Wow, really good. Very strong writing. I like sparse setting - you give only the necessary details, and they're strong enough to to carry the story.

Good voice for Julia, vulnerable but practical and determined, and I like the mellower (and more wary) shift in the last section. Also the punctuation for the final line, very striking. The money repetition is a good anchor for the story. It also seems to work as an image for Julia herself, the way the landlady crumples it, Julia's using it to get to the man proved to be a waste, and how she has to watch it so carefully.

"something so close to grace that you're afraid to put a name on it" - really good.

Also interesting is the way this could stand on its own as an original story. You did a great job fleshing it out in such a small space.

Crits: (This is really good, so my comments are all on little things.)

Grammar overall is excellent, but I recommend using fewer italics.

This is a style thing, but I think "[The] train ticket doesn't look like much" would be better - it's an actual train ticket in her hand, not an abstract.

"hands it back with a smile" - no comma needed

"you're not a whore" - maybe overstating it there, it's pretty clear what the landlady was getting at.

maybe "afraid to put a name [to] it"

"already glancing in [your] direction"

Very good piece, thanks for sharing.

Seeing Julia's life as a struggle makes sense when you see that she ultimately married a man that would take care of her. Written really well!

This is really quite a beautiful piece. You don't get Julia's perspective of things much and I really enjoy the way you write, you're very eloquent.

Julia is an under-represented character in fics. You did a great job with her 'prequel'.

That we all know how it turned out makes it so sad. But at least, I can pretend that it's a happy ending, for now. D:

What a wonderful way to show such...I don't know, a kind of hopeful desperation. Yes, we all know how Julia's life turned out, but reading this, I still kept thinking, 'Oh, I hope it works out for that poor girl.'

Oh, I loved this!