Web of Dreams

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Web of Dreams Page 38

by V. C. Andrews

"To Texas?" he asked smiling. "Texas is a big

  state." The newsstand attendant laughed. "You know

  where you're going in Texas, right?"

  "Yes sir, I do."

  "Well," he said, "just make a right at this first

  corridor and at the end of the corridor, you'll find the

  ticket booths." "Thank you," I said.

  "Say, that's a pretty doll you're carrying, as

  pretty as you," he said. I forgot how tightly I was

  holding on to Angel. I smiled and started away. "Not

  running away from home, are you?" he called to me. "Oh, no, sir."

  He and the newsstand attendant laughed again.

  When I arrived at the ticket booth, I asked for a ticket

  to Fullerton, Texas. That was really all I knew about

  Grandma Jana's home. I thought once I arrived there, I

  could call her to come get me.

  The ticket seller smirked.

  "Fullerton, Texas?" He looked at his charts.

  "Don't have any train stop there, Miss. What's it

  near?"

  "Oh, I'm not sure. I think . . ."

  "Houston? Dallas? El Paso?"

  I began to panic. If I didn't choose one, he

  would surely think I was a girl running away from

  home. He might even signal to the policeman and

  nothing would be more horrible, more embarrassing

  and degrading than being brought back to Farthy in a

  police car right in the middle of Momma's charity

  affair.

  "Dallas," I said quickly. All I wanted to do was

  get to Texas. Once I was there, I would call Grandma

  Jana. I was sure she would see to it that I was brought

  to her home, no matter how far away I was.

  "Okay, Dallas. Well," he said, "the best I can do

  for you is send you to our hub city, Atlanta. You'll

  have quite a layover there, however; unless you come

  back and leave early in the morning tomorrow." "No, I don't care about the layover," I

  stammered.

  "I see. Round trip, I imagine?"

  "No," I said quickly. "One way."

  "You want general seating, a car, a sleeper?" "A car," I replied.

  He nodded and began working on ray ticket,

  "That will be one hundred and sixty-two dollars." One hundred and sixty-two! That didn't leave

  me much money for anything else. Perhaps I should

  have chosen general seating, I thought, but I didn't

  hesitate. I didn't want the ticket seller to know that I

  didn't have much traveling money. I counted it out

  quickly and he gave me the ticket.

  "You leave from platform C, in about fifteen

  minutes. That's down to the right and over. You can't

  miss it."

  "Thank you." I took my ticket and started away.

  Now that I actually had the ticket in my hand and I

  was heading for the train platform, the reality of what

  I was doing set in. My heart was thumping so hard, I

  thought I would go into a faint and make a scene. I

  imagined a crowd of people clustered around me, the

  young policeman holding everyone back. It frightened

  me even more to imagine it, so hurried to the platform

  and took the first available seat on a bench. Because

  there was still some time before the train left, there

  weren't many people here. I saw a woman with two

  little girls two benches down from me. She was reading to them from a children's storybook to keep them occupied. I couldn't help remembering the way

  Momma would read to me.

  How different the world was when I was very

  little and we were all living in our Boston home, I

  thought. Watching this mother and her children made

  me wonder about the baby I was carrying. Was it a

  boy or a girl? When I gave birth, should I keep the

  child or give it up for adoption? What would Grandma

  Jana's advice be? Could I give up the baby once I had

  held it in my arms? But wasn't I too young to be a

  mother, and if I did become a mother, what kind of a

  mother would I be?

  I knew I would never be a mother like mine. I'd

  rather give the child away than be that, I thought. I set

  Angel down beside me and closed my eyes. The

  rumble of trains approaching and leaving other

  platforms made the floor quake. Soon, more and more

  people began to arrive. When a man in a suit and tie

  sat down beside me, I hugged Angel to me. The man

  smiled but then immediately opened a newspaper and

  began reading.

  My heart began to thump again. It was getting

  closer and closer to my departure. I looked back. Was

  I making the right decision? It would be easy to change my mind. I could simply call and have Miles return. Soon, he would be arriving at Farthy himself and he would either mention taking me to the train station or be asked where he had gone. Momma would find out and send him right back to get me, but

  he wouldn't arrive in time.

  There was no returning, I thought, and when the

  train came rumbling in, I got up immediately to enter

  as soon as the doors opened. I found my car quickly

  and took a seat by the window. Then I put my suitcase

  overhead, set Angel beside me snugly and waited

  anxiously. There was room for at least three other

  people, but only an elderly gentleman came into my

  car. He nodded, smiled, took his seat and immediately

  began reading his newspaper.

  Finally, the train began to pull away. My heart

  thumped in rhythm with the thump of the train's

  wheels as they turned on the tracks. The station

  disappeared behind us and we shot out into the

  twilight, heading south, heading away from the only

  world I had ever known.

  "Ticket, miss?" the conductor said. I had it

  clutched in my hand and handed it to him quickly. He

  punched it and smiled. I sat back and looked out the

  window as the train snaked on, carrying me into tunnels of darkness and over hills toward new horizons. We seemed to be riding into the

  approaching night, the darkness crawling toward us. I caught glimpses of stars peeping down between clouds. They never seemed farther away than they did

  now.

  The train rocked on. From time to time, I saw

  the lights of other cities or houses out in the distance,

  their windows a warm yellow. Within those houses,

  families sat together having dinner. Those children

  felt safe and secure with parents who loved them.

  They weren't as rich as I was, and their homes could

  fit in one corner of Farthinggale Manor and be lost,

  but they would be going to sleep in their own beds

  tonight and their parents would kiss them good night.

  Mothers would tuck in little children. Daddies would

  kiss them on their cheeks or foreheads and promise

  them an even brighter or happier tomorrow. I had no one to promise me a happier or

  brighter tomorrow, no one but Angel. She and I sat

  like two lost children being pulled into the unknown.

  We were tired and hungry and already quite lonely.

  Even though the gentleman across from me eyed me

  curiously when I placed Angel firmly in my lap, I kept

  her there, hugging her tightly to me as the train rolled on. I was determined. There was no turning back, not now, not ever. Soon, the monotonou
s rhythm of its

  wheels put me to sleep.

  I awoke with a start in the middle of the night.

  It was dark in the car, but there were lights on the

  outside of the train and lights in the corridor, so after

  my initial confusion, I remembered exactly where I

  was and what I had done. The gentleman across from

  me was asleep with his newspaper opened on his lap.

  His body rocked from side to side with the train. I

  curled up again and closed my eyes. In moments, I

  was asleep once more.

  I awoke with the first light of morning and

  looked out over the farms and fiat fields. The elderly

  gentleman was already awake.

  "How far are you going, Miss?" he asked. "Atlanta."

  "I get off at the next stop. You've got a good

  five hours more. You can get some breakfast in the

  dining car. Very pretty doll," he said nodding toward

  Angel. "I don't think I've ever seen one that pretty," he

  added with a smile of admiration.

  "Thank you."

  "Going home?"

  "Yes," I said. I thought it was better to say that.

  In a way might be going home, I reasoned.

  He stretched.

  "Me too," he said. "Been on the road nearly a

  month. I'm a salesman, wholesale shoes."

  "That must be hard for you, being away from

  your family so long."

  "That it is. Nothing like going home. Of course,

  all my children are grown, so there's just me and the

  good woman. It's nice though. We have five

  grandchildren," he added, smiling proudly.

  I smiled back at him and then I thought, soon

  Momma would have a grandchild, only she would

  never be able to appreciate her grandchild the way this

  man appreciates his grandchildren, for hers was

  fathered by her new husband. The twisted and dark

  world of Farthy would follow my baby forever, I

  concluded. It was almost a reason not to have it. But maybe I could find another world, a world

  very different from Farthy, and bring my child into

  that world. If only I could, if only could, if only I

  could. I chanted it like a prayer in rhythm with the

  train's wheels. Then my stomach churned with

  hunger.

  "I guess I will get some breakfast," I said

  standing. "I'll watch your doll for you," the gentleman

  offered.

  "Oh, no sir. She goes everywhere I do," I said.

  "And besides, she's just as hungry."

  He laughed and I went out to find the dining

  car.

  We stopped at his stop while I was having

  something to eat, so he was gone by the time I

  returned. I spent the next three and a half hours alone,

  staring out the window. When I heard the

  announcement for Atlanta, my heart began to pound

  again. The first leg of my long and sad journey was

  over. I was far away from Farthy and by now,

  Momma was surely frantic and angry. I wondered

  how she would handle it. Would she call the police or

  would she be afraid of a scandal? Would she try to

  contact Tony in Europe?

  One thing was sure, I thought. She didn't let

  what happened interfere with her charity affair at

  Farthy. No one who attended would be able to tell

  anything was wrong by looking at her face and she

  would instruct the servants, Miles and Curtis

  especially, not to mention one word about it to

  anyone.

  I could just hear her.

  "She will be back once she's over her tantrum."

  "No, I won't, Momma," I pledged. "No, I won't." I stood on the platform for a few moments

  reading all the signs that instructed passengers where

  to go for different destinations. The Atlanta terminal

  was bigger than the one in Boston and there seemed to

  be twice, maybe three times the number of people

  rushing about. I found an information booth in the

  large lobby and showed my ticket to the girl behind

  the desk.

  "You have to go down the corridor on the left

  there and make the first right. You'll see the signs, but

  this train isn't scheduled to depart until eight P.M.

  Don't you have anyplace to go until then? It's hours

  and hours."

  "No," I said. "It'll be all right."

  "Suit yourself," she said and turned to someone

  else. I bought a magazine and then followed her

  directions and arrived at my platform. It was much

  wider and longer than the one in Boston. There was a

  small lounge area off to the right, so I went directly to

  it and sat on a bench toward the rear. Then I counted

  my money. I didn't have much left, and hoped I had

  enough for lunch and dinner.

  "I bet I could turn one of your one-dollar bills

  into a five-dollar bill," someone said and I looked up and into the most radiant black eyes I had ever seen. The young man standing in front of me had thick, rich ebony hair and bronze skin. He was tall and handsome with broad, strong shoulders that made the seams of

  his thin, short-sleeve shirt strain.

  "Pardon me?"

  "Just trust me with one of those one-dollar bills

  a moment and I'll show you," he said sitting down

  beside me. I don't know why I did it, but I handed this

  stranger one of my precious dollars. I knew that

  unsuspecting travelers, especially young girls like

  myself, were targets for con artists everywhere. But

  he had said he would turn my one into a five and not

  vice versa and I liked looking at him.

  From what I could see, he had nothing in his

  hands and of course, he had no sleeves in which to

  hide anything. He folded my dollar very carefully in

  his palm right before my eyes. He made it as small as

  he could. Then he turned his hand over so I could see

  only the top of his closed fist. He held it in front of me

  and smiled.

  "Okay, you touch my hand," he said. His eyes

  twinkled.

  "Touch your hand?" He nodded. I put my finger

  on his middle knuckle and then took it off quickly. He

  laughed.

  "It's not goin' ta burn ya. Okay, that was good

  enough anyway," he said and turned his hand over,

  palm up again. Then, before my eyes, he unfolded the

  bill and there it was--a five-dollar bill?

  "How did you do that?" I asked, my eyes wide.

  He shrugged.

  "Magic, how else? Anyway, here it is, five

  dollars," he said handing it to me. "The way you were

  counting your money, right down to-the penny, you

  look like you needed an extra four dollars," he said. "Is that right?" Heat came into my face. "Well,

  I'm not accustomed to taking money from strangers,

  even magic money," I replied thrusting the five-dollar

  bill back at him.

  "Okay. I won't be a stranger then," he said

  leaning back and holding his palms up. "My name's

  Thomas Luke Casteel, but most everyone just calls me

  Luke. And you are?" he extended his hand.

  I stared at him, not knowing whether I should

  laugh or get up and walk away. He was too handsome

  to be a con man, thought; rather, I hoped.
/>   "Leigh VanVoreen." I shook his hand. "There, now we're not strangers and you can

  keep the magic money."

  "I really don't need it. I have enough to get

  where I have to go. I must insist you change this back

  to my one-dollar bill." He laughed.

  "I don't know the magic to change it back.

  Sorry."

  "You're being very foolish, giving away money

  like that." He shrugged.

  "Easy come, easy go. Besides, it was worth far

  more than four dollars to have seen your face when I

  performed my trick," he said fixing his eyes on me. I

  felt myself blush.

  "Are you a magician?"

  "Not really. I've been working in a circus

  nearby and I picked up a lot of stuff like that from the

  carnies." "Carnies?"

  "Carnival people. They're wonderful people to

  know. They stick together through thick and thin and

  help each other all the time, and some of them have

  traveled all over the world and know a great many

  things. Just sitting around and listening to them talk, I

  learn a lot. You'd be surprised how much I already

  know, and knowledge and experience is what makes

  you older," he added proudly.

  "You don't look that old."

  "Seventeen. You don't look very old either." "I'm almost fourteen."

  "Well, we're not much older than Romeo and

  Juliet, you know," he said. "The duchess told me

  about them. She was a professional actress in Europe.

  Now, she does the knife throwing act with her

  husband."

  "You mean, she stands there while he throws

  knives around her?"

  "Yep."

  "I could never do that. And what if her husband

  got mad at her?" I asked.

  Luke laughed again.

  "That's a big joke around the tents. It's not as

  dangerous as it seems. There's a technique to it, just as

  there is for most anything in the circus, but that's what

  I love about the circus--the illusions, the makebelieve world, the excitement."

  "It sounds like fun. What do you do?" "I just took on a part-time job, just for a short

  while, just to be around it. I want to be a circus barker

  one day. You know, the man who calls to the people."

  He jumped up and cried out, "Come one, come all, to

  the greatest show on earth. We have one-eyed giants,

  a snake lady, the smallest man in the world, the

  bearded lady, Boris the lion tamer, the greatest acrobatic team in the air!" he recited as if he were standing on a platform. People nearby turned our way, but he didn't seem to care that he was attracting

 

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