The other people at the bus stop didn't know what to do.

​     To them, it was like Katy was asleep.  ​

     It was, like, one second the young lady was crying her eyes out, and then she snored? What would they do now if the bus actually arrived? Just leave her there sleeping? Collectively, as one, without anyone actually saying anything, they decided that's what they'd do. The way they figured it, there was always the next bus, and it wasn't like anyone actually knew her. A minute passed. Five. Where was that damned bus, anyway? 

     And then things got even crazier. Katy, eyes closed, still hard asleep, muttered, "No, we can't be beaten. That's not possible. I will not lose my husband. I will not lose my daughter." 

     Then, she awoke with a start, as if someone had slapped her awake, like, "Wah!", and then she looked wildly around her, like she found it hard to believe that she was still on the planet Earth, that she was still at a bus stop, and that it was still only two o'clock on a Friday afternoon.  

     And that's when the bus came, at long last. 

     Katy got on first. "I've got to find Adam Forwarder," she said, her voice trembling with fierce resolve. "I've got to get to his compound somehow. I've..." 

     "But he's not at his compound," another woman on the bus said. "Haven't you heard?" She showed Katy the newspaper she held. Adam's picture was right there on the front page.

     "See?" the woman said. "If he's at his compound now, he won't be there long. He's going to be at that shindig at Livia Montcrief's. He's going to be the guest of honor."

END OF CHAPTER THREE

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