All My Tomorrows

by Al Lacy

  “No, sir.” Then gaining courage, she said, “Mr. Parker, I was so happy when the Dexters chose me. Ralph seemed so kind and caring, but it all changed when they took me home. Rex was mean to me. Mrs. Dexter did her best to protect me, but she is frightened of her husband and mistreated herself. I did the only thing I could do. I ran away.”

  “Of course, honey. They left you no choice. I can see that.”

  Deena took a deep breath; then looked first at Valerie, then at Brian. “Maybe—maybe there is some family in the wagon train who would take me in. I’m a good worker. I can cook and care for babies and little children. My twin sister and I did a lot of that.”

  Brian’s eyebrows arched. “Your twin sister?”

  “Yes, sir. I told Mrs. Parker about Donna.”

  “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know. She was still on the train when it pulled out of Salina.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Is she your identical twin?”

  “Yes, sir. We look exactly alike, and we’re exactly alike in every way. I sure hope she gets a good home.”

  “I do too. But right now, I’m concerned that you are placed in a good home.”

  “Me too,” put in Valerie. “Deena’s got to have a good home. I—I—”

  Brian turned and looked at her. He read the look in her eyes and grinned. “Valerie, darlin’, you don’t have to say it. I can see it in your eyes. You want to keep Deena with us.”

  Valerie’s eyes misted. She put an arm around Deena’s shoulder. “Yes, I do. Very much so. And how about you?”

  Deena’s eyes were wide as she ran her gaze hopefully between the two of them.

  A smile spread over Brian’s rugged features. “I very much want to take her too.”

  Valerie hugged Deena close. “Is this all right with you, honey?”

  Deena’s heart was pounding. “Do you mean for keeps, or just till you get to wherever you are going?”

  Brian spoke before Valerie could reply. “We mean for keeps, Deena. Let me tell you something. Valerie and I have talked a lot this past year about adopting a child. We’ll be your foster parents now, and later, if you’re happy with us, we’ll see about legally adopting you.”

  Deena burst into tears and hugged them both. It was a precious moment for all three of them. Valerie and Brian had been longing for a child. They had so much love to give and were grateful to have found the child upon whom they could pour out that love.

  Deena could hardly believe what was happening. This couple really wanted her.

  Suddenly, an unwelcome thought entered her mind. Can this really be, or is it all pretend like it was with the Dexters?

  Her teary eyes, which only seconds before had been shining with tears of joy, reflected the unbidden thought.

  Valerie caught the change in her expression and took hold of Deena’s hand. “What’s wrong, sweetie? You’re frightened about something. Tell us what it is.”

  Deena swallowed hard, trying to gather her wits about her. If these people were sincere, she didn’t want to reveal her doubts about them and hurt their feelings. They may think I’m ungrateful and change their minds about wanting me.

  Sensing what he thought was a feeling of insecurity, Brian took hold of her shoulders. “Deena, in our hearts, you are already part of this family. Family members should always share whatever is troubling them with each other.”

  She looked up at him and saw only kindness in his eyes. Her words came out weakly. “You—you won’t get mad at me if I tell you?”

  “No. I promise.”

  “Well …” she began, a quiver in her voice, “I w-was remembering back to the day when the Dexters chose me. Ralph—Ralph really seemed nice, and like he really wanted me, then …” Her voice trailed off, and she looked at the rough wagon floor.

  Valerie and Brian exchanged an understanding glance, then Valerie bent down, putting her face level with Deena’s. Taking the girl’s lowered head in both hands, she gently raised it until their eyes met.

  “Deena, we understand your troubled thoughts and why you are skeptical about our sincerity in this. But you, my dear one, are an answer to our prayers. Brian and I want a child with whom we can share our love and our lives and the new home we’re going to have out West. We know with all our hearts that you are that child. Won’t you please trust us? I can speak for both Brian and me. We promise—you’ll never regret becoming our daughter.”

  Valerie paused, giving time for her words to sink in.

  Deena searched the kind woman’s eyes and saw nothing but goodness there. Tears of joy pooled in her eyes and spilled down her battered cheeks. “Yes, I will trust you,” she said, her voice choking on her tears. She ran her eyes between man and wife. “Thank you for wanting me to be your daughter. There is nothing in the world that feels as good as knowing you are wanted, and that you belong to someone who cares. Even my own parents—” She choked on a sudden sob and put a fist to her mouth.

  Brian frowned, looked at Valerie, then back to Deena. “Are you saying that before they died, your parents didn’t want you?”

  Deena sniffed and blinked at her tears. She tried to speak, but her throat was constricted.

  “Her parents aren’t dead,” said Valerie. “The twins are the oldest of seven children, with another one on the way. Deena told me all about it. Their parents sent them out of the home in Manhattan saying they could no longer afford to keep them. Deena and her twin sister joined the thousands of other children who live on the streets of New York City.”

  Brian was stunned. He scrubbed a palm over his mouth. “That’s awful! No wonder you have a problem trusting anyone. Add what happened with the Dexters and it’s a wonder you can ever trust anyone when they say they love you and want you.”

  Deena wiped tears. “Thank you for understanding.”

  “I sure thought you were an actual orphan. So it was the Children’s Aid Society who put you on the train, then. I’ve read about Charles Loring Brace and his great work. Somehow I got it in my head that he only took care of children whose parents were both dead … you know, actual orphans.”

  “Now that I think of it,” said Valerie, “I remember reading once in the Crown Point Sentinel about the Children’s Aid Society. The article stated that quite often they put children on their orphan trains who are not actually orphans, but their parents had put them out of their homes because they could no longer afford to feed and clothe them. Most of the time, though, it was mothers who had been widowed and were in financial straits.”

  Brian nodded. “Seems like you mentioned that to me. I had forgotten it. Deena, how did it happen that the Children’s Aid Society took you and your sister off the streets?”

  “Well, with Donna and me, it was Mr. Brace and his wife who came along and saw that we were being treated bad by some of the other street children. They put us in their buggy and took us to the Society’s headquarters, and the next time there was an orphan train going that had room for us, they put us on it.”

  Brian’s brow furrowed. “Honey, I know a lot about identical twins. When I was a boy in Indiana, we had neighbors who had identical twin boys. I grew up with them and had the opportunity to observe the strong bond between them. It must have been horrible for you to be separated from Donna.”

  Deena’s face pinched. “There are no words to describe it, Mr. Parker. I thought my heart was going to tear right out of my chest.”

  “I can’t imagine that the Society would allow any siblings to be separated—especially twins, and more especially, identical twins.”

  “They have a rule, sir. If any couple wants just one sibling, they are allowed to take them. They say that it is better for them to be separated and taken into different homes anywhere out West than to starve or freeze to death as thousands of street children have done in New York.”

  Valerie said, “It has to be terrible for you, not knowing whether or not Donna has been chosen by foster parents, and if so, where she is.”

  “Yes, ma’
am. It is terrible. I miss her so much, and I know she misses me so much too, wherever she is. Often at night, before falling asleep, it seems I can hear Donna calling to me. Sometimes it happens in dreams, and I wake up with her voice still in my ears.”

  “I believe that, honey,” said Valerie. “I know there is a special bond between twins that ordinary siblings don’t have. Brian read a book about that a few months ago, didn’t you, darling?”

  “I did. I happened upon it when I was in Crown Point’s public library looking for a good book to check out and take home. It covered several fascinating medical subjects. Just glancing inside it caught my interest, so I checked it out and took it home. I was especially interested in the chapter on twins because of those neighbor boys. It was written by a medical doctor named Anthony Harmon. Dr. Harmon pointed out that there are two kinds of twins—the one-egg kind, which produces identical twins of the same sex; and the two-egg type, which produces twins who are not necessarily of the same sex, and who do not necessarily resemble each other. He was emphatic that the one-egg type has a bond between them that often amazes medical science.

  “Dr. Harmon spent a great deal of time on the subject in that chapter. He said identical twins so often know what the other one is thinking, that even when they are apart they can discern if the other twin is under emotional strain, experiencing emotional elation, or is in some kind of physical pain.”

  Deena nodded, a thin smile on her lips. “Dr. Harmon knows what he is talking about.”

  Valerie cleared her throat gently. “Deena, how long has it been since you had something to eat and drink?”

  “This morning, ma’am, when I had breakfast at the Dexter house.”

  “That’s a long time. I’ll fix you something to eat while Brian goes and talks to the wagon master.”

  “Good idea,” said Brian. “I’ll be back shortly.”

  “Honey,” said Valerie, reaching for a large mug that sat on the small table in the corner, “will you fill this for me from the water barrel on the side of the wagon, please? This girl has got to be terribly thirsty.”

  Brian took the mug. “She has to be.” He hopped out of the wagon and returned to the tailgate a moment later. Handing it to Valerie, he said, “If she needs more, I’ll get it for her when I get back.”

  Valerie gave the mug to Deena. “Drink all you want, dear. I can get more for you before he gets back if you need it.”

  Deena accepted the mug and began to drink while Valerie prepared her something to eat—including a thick slice of cantaloupe.

  While Deena was eating cantaloupe for dessert and Valerie was talking to her about traveling in the wagon train, Brian appeared at the tailgate with the wagon master at his side. “Deena, this is our wagon master, Mr. Lester Corbin. I told him your story, and he wants to meet you. Okay?”

  Deena swallowed a mouthful of cantaloupe. “Yes, sir.”

  Both men climbed over the tailgate. The girl sat at the small table and Valerie was seated on the cot.

  Smiling down at Deena, Corbin said, “Mr. Parker told me your whole story. I can see the bruises on your face for myself. I’m sorry that you have had such a hard time in your young life, and I’m sorry that you have been separated from your twin sister. I can only imagine how horrible that is.”

  She nodded solemnly. “Yes, sir.”

  “I want to say, also, that my heart goes out to you for what your real parents did to you and your sister and for the awful treatment you received at the hands of Ralph Dexter and his son. I need to ask you something.”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Is it your desire to go on west with the Parkers and live with them?”

  A smile broke over Deena’s pretty features. “Oh yes, sir!”

  “Ail right. You seem pretty excited about it.”

  “I am, Mr. Corbin. Mr. and Mrs. Parker have been so kind to me. I already love them very much.”

  Valerie’s eyes were sparkling. “And we already love you very much, sweetheart.”

  “Yes, we do,” said Brian, his own face beaming. “It’s like you’ve been ours all your life.”

  Deena’s heart was throbbing. “Thank you.”

  Corbin set his eyes on Deena once again. “The deputies from Salina made it clear that you were the Dexters’ foster child. Since the Dexters did not adopt you, they have no legal claim on you. I feel no obligation to report your whereabouts to the law. You are free to live with the Parkers, who according to Mr. Parker, want to be your foster parents and are planning to adopt you once they settle out West. It is my sincere hope that the three of you will be very, very happy together.”

  Deena smiled joyfully as Valerie stood up and moved toward her. Brian followed. Deena rose to her feet and the Parkers folded her into their arms.

  Les Corbin smiled. “I’ll tell Deena’s story to everyone in the wagon train after breakfast so they will all understand why you folks have her in your wagon. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my lead wagon.”

  Brian let go of his foster daughter and shook Corbin’s hand. “Thank you for being so understanding. I know you have a moral obligation to make sure no laws are broken by the people in your wagon trains, or to report them to the authorities if they do so.”

  “No laws are being broken here. Like I said, the Salina deputies made it plain that the Dexters had Deena in their home as a foster daughter. They have no legal claim on her. Everybody sleep well, now. Good night.”

  When Corbin was gone, Deena wrapped her arms around the Parkers’ waists. “Thank you for taking me in. Can I call you Mama and Papa now?”

  “You sure can, sweetheart!” said Brian.

  “Yes! I’ve wanted to be a mama for so long!”

  Brian kissed Deena’s forehead. “Now it’s time for all of us to get to bed. I usually sleep on the floor here inside the wagon on those thick blankets that are piled at the foot of the cot. That’s where you’ll sleep. I have a bedroll, so I’ll sleep in it out here on the ground beside the wagon.”

  “But Papa,” protested Deena, “I shouldn’t take your sleeping spot. I could sleep under the cot, where I hid till Mama found me.”

  Brian hugged her. “No daughter of mine is going to sleep under the cot. I’m very glad to give you my bed. Okay, ladies, I’ll leave so you can get ready for bed.”

  “I have a nightgown you can use, honey,” said Valerie.

  Overwhelmed at the way things had worked out for her, Deena hugged both of them again. “Oh, I’m so happy!”

  Deena lay in the darkness of the covered wagon, nestled in the bedroll provided by the Parkers. Valerie’s even breathing on the cot gave sign that she was fast asleep.

  A happy Deena Mitchell looked up at the stars through the opening at the back of the wagon, which was left with the flaps back. The stars seemed to wink at her, telling her how glad they were for this wonderful turn of events in her life.

  Her mind went to her family back in New York. She wondered if they ever thought of her. For as long as she could remember, she had never felt as loved and wanted as she did at that moment. Nor had she ever felt so protected as she felt now with the Parkers.

  She remembered some happy times in Manhattan, but the poverty and unrest in the home far overshadowed them. Donna and I have had to work and care for the little ones since we were barely more than toddlers, ourselves. Seems like almost every year there was a new baby born. We never minded working and helping out, but there was never any tenderness shown by our father and very little by our mother. Mama was sick so much and with child and Papa had such a bitter outlook on life. The Parkers are so different. I’m such a fortunate girl. I hope Donna is as happy as I am. I don’t understand why I had to go through that awful experience in the Dexter home with Ralph and Rex, but it sure makes me appreciate the home I have with my new Mama and Papa, even though right now it is a covered wagon.

  She pictured the sour faces of Ralph and Rex on the screen of her mind, and felt the joy of her freedom from them.
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br />   Her thoughts ran to Donna again, and because she sensed happiness in Donna’s life, she relaxed and fell asleep, wondering just where her twin might be.

  At the K-Bar-M Ranch near Wild Horse, Colorado, the Talbert family arrived home late in the evening after a rousing revival service at their church.

  They had their prayer time together, and after the last amen, Ken and Molly noticed a beam on Donna’s face.

  Ken smiled at her. “What are you so happy about, honey?”

  “Well, Papa, while we were praying for Deena, a sweet calm came over me. I sense that she is no longer unhappy and disturbed like she has been almost since the day she was chosen by the Dexter family at Salina.”

  Molly put an arm around her and kissed her cheek. “God does indeed answer prayer, sweetheart. I’m sure what you are sensing is real and true, and that things are better for Deena now.”

  Donna looked at Ken, then Molly. “I still want to go back to Salina and find her, though.”

  “Of course,” said Ken. “This obvious answer to prayer doesn’t change your need to see Deena. It won’t be too long. We’ll be able to go in just a few days.”

  Donna’s face flushed, and tears moistened her eyes. “Oh, Papa, Mama, it will be so wonderful to see her again!”

  Lying in her bed in the darkness that night, Donna said in a low voice, “Thank You, Lord Jesus, that I know things are better for Deena. And thank You for working in Papa’s and Mama’s hearts so they are willing to take me back to Salina so I can see my sweet sister. I so desperately want to talk to her about being saved. Please, Lord, give me the wisdom and power to win Deena to You. I want my precious Deena in heaven with me.”

  At the Bostin home in Colorado Springs on the same night, Johnny Bostin lay in his bed. “Thank You, Lord, for bringing me together with the wonderful people who have adopted me as their son. Help me, dear Lord, to be the kind of son my parents deserve. I want them to always be glad they adopted me. And dear Jesus, help me to be the servant to You that I should be.”

  When Johnny had finished praying, his thoughts went to Priscilla Wheeler. Every time he was in her presence, she became dearer to him. He pictured her in his mind, marveling at how pretty she was and how much he liked her long, velvet black hair.