Maydean pulled the coverlet up around her neck and looked around the room. “I’m awful glad to be here,” she said.
“And we’re so very glad to have you with us,” said Betsy. “Do you feel like having your hair brushed?”
Maydean nodded and turned so that Betsy could sit behind her on the sofa. Betsy pulled a brush out of her apron pocket and slowly, carefully ran it through Maydean’s tangled mane. “We’ll have you fixed up in no time,” said Betsy.
Maydean leaned her cheek—the one without the bruises—against the back of the sofa. Before long, in spite of the hair-brushing, she fell asleep. Betsy continued brushing, then wove two thick braids and laid them gently on Maydean’s shoulders.
Betsy gestured for them all to follow her. “Let’s heat up some cider in the kitchen,” she whispered. Everyone but the sleeping Maydean trooped to the kitchen table.
Mrs. Hull was one step ahead of them. Up from her nap, she was laying out Christmas desserts on big platters. Nathan’s eyes lit up, and he watched each movement with sharp interest. Nathan loved sweets.
Betsy pulled Janie aside. “We’ll do what we planned over dessert.” Janie glanced back toward the front room. “Are you sure?” Betsy squeezed Janie’s hand. “You know what I think? I have a feeling Maydean would like the attention to be directed away from her for a while. What do you think?”
Janie grinned and nodded. “I sure do think she’d like something happy to happen.”
Betsy grinned back. “I agree with you, Janie. So let us conspire to launch our plan over dessert.”
Dr. Hull and Blue came in from the snow. Lucy rose from her nap and wandered into the kitchen. Finally Mrs. Hull said, “Let’s take our dessert to the front room and join Maydean. She should not miss a moment more of this holiday.”
Treats and hot drinks were put on trays and moved to the front room. Maydean woke up and blinked. When she saw the cookies and candies, she smiled broadly.
“Is everybody here?” Betsy asked. “Let’s all have a seat. Janie has something she’d like to say.”
The adults settled into chairs and the youngsters onto rugs. Janie stood up and cleared her throat.
“Today’s my birthday. Today I am twelve years old.”
“Happy birthday, young Janie!” called out Dr. Hull.
“Thank you, sir,” Janie responded with a short, funny curtsy—thanks to Betsy’s coaching—in his direction. “But what I want to say is this. It’s no fun to be the only one with a birthday to celebrate. I want to share mine.” She turned to Nathan and Lucy. “Will you two share my birthday with me? Not just today but from now on?”
Nathan’s eyes lit up. He turned to his twin. “I say yes! How ‘bout you, Lucy? What do you say?”
Lucy blinked and smiled. Then she nodded with more vigor than anyone had seen her have since before the fever.
“Lucy says yes, too,” said Nathan. “Thanks, Janie!” He thought for a minute. “Does that mean you’re our big sister now?”
“I’d like that,” Janie said, suddenly feeling shy and happy.
“Maybe not so big, though,” teased Dr. Hull. Everyone laughed.
Nobody noticed Betsy had left the room until she rounded the corner with a gigantic birthday cake. She had written each of their names on top with buttercream frosting. And of course, each of them could read it. The room broke into applause.
“Well,” said Mrs. Hull, clapping her hands, “isn’t this wonderful? And all of it on the birthday of our Lord Jesus!” She turned to Nathan and Lucy. “This is a thrilling moment for both of thee. Thy family has increased today.”
Mrs. Hull turned to Janie. “And thee has chosen to share what thee has with a glad heart. May our Lord bless thee, precious child.”
Janie beamed. Dr. Hull stood and prayed over the group. When he finished, Lucy stood and came over to Janie. She hugged her.
That was a very nice gesture. But the best thing to Janie was that this was the most energetic movement Lucy had made in weeks.
Little Lucy was most certainly on the mend on this, her new official birthday.
DuPont Acres, Kentucky
Even in the middle of Kentucky, it snowed this Christmas Day. Anna made dinner for Mr. DuPont and all his hired hands. Then she retired to the room over the stable where she lived with George.
Anna wrapped her arms around her knees while she waited for George to finish feeding the horses. She had one thought on her mind. Today, like every Christmas, was her baby’s birthday.
How many more Christmas Days must she wait to see her child again?
CHAPTER 18
Indiana Spring
Time passed quickly while the Rubyhill Five wintered at the Hull farm. It was a cold and snowy winter, more so than usual. But before long, the snow thawed and did not return.
Janie found that she loved the feel and smell of spring in Indiana. While spring was a vibrant time in Georgia, there was something about having weathered the cold and the snow that made an Indiana spring particularly beautiful.
It started with a sweetness in the air. Rain became warmer. Daffodils and tulips shot up next. Then came the fragrant lilacs and lilies of the valley, and soon just about everything was in blossom. Best of all, Janie was allowed to watch the births of lambs and calves. There was new life everywhere.
In the big farmhouse, another bed had been moved into the girls’ room upstairs. Now Aleta, Lucy, Janie, and Maydean all shared the big bedroom. Betsy had a small room to herself at the end of the upstairs hall. Janie felt as if she had lots of sisters, and she liked the feeling.
All of the youths on the Hull farm had gained much-needed weight and strength over the winter, and they all looked good and healthy. Good nutrition and lifestyle added to the eagerness of all the kitchen-table students to learn everything they could. Mrs. Hull and Betsy continued to teach their students as much as they could handle and then pushed them to learn even more.
By spring, everyone could read and write fluently. They could perform any math task asked of them. They could write and deliver short speeches on any number of topics, their manners were beyond acceptable, and the Bible was becoming a familiar friend.
Janie never ceased to be amazed at how Maydean blossomed after moving in with the Hulls. She was turning into a bright and beautiful young woman. Betsy had taken the girl under her wing and taught her how to groom and dress herself and to polish the rough edges of her speech and manners.
Now Maydean wore her braids pinned up like Betsy’s. Janie liked the way it looked and began to do the same. She liked to pin her braids in a spiral at the back of her head.
It thrilled everybody that Maydean was studying already to apply for teachers’ college. She also practiced writing letters so that she could stay in touch with Betsy next year when Betsy moved to Detroit.
Janie was glad about the letter-writing in particular. She and Maydean planned to write each other many letters. Janie knew that the Rubyhill Five would be moving on soon.
There was no question as to whether or not all five Rubyhill youths would continue traveling north, even though it would be dreadfully hard to leave the Hull farm. But they were all committed to starting a new life in Chicago. The only question was when.
One morning in early April, Janie could hardly wait to finish her breakfast of sausage and biscuits with jam. Dr. Hull had told her only half an hour earlier that a foal would be born of her favorite mare that morning, and Janie didn’t want to miss this for anything. She ate so fast she didn’t even talk to Lucy and Nathan, who joined her at the table. Then Blue came to breakfast.
“Hey, y’all,” said Blue pouring himself a cup of coffee. “It’s one fine day outside.”
“I’m a little late getting out there,” said Nathan. “You already do your chores?”
Blue nodded and sat down. He stirred milk and sugar into his coffee then looked around the table. “Where’s Aleta?” “Don’t you usually know?” teased Janie.
Blue grinned and took a
sip of coffee. Then he cleared his throat. “Look, Janie, Nathan, Lucy …” He paused. “Aleta and I have been talking. Let me just come out and say that I know we’re having a good life here. But it’s spring. That means it’s time for us to get moving again.”
Janie stopped eating. Of course she always knew the day would come when she would have to leave these people she’d come to know and love. She felt sick to her stomach.
Nathan and Lucy were quiet, too. Blue waited. Then he said, “Anyone want to say anything?”
Nobody said a word.
“I’m thinking we could leave in a few days,” Blue went on. “What do you think about that?”
“I—I guess that would be fine,” stammered Nathan. Lucy’s dark eyes grew wide, but she said nothing.
Finally, Janie spoke. “I don’t want to leave yet, Blue.”
Blue nodded. “I kinda thought you might say that. But, Janie-bird, but you might never want to leave if we don’t get going fairly soon. You didn’t want to leave Rubyhill, either, remember?”
Janie nodded. “How long you think we’ll have to be on the road?” she asked. The thought of leaving the comforts of the Hull house was not a pleasant one.
Blue cocked his head and thought. “Oh, about a couple weeks, depending on how things go. Think you can do it?”
Janie looked at the tablecloth. “I don’t know. I guess so.”
Blue reached over and touched Janie’s hand. “Hey, you. We’re family, you know. We’re all together in this. God’s been good to us, leading us here to the Hulls. They’ve prepared us for near about everything. But I don’t think we’re meant to stay here forever. Do you?”
The days here at the Hull farm had been so full that Janie hadn’t really thought about the future. But deep down inside, she had to agree. Their destination remained Chicago.
Janie looked at Blue, then at Nathan and Lucy. “I’d like it if we could stay until after Easter. That’s two weeks more.”
“Then we will,” said Blue.
DuPont Acres, Kentucky
Anna brought the subject up first. They had just finished breakfast in their room over the stable. “When we headed for Chicago, George?”
George stopped cleaning his boots and looked at his wife, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he went back to cleaning his boots.
“We got enough cash now,” Anna said.
George looked up at her, then back down. “Well, sugar, the thing is, I promised DuPont I’d stay through foaling.”
Anna stared at George. “We got enough cash now,” she said again, as if he hadn’t heard her.
“I promised him I’d stay through foaling,” George repeated softly.
Anna’s anger flared up, fast. “What you talking about?”
George answered his wife calmly and slowly. “I should’ve talked to you about it first, Anna. But I gave the man my word.”
“You gave him your word?” Anna stood up. “And what about me, George? What about what you promised me, that we’d find our girl? What about that? What’s your word worth there?”
George stopped working and looked at the floor.
Anna marched to the window and stood with her back to her husband until he left for work.
Nothing more was said about Chicago again for weeks.
CHAPTER 19
Chicago
Chicago sure is windy, thought Janie. It was the middle of May, and the Rubyhill Five found themselves right in the center of the largest city they’d ever seen. Indiana seemed like a long time ago. Now instead of living with the Hulls, Betsy, and Maydean, the youths were encountering hundreds of strangers—black, white, Chinese, Indian, Mediterranean, rich, poor, and even in between. When the five of them first arrived in the city, they found it so curious and fascinating that they simply wandered the streets for two hours.
People hurried up and down the first sidewalks the Georgian friends had ever walked on. The many shopwindows showed merchandise that the young people had never dreamed of buying. Vendors cooked and sold food right on the street, and the smoky smells beckoned the Rubyhill Five on every block. The force from all those people was so strong that Janie felt she could reach out and touch it.
Then there was the Great Lake Michigan, its shores right in the city. What a powerful body of water, deep blue and full of white-caps. Alongside the docks, dozens of fishermen displayed their wares.
In the distance, large ships sailed on the lake’s long horizon. To Janie, they looked like strange, breathing creatures crawling along.
Here in Chicago, Janie at first battled instant fear. She had never been around so many people in her life—noisy ones at that. And she had never seen a body of water bigger than a wide part of the Ohio River. This water seemed to go on forever. She could not even see the other side of the lake.
Blue and Nathan were thrilled at seeing the city and the huge lake with its ships. Aleta praised the fashions the women wore. Even Lucy chattered excitedly about the fresh fish they’d fry. Janie simply stared at everything and made certain to stick close by the others.
The five young people had traveled through most of Indiana on foot. But several miles south of the outskirts of Chicago, they had decided to use some of their money and finish this journey by train. Thankfully, they’d never before dipped into that cash they’d found so long ago at Rubyhill. Now was the time.
So there was another first for the Rubyhill Five. They’d never boarded a train before. Fortunately, one of their lessons at the Hull kitchen-table school had been how to read train schedules. Mrs. Hull had also given them practice in using money and figuring change as part of their math lessons. Dr. Hull stepped in toward the end of their stay to teach them how to read maps and street plans.
The friends remained ever grateful for the help they had received in so many ways at the kind hands of Dr. and Mrs. Hull and Betsy. Never could the Rubyhill Five have entered this cosmopolitan city with confidence had they not wintered with the Hulls, receiving nourishment, education, and practical skills the entire time.
Back in Indiana, Dr. Hull had been positive and helpful about the upcoming journey to Chicago. He told them that as country people, they might find the city challenging at first, but there was no reason to fear the people there. He confirmed what had been rumored in Georgia, that a black person could live nearly as well as a white person in Chicago.
Dr. Hull had even written down the address of what he called a benevolent society—a place of goodwill that had helped runaway slaves get established in Chicago. Even though slavery was now abolished, the director of the society, a Mr. Solomon, would happily help them find lodging and possibly work.
The other exciting thing Dr. Hull wrote down was the name and address of a church pastored by a black minister, a Reverend Silas. This man had wintered at the Hull farm many years ago during his own escape from slavery. He had gone on to attend seminary and become a minister. Now he was pastor of a substantial Chicago church. “Go to that church straightaway,” Dr. Hull told them. “Reverend Silas will help thee, as well. And it is a fine church community that will help thee in thy spiritual walk.”
After allowing themselves time to gawk at the exciting things Chicago had to offer, the five young people circled back to the train depot so that they could follow Dr. Hull’s written directions to the benevolent society. They headed down the sidewalk as directed by their notes.
Janie was grateful that these sidewalks kept dangerous, fast-moving horses and wagons at bay. While some of Chicago’s streets were made of brick, many streets were still dirt and, at this time of year, muddy. Walking on the sidewalks was not only safer, but it also helped keep their clothes clean. The Georgian youths did not want to appear to be country bumpkins, and staying neat and clean was important.
It was an amazing thing to stand in the heart of the great city of Chicago, but it was even more amazing to have the ability to read. There were so many signs to read. Janie did not remember seeing signs with words in the South. Of course, she had
never been to a southern city, but she figured maybe they had had signs. In the Georgia countryside, she’d heard there were crossroads markers, but those had been taken down during the war to confuse the Yankee soldiers. Janie had never seen them, anyway. She’d never left the plantation back then, and in their journey north, they had stayed off main roads.
So in Chicago, while the wind whipped down the sidewalks with a vengeance, Lucy and Janie read the shop signs aloud to each other, rolling new words and names on their tongues. JANSSEN’S BAKERY. CITY INSURANCE. CORNER BUTCHER. LIVERY. MRS. MILLER’S ALTERATIONS.
Finally, Blue called out, “Here’s the street! Dr. Hull said the building numbers go up and down in order, so let’s figure out which way to go for number 32.”
“There!” called Nathan, pointing west. “The numbers go up that way.”
They turned down the street until Blue halted in front of a handsome, four-story, brick building. He looked once more at his notes, then nodded. They all piled inside to a hallway where there was no wind.
People hurried in and out the door, barely taking notice of the youths. Clearly, people in this city were used to seeing strangers, and it looked to Janie like white folks and black folks seemed to mix and get along all right together.
“See if you can find Mr. Solomon’s name on these doors,” said Aleta. They moved slowly up the hall until Janie spied the man’s name.
Inside the greeting area of Mr. Solomon’s office, the atmosphere was homey. A fire burned low in a huge wall fireplace that was big enough so that Janie, Lucy, and Nathan could have fit inside it. They all stood in front of the fire.
“May I help you?” said a woman’s voice behind them.
The five young people whirled around. A white woman had risen from behind a desk. She was tall, and her hair was gray. She wore tiny eyeglasses, and she gave what Janie sensed was a warm and genuine smile.
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