The Road to Grace (The Walk) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Bunny of stalkers .
    I postponed my plan to camp and continued to walk. Pamela followed. I walked perhaps another five miles until there was no sign of her—or anything else—except a lot of nothing and the Wall Drug signs. It was a warm nightand I rolled out my pad and sleeping bag under a freeway overpass. I wondered how Pamela was planning to spend the night.

     
    The next morning I woke a little before sunrise. I looked around for Pamela but didn’t see her, though I was certain she was out there somewhere. I wondered how she was surviving. She had no provisions, no sleeping bag, no air mattress, just a simple ladies’ handbag and bad shoes. Had she really slept on the road?
    I ate two Pop-Tarts, a Clif Bar, and an apple, then set off for a new day of Wall Drug signs.
     
    Wall Drug. Historical Photos
     
    Wall Drug. 33 Miles to Go
     
    All Roads Lead to Wall Drug
     
    Western Wear. Wall Drug
     
    Road Trip. Wall Drug
     
    Sheriff on Duty. Wall Drug
     
    Western Home Décor. Wall Drug
     
    Wall Drug or Bust
     
    6 foot Rabbit. Wall Drug
     
    Buffalo Burgers. Wall Drug
     
    Free Ice Water. Wall Drug
     
    Be Yourself. Wall Drug
     
    Badlands Maps. Wall Drug
     
    Frosted Mug Beer. Wall Drug
     
    Dig it. Wall Drug
     
    After an hour of walking, I made out the figure of someone walking ahead of me in the distance. Couldn’t be , I thought. Couldn’t be her .
    It was. Pamela was walking in front of me. Even from a distance I could see that her limping had increased.
    I crossed to the opposite side of the road. When I was adjacent to her I could see how bad she looked. Her hair was matted and she looked pale.
    “Please talk to me,” she said. “I’m begging.”
    “Go home, Pamela.”
    “I’m not quitting,” she said. “I don’t care if it kills me.”
    “It might,” I said.
    “Please.”
    I kept on walking.
     
    Wall Drug USA exit 110
     
    Wall Drug Since 1931
     
    Coffee 5 cents. Wall Drug
     
    A Dakota Must See. Wall Drug
     
    Refreshing Free Ice Water. Wall Drug
     
    Around noon I stopped along the side of the road to eat a can of fruit cocktail, another Clif Bar, and my own invention, a beef jerky sandwich. The land was flat but with the exception of the signs, there was nothing as far as the eye could see, including Pamela.
     
    Tourist Info. Wall Drug
     
    Skinny Saloon. Wall Drug
     
    It’s cool. Wall Drug
     
    Experience Wall Drug Mining Co.
     
    American Icon. Wall Drug
     
    Kids Love Wall Drug
     
    As I walked through the unvarying scenery my mind wandered. I wondered how Kailamai and Nicole were doing. Nicole was the woman who had taken me in after I was attacked near Spokane. Kailamai was a young runaway I had met shortly after near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I had introduced them to each other, and Kailamai was now Nicole’s roommate. It felt like months since I’d seen them. I counted back the days. Thirty-six days. Just thirty-six days. It felt like six months. At least.
    I remembered that back in Spokane I had promised tocall my father every week. He had bought me a phone for that express purpose. I wasn’t sure whether I would have reception or not, but I stopped, took my cell phone from my pack, and turned it on. There were two bars. I held down on the number 1, calling my father. He answered before the second ring.
    “Where are you?” he asked.
    “Nowhere. I’m in South Dakota on Highway 90.”
    “Did you pass Wall Drug yet?” he asked.
    “You know about Wall Drug?” I asked.
    “Everyone knows about Wall Drug,” he said. “It was in Reader’s Digest and Life magazine.” In my father’s world, everyone had read those magazines. Still did.
    “No. But I’ve passed a bunch of their signs.”
    “They’re famous for those signs. How are you?”
    “I’m doing okay. And you?”
    “You know me. Nothing changes.”
    “Have you heard from Nicole?”
    “Yes. We talk a couple times a week. She’s really a pleasant young lady. We’re taking things slowly. I got her into an IRA