amelia?”
    Harriet laughed. “My new Droid phone GPS brainiac. She is so smart.”
    “Oh, oh, I am so glad you got one of those. That will be a big help. Help you find hotels and restaurants too.”
    “I miss you already, Martha.”
    “I miss you too. But I’m sure I’ll see you soon. Did you tell Henry your plan?”
    Harriet laughed. “Yes. He’s not so happy. He wanted to come meet me and travel along. I told him no. I am quite capable of traveling cross-country all by myself.”
    “Good for you,” Martha said.
    Harriet clicked off her phone after they said their good-byes and set it on the table. She noticed she had only a tiny bit of battery left. The phone salesman told her she would need to give it a full charge once she got settled somewhere. She rooted through her tote bag, looking for her charger. She dumped the contents out and sorted through, but no charger. Panic wriggled through her body.
    “Oh dear, where is it?” She checked her dress pockets, her tote bag. Nothing.
    Harriet felt tears begin to well up at the corners of her eyes. She swiped them away. “I will not cry because of a lost phone charger.”
    She sighed. “Some traveler I am.”

Chapter 7
    A FTER CHECKING THROUGH ALL OF HER BELONGINGS ONE more time Harriet decided to call the main desk.
    “I … I don’t know if you can help me, but I seem to have lost my cell-phone charger. I must have left it on the train or at the train station, and I only have a tiny bit of the green left.” She looked at her phone. “Make that less than tiny.”
    “That’s not a big problem,” said the sweet voice on the other end of the connection. “I’m sure there’s a store around here where you can get a replacement.”
    Relief filled Harriet’s chest and stomach. “Really? You mean I can just go right into a store and buy one. It doesn’t have to be —”
    “That’s right, as a matter of fact, ma’am, if you like I can check with the concierge. We might be able to have one brought to your room.”
    Well, this news just about floored Harriet. As a matter of fact, she had to steady her shaking knees. “No kidding, really? You people will do that for me? It has been a terribly long day, and I have never been in Baltimore before.”
    “Let me check,” said the voice. “Solomon will have the answer.”
    “Thank you,” Harriet said. “Should I wait