Lucy’s Wish (5 page)

Lucy wondered if Mrs. Judson would like children in her house. She and Daisy would be good,
helpful daughters and do their best to make Mr. and Mrs. Judson happy parents. With a smile on her face, Lucy fell sound asleep.

The morning light awakened her. She jumped from bed, surprised to find that Daisy was already up and dressed.

Lucy washed her face and hands in the basin and put on her clothing.

“Should we fold the bed linens?” Daisy asked. “We want Mrs. Judson to think we're very helpful.”

“We want her to think we're clean, too,” Lucy said. “Wash your hands and face.”

“You can't tell me what to do,” Daisy complained.

“I can if I'm your big sister,” Lucy said.

Daisy grumbled, but she quickly washed in the cool water. She even wiped up the splatters with her towel.

Lucy worked with Daisy to put the room in order. Then they hurried outside to the privy,
remembering to wash their hands and dry them on the towel hanging outside the kitchen door.

The door opened, and a plump, middle-aged woman poked her head outside. “So this is where you got to,” she said. “I was gonna start huntin' for the two of you if you didn't show up pretty soon.” She smiled and said, “I'm Gussie, the Judsons' housekeeper.”

“She has a housekeeper?” Daisy whispered to Lucy. She looked terribly disappointed. “We thought she might need a girl … uh … two girls to help out with the housework,” Daisy told Gussie.

Gussie laughed. She poked a stray wisp of gray-blond hair back into the twist that sat like a fat biscuit on top of her head. “Last thing Mrs. Judson needs is two little girls. She has four of her own already and just married off the last one. What she wants now is to sleep late, like she's doin' this mornin'.”

Gussie held the back door open wide. “You
come inside now. I'll fix your breakfast and get you to the depot in time for the train.”

Lucy took Daisy's hand. “Don't be sad,” she whispered. “We'll find our families. Maybe at the next stop.”

“What if we don't?” Daisy whispered back.

Lucy remembered Miss Kelly's words. “You have to believe,” Lucy said.

It was hard to believe and not be frightened. Lucy found that it was even harder not to give in to her fears when Gussie left her and Daisy at the train station. Lucy could see from the faces of the other children that they were just as terrified as she was.

Everyone looked sad. Everyone looked scared. No one had wanted them at the first stop. Would it be any different at the next stop?

A young couple rushed up to Miss Kelly. They had taken five-year-old Walter just to spend the night and had decided they wanted to keep him.

Lucy couldn't help feeling jealous.
There are
only eleven of us now.
She fought back a lump that stuck in her throat and made her want to cry.

In the distance she heard long blasts from the train's whistle. The train would be there soon, and they'd be on their way to Springbrook.

T
he train chugged through patches of woods and clearings. Lucy slumped against the uncomfortable wooden back of her seat. One hand gripped Baby. The other held tightly to Daisy, who huddled against her.

No one ran up and down the aisle. None of the boys teased. The car they rode in was quiet. Lucy was sure that everyone was thinking about the same thing: What would happen in Springbrook?

Lucy knew that Miss Kelly was trying to cheer them up. She told stories and sang and even made up riddles.

But every few minutes someone would ask,
“Will it be long until we get to Springbrook?” Or “Are we almost there?”

“In a little while,” Miss Kelly would say patiently.

Then, finally, it was time to wash faces and hands, comb hair, and straighten jackets.

The conductor strode through the car. He called out, “Springbrook, next stop. Springbrook, five minutes.”

Lucy found it hard to breathe. Her heart began to pound again as the train reached the depot. She saw a large cluster of people waiting on the platform.

Just as before, Lucy carried her parcel and Baby and climbed down the steps with the other children, following Miss Kelly.

A tall, thin woman shook hands with Miss Kelly. “I'm Isabelle Domain, chairman of Springbrook's placing-out committee,” she said. “The train will be here for half an hour, so we'll do the choosing right here on the platform.
Then we'll get the waifs no one wants back on board.”

Lucy shuddered. Waifs? She wasn't a waif—especially not one that nobody would want. She was Lucy Amanda Griggs, and she'd find her parents here. She had to.

Lucy forced herself to stand up straight. She looked at the people who had come to see them. Each time she caught someone's eye, she smiled. She touched the marble in her pocket—her gift from Henry. Soon she'd have the gift of parents … and a sister.

Soon after the children had been introduced, they began to be chosen. A stout, middle-aged couple beamed at Daisy. The woman said, “A happy child brightens a lonely house. Will you come with us, Daisy? We'd be so thankful to have you as our little girl.”

Daisy gave one quick, longing glance at Lucy. “Good-bye, Lucy,” she said, then disappeared with her new parents into the crowd.

Lucy knew she should be happy for Daisy, but loneliness wiped away every other feeling. She hugged Baby and closed her eyes, choking back tears.

“Er … young lady … Lucy …,” a deep voice said.

Lucy opened her eyes. A man stood before her. He had sunbaked skin, with red blotches on his cheeks. His wide-brimmed hat shaded soft, kind eyes. He looked at her hopefully.

He said, “My name is Wilbur Snapes. My wife sent me to bring home an orphan girl to be a companion to our own little girl. Would you like to come with me?”

Miss Kelly stepped to Lucy's side. Before Lucy could answer, Miss Kelly asked, “Where is your wife, Mr. Snapes? I'd like to meet her.”

“Mabel couldn't come,” Mr. Snapes said. “She had to stay home to take care of the child.”

“I'm not sure that—” Miss Kelly began, but Lucy quickly spoke up.

“Miss Kelly, they have a little girl!” Lucy said.
“I'd have a little sister! This is what I wanted right from the beginning!” She looked up at Mr. Snapes. “What's your little girl's name?”

“Emma,” he answered.

“Emma!” Lucy gave a happy sigh. “That's a lovely name!”

Mrs. Domain joined them. She nodded to Mr. Snapes. “Morning, Wilbur,” she said. She turned to Miss Kelly. “The Snapeses are good-hearted people. I recommend them.”

“We usually meet
both
parents,” Miss Kelly said. But Mrs. Domain shook her head.

“Poor Mabel doesn't get out much, what with Emma to care for. But she's a fine, upstanding woman. Did I mention that Wilbur's a deacon in our church?”

Miss Kelly took Lucy aside. “Are you sure you want to live with the Snapeses?” she asked. “You have a choice.”

Lucy looked over her shoulder at Mr. Snapes and into his kind eyes. A sister! Her wish was finally coming true.

“I choose
yes
,” she said to Miss Kelly. “I'm going to have a sister!”

Miss Kelly smiled at Lucy. “All right. We'll give Mr. Snapes the papers to sign.”

Signing only took a few minutes. Mr. Snapes put down the pen and ink and nodded to Lucy. “This way,” he said.

But Lucy took time to wrap herself in Miss Kelly's hug.

“Write to me,” Miss Kelly said. “I want to know that you're happy. Will you let me know?”

“Yes,” Lucy promised. “I will.”

She pulled away and followed Mr. Snapes to a large farm wagon. He boosted her to the board seat, where she found herself perched high behind two large horses.

“Tell me about Emma,” Lucy said to Mr. Snapes excitedly.

There was a long pause before he answered. “Emma's a good little girl, a loving girl. You'll see for yourself when you meet her.”

Lucy soon realized that Mr. Snapes was not a
talker. That was all right with her. At the moment she was so filled with excitement she didn't feel like talking, either.
Someone to love me. My wish has come true. I'll have someone to love me
, she thought.

As they left Springbrook and entered a quiet country road, Mr. Snapes asked, “Would you like to hold the horses' reins?”

“Oh, yes!” Lucy said.

Mr. Snapes showed her how to hold the reins and told her what commands to give the horses. Then he sat quietly by her side.

He's a kind man
, Lucy thought,
and that's what counts.

As the horses plodded on, Lucy gazed at the countryside. She loved the rolling hills and the tidy farmland.

When Mr. Snapes took the reins and guided his horses up a road to a small farmhouse, Lucy was delighted. The house was part of her wish, and her wish was coming true.

The wagon stopped, and Lucy quickly jumped
down from the seat. She was eager to meet Mrs. Snapes. Would she be as nice as Mr. Snapes?

But the middle-aged woman who stepped onto the front porch didn't have a welcoming smile on her face. Her lips were tight and angry, and her forehead was creased into a frown. She stared at Lucy and snapped, “She's too small, Wilbur. Take her back.”

Mr. Snapes shook his head firmly. “No, Mabel. I won't. You sent back the last one because she was running around the house making noise and upsetting Emma. ‘Don't bring me any girls who act like boys,' you told me. Well Lucy won't. She's a quiet little thing. She'll do. You'll see.”

Lucy was so shocked she leaned against the wagon for support. Sent back? Their last orphan train rider was sent back? This wasn't the way her wish was supposed to turn out. Where was the smiling mother? Where was her dear little sister? Where was the love?

“T
ake Lucy inside, Mabel,” Mr. Snapes said quickly. “Lucy and Emma should get to know each other.”

Numbly Lucy walked up the porch steps and into the house. There, on a sofa, sat a girl who was probably twelve or thirteen. There was something different about her eyes, as if they didn't see things the way other people did. Her lower lip sagged, too. But she perked up when she saw Lucy.

With a start, Lucy realized that Emma seemed to be very much like Mrs. Olney's Henry. Especially her eyes. What was it that Mum had said?
That Henry was simple. Lucy was sure that Emma was simple, too. She was older than Lucy and much larger. Emma was not the cuddly little sister of her daydreams.

“This here is Lucy,” Mrs. Snapes said to Emma. “She's come to live with us and help take care of you.”

Lucy remembered Henry and how much he needed and wanted kindness. She smiled and said, “Hello, Emma.”

Emma smiled, too, and climbed from the sofa. Her walk was clumsy and slow. As she came close to Lucy, her arms reached out and she took Lucy's hand. “Play outside,” Emma said.

When Mrs. Snapes didn't say anything, Lucy looked up at her. “Emma said she wants to go outside to play.”

Mrs. Snapes sighed. “Emma just makes noises. She doesn't know how to talk. So don't start imagining that you know what she says. We just let her babble on and keep doing what's best for her.”

Maybe that's what
you
do
, Lucy thought.
But I know what I heard. Emma asked to go outside to play.
Mum had been able to understand Henry, and Lucy had learned, too.

Lucy tried to remember the things Mrs. Olney had said about Henry. “Has Emma been like this since she was born?”

Mrs. Snapes's mouth grew even tighter. “Yes,” she muttered. “It was a difficult birth, but that's neither here nor there. Can't nothing at all be done about it. Come with me, and I'll show you your room. You'll share it with Emma.”

It was a large room, but the tan-and-brown wallpaper made it look dark and dreary. Lucy thought the wallpaper was ugly. But Mrs. Snapes said, “I see you're admiring the paper. It cost dearly, but no one's going to say we didn't do our best for Emma.”