Only the Beautiful

In December of 1947, Helen Calvert stands on a train platform in Lucerne, Switzerland and reflects on the last four decades as she waits to begin her journey home to California. She fondly recalls the memories of her life in London, Paris, and Vienna, where she worked as a nanny. She had believed that once World War II had ended, she would be happy and content again, but nothing is the same. Afraid of flying, she plans to use trains for as much of the journey as she can, but she will still have to take a flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Now an older woman of 62, Helen feels nostalgic for California but does not truly believe that it will be her home. “I’m headed to the vineyard,” she thinks, “a place that has never been my address” (212). Unmarried and unemployed, and still mourning the death of her brother, Truman, she hopes that the vineyard will provide her with a place to recalibrate and seek out the next stage in her life.