Mothers of Men by William Henry Warner — Read

There was a trolley line along the end of the street where Von Pfaffen lived, and almost without her own volition, Marie found herself making toward it. She boarded the first tram that came along, regardless of the direction. She paid her fare and sat staring ahead of her. What was to become of her? Across the way, a fat market woman sat mumbling her gums. Marie found herself watching the huge, uncorseted figure, quivering with the motion of the car.

At each corner, the tram stopped and people kept getting on and off, continually passing between Marie and the old woman who dozed and woke every once in a while, with a start.