David C. McLavic - 14. Chapter 14

I didn’t see Mom at breakfast. “I’ll help you with the chores this morning, and then I’ll get dressed for our trip home.” I could see Carl really didn’t want me to leave. I had another six weeks before school started for me.

Chores finished, including saying goodbye to Sir Galahad, I went to prepare for our trip home.

Walking back to the house, Mom was sitting on the porch with her suitcase at her feet. I didn’t see Beth Ann. Running into the house and Carl’s room, Beth Ann was sitting on the cot. “What’s the matter?”

“Mom told me to get rid of Cleo and she is going to check my suitcase.”

“Don’t worry. Cleo will be in my suitcase” My suitcase had a lock and I was the only one with the key. There was that smile again.

Carl was upset about me leaving. We agreed we would stay in communication and I’ll be back next summer. His response was, “Are you sure? Maybe your dad will say no.”

“No, he won’t and I’ll probably come alone. Maybe by train.” That brought a smile.

As soon as Jim arrived, Mom was in the front seat. I carried her suitcase and Beth Ann’s to the car. While I went back for my suitcase, Jim put the other two in the car’s boot. I added my suitcases, got into the back seat, and noticed tears in Beth Ann’s eyes. Mom must have done something. I’ll find out later.

The ride to the train station in Pittsburgh was quiet. I held Beth Ann’s hand.

Our train was to leave in the late afternoon. We arrived at the station a little past noon. Mom went into the station to get the tickets Dad had said were there. I looked for something to eat. “Jim, see if you can find a restaurant or food stand. We won’t have a chance to eat until tonight.”

Jim smiled, got up and 10 minutes later he came back with four hotdogs. He gave one to Beth Ann, there was that smile. Ever since I saw that photo of Jean, Beth Ann’s smile reminded me of that smile. As Jim handed us our hotdog, Mom came out of the office with a smile that told me she had done something. Jim offered her a hotdog, She smiled and said. “No, thank you.”

Jim took the hot dog, broke it in half, and gave half to me while he ate the other half.

The conductor came out of one of the train cars announcing the train to San Francisco was ready for boarding. Mom took her suitcase and almost ran to the conductor. Showing him the ticket, it looked like he asked her a question. She turned and pointed to us. With Jim’s help, I took my suitcase and Beth Ann’s and tried to get to Mom. Jim ran and told the conductor that the lady was traveling with her two children. The conductor looked at us as we hurried to Jim.

“Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

He returned with the man who took Mom’s suitcase. “This gentleman will show you to your mother.”

I thanked Jim for looking after us, following the man, he stopped in front of a door, and opening the door, there was Mom lying on the bottom bunk.

“Mam, here are your two children.” The man had a strange look on his face. Mom completely ignored him.

He showed us the bed that was part of the wall across from the bunk beds. There were two clips when released, a cot dropped down from the wall.

“Dinner is served from 6 pm until 8 pm. If your mother is still sleeping, I’ll come and get you.”

The man left, Beth Ann and I sat on the seats by the window. Jim was walking along the train and when I saw him, I opened the window and called to him when he was close to our window.

“Are you both okay?”

“Yes Jim, Mom’s sleeping. We will be fine. Thanks for bringing us here. I told Carl I’ll write. Check with him, I’ll write to you as well.”

The train started to move, we waved goodbye to Jim. I closed the window.

Looking around the room, most of the space was taken by the bunk beds. There was one door, beside the entrance. Opening that door it was a small bathroom with a shower. The cabin was complete except it was small.

We sat at the window until the door to our cabin opened. It was the man who showed us to this cabin.

“Dinner is being served. If you come with me, I’ll show you where you will sit for your meals.”

“We need to wash our hands.” Saying that Beth Ann was already in the bathroom.

“Should I awake your mother?”

“I wouldn’t. She isn’t in a good mood today. She may be angry.”

I washed my hands, and following our guide, we went to the dining car. The man showed and told the waiter our room number. Saying goodbye, he left.

We followed the waiter to a table that sat four people. I let Beth Ann sit next to the window and there was that smile again.

At our place was a menu. Some of the names I didn’t understand. The water brought us a small cup of soup along with glasses of ice water.

The soup was good but I never had it before. It was creamy with small pieces of vegetables in it. I could have eaten more. The waiter took our cups away and brought a small salad of lettuce and small tomatoes. It was cold and the lettuce was crisp. He offered us two salad dressings, one vinaigrette, which he explained was a mixture of vinegar, oil, and herbs. The other was a cheese dressing that contained various cheeses in a cream sauce.

“Beth Ann, you take one dressing and I’ll take the other. Then we can taste each other.”

That is what we did except we ended up using both on each of our salads,

As we were finishing our salads, Mom showed up and she was angry. “Don’t you ever leave the room without me.”

“The man who showed us where you were came and asked us if we wanted dinner. We were hungry, so we followed him.” I said that loud enough if anyone was in our vicinity they would hear.

Mom reached across the table to slap me when the waiter showed up. He had a small carafe of coffee. Handing Mom a menu, he stood there waiting for Mom to order. She ordered a bottle of wine and macaroni with brie and crab. The waiter left leaving the open bottle of wine. Mom poured a glass of wine and drank half of what she poured. When her dinner was brought, ours was brought as well. We each had chicken legs with a baked potato and green beans. I was hungry and started to eat the chicken. Beth Ann waited until I told her to begin eating. She looked at me and then Mom, who by now, had emptied the wine glass and was refilling it.

When dinner was over, Mom got up and grabbed my arm. Beth Ann and I followed her back to our cabin. When we entered the cabin, Mom went to hit Beth Ann, I was tall enough if she hit me I could have hit her back. I could have but I wouldn’t. I didn’t want to make her any angrier than she was.

She took her suitcase, went into the bathroom, exited 45 minutes later and went to bed. “Beth Ann, you go and get ready for bed.” I had decided Beth would sleep on the top bunk and I would sleep on the wall bed.

When Beth came out of the bathroom, I helped her into the upper bunk bed. It was my turn to get ready for bed. When I came out of the bathroom, I gave Beth her Cleo. I got my smile, Mom was sleeping.