"The book I have said that a slave had to pay $500 to get free. That's a lot of money now! If it only cost ten cents for eggs and slaves didn't make any money, how did they get the money to buy their freedom?"
"There weren't very many who were able to do that, Andrew. That's why they ran away and that's why the Underground Railroad was put into place to help them escape."
"Polly, do you think that Daniel and Nelly and Jonah got away and made it to Canada?"
"What do you think?" she asked. "It was your dream. It's your story. How would you want it to end?"
"I think I want them to make it and then send a letter to the Donovans … to us and tell us that they are free and living in a little town somewhere that Jonah can grow up and not have to work until he's older. Maybe he gets to go to school and learn how to read and write and maybe he'll grow up to be a great man who helps other slaves escape too."
"That's a great way for the story to end. Let's go on up to my apartment. I’ll find that book for you and we can sit on the couch with my laptop and turn this dream into a story."
They went upstairs and Polly sent Andrew to the kitchen for juice and a carton of cookies from the refrigerator. He brought them to the living room and put them down on the coffee table as she drew a book off her shelves.
She handed it to Andrew and he read the cover, "The Deerslayer?" he asked.
"It's a story written by James Fenimore Cooper," she responded. "A young man named Natty Bumppo grew up with the Indians and had a best friend named Chingachgook. Once you finish this book, there are more in the series. I think you'll like them."
"Do you think this is what I would have gotten in the package?"
"Yes, I do. It's perfect for you." She sat down beside him on the sofa and watched as he opened the first page.
Before he could begin reading, she interrupted him, "Shall we start writing your story before you begin reading one by someone else?"
Andrew closed the book in front of him and leaned on it on his lap. "I'm ready!"
"How would you like to begin?"
"In my dream, I was still in bed when Mom yelled at me to get up. I didn't think it was weird at all that I was sleeping in a feather bed on the floor in a little house. Dreams are strange like that, aren't they?"
"They sure are," Polly replied. "I can't tell you the number of times I've been chasing a crook through a dark warehouse with a gun in my hand. I don't even own a gun!"
She typed, "Andrew James Donovan, this is the last time I am calling you. Get out of bed now!"
"How's that?" she asked.
Andrew rolled his eyes. "That's exactly how Mom yells at me when I don't want to get up. It's perfect."
THANK YOU FOR READING!
Andrew Donovan lives in Bellingwood, Iowa in the twenty-first century. You can read more about Polly Giller and her return to Iowa from Boston in the Bellingwood Series books beginning with All Roads Lead Home. Polly restores an old schoolhouse and finds that life in Iowa may not always be idyllic, but the friends she meets make it worthwhile. A bit of fun, a bit of joy and a lot of laughter fill the lives of these wonderful people as they tell their stories.
Check out the Bellingwood Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pollygiller
for news about upcoming books, conversations while I’m writing and you’re reading, and a continued look at life in a small town.
Diane Greenwood Muir’s Amazon Author Page is a great place to watch for new releases. Book #4 will be coming out in October 2013 and there will be a Christmas short story to watch for in December 2013.
Recipes and decorating ideas found in the books can often be found on Pinterest at:
http://pinterest.com/nammynools/
And, if you are looking for Sycamore House swag, check out Polly’s CafePress store:
http://www.cafepress.com/sycamorehouse
Hidden in the Trees (Bellingwood Stotries #1) Page 6