The homeless woman spent a very long time in the restroom. When she came out, she stopped in the hallway and spent some substantial time picking at something on her face or in her hair that she saw reflected in the glass of a framed picture. Then she asked for a cup of water, which they gave her. She asked if she could put sugar in the water, which they told her she could. And about a minute later, she left.
She was very sad looking and didn't seem very well at all. She had a CTA transfer clutched in her hand that I suspect she had picked up from where a rider had discarded it. The sweat pants that she wore were ragged at the bottom and made it impossible to tell whether she was wearing shoes, or perhaps socks, as they brushed against the floor. I felt a bit guilty reading my paper and continuing to eat my lunch as she left. God knows that I can spare a meal.
A few minutes after the homeless woman left, Alyse looked in the restroom. Not only had it been left a mess, but all of the toilet paper -- the available roll and what had been in the cabinet -- were gone. Alyse went to look for the homeless woman, but she was long out of sight.
Alyse spent about fifteen minutes cleaning up the restroom.
And it will probably be a very long time before a homeless person uses that restroom again.
