Lucy’s Wish (4 page)

While Daisy stared out the window, Lucy
watched two of the older girls settle into seats with their young charges. On this trip, the older girls got to be “big sisters” to the toddlers.

I could be a wonderful big sister
, Lucy thought.
I could be the best big sister in the world.
She fought back a shiver of jealousy as she saw two-year-old Lizzie Ann Schultz wrap her arms around pretty Mary Beth Lansdown's neck and plant a kiss on her cheek.

Lucy tried to picture the family who was going to adopt her.
There will be a smiling father and a mother who will hug me. And there will be a little sister who will sit on my lap and say, “I love you, Lucy.”

“All aboard!” the conductor called.

There was a last-minute bustle as people found their seats. The train jerked and rocked as the engine slowly began to chug forward.

Faster and faster the train went, clicking over the tracks. Lucy took a deep breath. Her heart pounded. At last they were on their way. “To find my family,” Lucy whispered to herself.

T
he train quickly left behind the cluttered streets and cramped buildings of the city. And soon there were wonderful things to see from the train's wide windows. There were open stretches of land planted with green, growing things. Horses ran from the noisy engine and clattering cars. Cows either gave the train a curious stare or just kept grazing. And there were tidy farmhouses. Real houses! The children crowded to the windows.

“Look at that white house with two chimneys! It's so big. How many families do you think live in that house?” Lucy asked.

“Just one family,” a boy named Eddie said. “Those houses are for rich folks.”

As they passed a farmhouse, a woman put down the broom she'd been using to sweep her front stoop and waved at the children. Lucy eagerly waved back. Soon she might find herself living in a house like that one. Her new mother would be as friendly as that woman. And inside the house would be a smiling father and, best of all, a little sister.

The days on the train seemed very long, even though Miss Kelly told stories and sang to the children. They ate bread and cheese and apples, which Miss Kelly pulled from a large basket. And they drank fresh milk, which Miss Kelly bought at some of the depots where the train stopped.

But the seats on the train were hard, and the passenger car rocked and wobbled. The worst part was at night, when the lights were turned low. That was when Lucy was the loneliest.

One night a few of the girls who were still
awake whispered about the families who might want them.

“At the orphan asylum we had to work or study every minute,” Aggie Vaughn said. “We had just half an hour to go outside. That was the only time we were allowed to talk to each other.”

Jessie Kay Lester was shocked. “You could only talk for half an hour a day?”

Virginia giggled. “Can you imagine Jessie not talking all day long?”

Aggie didn't smile. “Maybe the people who take us in will make us work just as hard as they did at the asylum.”

There was silence for a moment. Then Daisy said, “They'll be our new parents. We'll have to do whatever they tell us to do.”

There was a hard knot in Lucy's stomach. She clung tightly to Baby. Their new parents would be good to them, wouldn't they?

No one had anything else to say. Daisy rested her head on Lucy's shoulder, and Lucy used Baby as a pillow.

I wish for someone to love me. I wish for someone to love me
, Lucy repeated until the words slid away into dreams.

The next day was the fourth day of their journey. As soon as everyone had eaten breakfast, Miss Kelly told the children that the train's first stop would be that very day in Harwood, Missouri. Miss Kelly's announcement made Lucy terribly nervous. She tugged at Miss Kelly's skirt and asked, “Will you help me find a family?”

“Of course I will,” Miss Kelly said, hugging her tightly. But Lucy knew there wasn't much Miss Kelly could do. Lucy's wish was her only hope. But would wishing over and over again be enough to make it come true?

Before they arrived in Harwood, the train came to a sudden stop. A man jumped from the train, waving a gun. There were men on horseback waiting for him, and they rode away in a hurry.

The man had been in their car, but Lucy had hardly even noticed him. The older boys were excited and talked about Confederate soldiers and
robbers and murderers until Lucy became scared all over again. Was this what the West was going to be like?

Miss Kelly soothed the children. “He's gone,” she said. “He won't frighten us again.”

Lucy relaxed and turned her thoughts to more important things. Soon the train would arrive in Harwood. People would come to see them and choose them. Would her new family be there?

Miss Kelly brushed the girls' hair and tied ribbons into big, white bows. Lucy loved her bow. It was the first one she'd ever had.

Each child was given a clean cotton handkerchief. Lucy shoved hers into her skirt pocket. She was surprised when her fingers touched a cool, smooth, round surface. As she pulled out the marble, she thought,
Henry's gift.
The swirl of blues and greens made her think of Mum and home. Lucy held back her tears.

The train began to slow, and Miss Kelly called out, “Settle down, children. I want you to listen.”

Lucy dropped the marble back into her pocket.
Miss Kelly said, “Children, you're going to discover many fine people who want very much to meet you. Some of you will find new families here.”

Jessie spoke softly. “What happens if we don't?”

Lucy's heart began to thump hard. Miss Kelly answered, “Then you'll still have me. I'll be with you. I won't leave you until you all find homes.”

“Do you promise? You will stay with us?” Lucy asked.

“I promise,” Miss Kelly said. “My job is to make sure that you all have good homes.”

Lucy's heart grew quiet. But she still held tightly to Baby. She still hoped with all her heart that her wish would come true.

When the train stopped in Harwood, a man came aboard to greet Miss Kelly. She turned to the children and said, “Pick up your luggage, boys and girls. We'll leave the train and walk two blocks to the Methodist church, where we'll meet the people who have come to see you. Remember,
you're wonderful children, and I'm very, very proud of you. The families who get you will be lucky, so hold your heads high and smile.”

There were a lot of people on the platform who had come just to look at the orphans. Lucy blushed. She hated being stared at. She hated hearing people talk about her as though she couldn't hear. Staring straight ahead, she followed Miss Kelly and the other children down a dusty street to the Methodist church.

The church was filled with people. At one end there was a raised platform. Three rows of stools were on the platform, and Miss Kelly seated the children on the stools. The smallest were in front, the largest in back. Lucy found herself at one end of the middle row.

When they were all settled, Miss Kelly told the people who had come to see the children about the Children's Aid Society. Then she introduced each child.

Lucy was terrified when her name was called.
She looked out at all the faces and wondered whether anyone there would want her. Daisy was introduced next, and all the eyes turned to look at Daisy.

Miss Kelly invited those who had come to visit the stage and get to know the children. A buzz of voices quickly filled the room.

A woman ran to swoop up little Lizzie, and Lucy saw two of the older boys being chosen.

Choose me
, she thought, and dared to look into the eyes of a young couple who were standing nearby. But their eyes were on sisters Emily and Harriet Averill. Neither the woman nor the man glanced in Lucy's direction.

Lucy knew she should smile, but she was too frightened. She wrapped her arms around herself, scarcely daring to look up.

Couples strolled nearby. Some of them stopped to chat with one or more of the children. Many of the stools on the platform emptied as people signed the papers to take an orphan train rider.

The room became quieter. Lucy heard Miss Kelly thank the committee members for their help, and she heard someone behind her sob.

She quickly straightened and looked around the room. It was practically empty. Only a few of the orphan train children were left.

“No one chose us,” Lucy whispered in surprise and fear. “No one wanted us.”

Miss Kelly stepped up to Lucy and took her hand.

“Don't worry,” she said. “We have two more stops to make. We will find a family for you.”

She smiled, but Lucy didn't smile back. She had never been so scared in her life.

L
ucy counted. At least she wasn't the only one not chosen. Twelve other children stood together. They waited to hear what Miss Kelly would tell them.

Daisy clutched Lucy's arm and whispered, “Virginia got chosen. Why didn't we?”

Lucy didn't answer, but she thought she knew. She had watched Virginia. Virginia had smiled and talked to the people who stopped in front of her.

Miss Kelly had told them that there would be two more stops. Lucy took a deep breath to steady herself. She wouldn't let herself become so scared
at the next stop. She'd look at the people who paused to talk to her. She'd do her best to smile.

This time she'd
make
her wish come true.

“We'll catch the midmorning train tomorrow,” Miss Kelly said. Then she matched the children with adults who had offered to put them up for the night.

Lucy and Daisy walked with Mrs. Judson, who lived just down the street from the Methodist church. Mrs. Judson didn't say much to them. However, she led Lucy and Daisy into her kitchen and fed them big bowls of tasty mutton stew. When they had eaten all they wanted, Mrs. Judson showed them her guest bedroom, where they'd spend the night.

“There are clean towels by the washbasin and pitcher,” she said. “If you need anything else, just call me.”

She left the room, closing the door behind her.

Daisy stared openmouthed at the matching pitcher and basin. “Hand-painted china!” she exclaimed. “Look at all those pink rosebuds!” She
backed away. “I can't wash my face in that basin. I'd get the rosebuds dirty.”

“That's what you're supposed to do,” Lucy said. She turned slowly so she could look at everything in the room. There were lace curtains at the window and bright quilts on the beds. In one corner was a small writing desk and chair.

“Oh, how beautiful!” Lucy whispered.

Daisy's eyes brightened. “Do you think Mrs. Judson might want to adopt a girl?” She glanced at Lucy. “Maybe two girls?”

“Mrs. Judson could have chosen a child if she wanted to,” Lucy said.

Daisy looked around the room again and sighed with delight. “Wouldn't this be a grand house to live in, Lucy?” she asked.

Lucy thought for just a moment. Then she said, “It is a grand house, but it doesn't have what I want in it. I want a mother and father and a little sister.”

Daisy smiled. “There
is
a Mr. Judson,” she said. “I heard somebody say he's a banker. So
there's your mother and father. And I could be your little sister.”

Lucy shook her head again, but she smiled. Mrs. Judson wasn't exactly what Lucy had hoped for in a mother, and Mr. Judson she hadn't seen at all. But Daisy would make a good little sister.

“Tomorrow morning I'm going to tell Mrs. Judson how happy her house would be with two daughters in it,” Daisy said. “You'll have to smile, too. And be helpful.”

“All right,” Lucy said.

Daisy pulled off her shoes and dress and tossed them on the floor. Then she dove into bed. “Good night, Lucy,” she said, and giggled. “Tomorrow we may have a new mother.”

Even though the early-evening sky was still light, Lucy was exhausted. She undressed. Then, sinking into the soft, beautiful bed, she pulled the quilt up to her chin.